A quiet spell in corporate news
As far as corporate news is concerned, it’s a bit of a quiet spell now that the earnings season is over. Only a few companies had any news worth mentioning. Due to geopolitical unrest, the AEX came under pressure and fell by 2.4% (Thursday’s close). With the exception of Shell (2.7%), not a single company posted a gain.
Some companies are suffering more from higher energy costs than others; Akzo and ArcelorMittal are examples of this. They recorded declines of 7.5% and 6.2% respectively (Thursday close).
Prosus fell by 6% as shares in Tencent, in which it holds a significant stake, dropped sharply. This followed the company’s announcement that it would buy back fewer of its own shares and failed to present a clear plan for generating profit from artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Investors are concerned about profits, particularly after Tencent indicated that it plans to double its AI investments to over CNY 36 billion (approximately EUR 4.5 billion) by 2026.
Rumours of a potential bid for BE Semiconductors’ shares caused the share price to rise by 6% on Friday 13 March. However, this week it had to give up some of those gains (-3.4%).
ING announced that it will cut around 1,250 jobs by 2026 as part of an efficiency drive. Digitalisation, AI and changing customer needs are key factors behind this decision.
Finally, Unilever announced that it is in talks with McCormick, which has made a bid for the company’s food division. By Friday, Unilever’s share price had fallen by 5%, but following this news, the share price recouped some of those losses.