European companies are lagging behind in the second quarter compared to their American competitors, reports the “Financial Times”
. So the trade war of US President Donald Trump (79) The European companies met significantly harder – contrary to the original expectations of investors.
So far, more than half of the companies have published their current quarterly figures in the Stoxx Europe 600, according to the “FT”. According to Bank of America (Bofa), it would be noticeable that the index does not record profit growth compared to the same period last year. Compared to this, companies in the American S&P 500 would achieve profit growth of 9 percent in the year, mainly thanks to the strong results of the technology giants from the Silicon Valley and the Wall Street banks.
This development also has an impact on the stock indices. While the S&P 500 has set new records several times since Trump’s so -called “liberation day” on April 2, European stocks have almost remained unchanged – the Stoxx Europe 600 has still not reached its high again from the beginning of March.
Analysts expected the reverse development. So Grant Bowers, Senior Vice President at the investment company Franklin Templeton, said the “FT”: “At the beginning of the year there was this narrative change – they thought that was thought USA Would lose their exceptional position and the rest of the world would catch up. ” After years of under -performance, European companies were able to surpass their American counterparts at the beginning of the year.
According to “FT”, many investors, according to Trump’s unpredictable politics, rather put their trust in European companies at the time. In addition, the Federal Government’s 500 billion-dollar subsidy package Friedrich Merz (69) and the massive increase in European defense spending a long -lasting recovery of the European stock markets.
European high -rise flight was short -lived
However, European companies would not have justified these expectations with profits and economic growth, said Bowers. “Companies have to deliver – and Europe has difficulty producing such leading companies,” he told the newspaper. In Europe, just under half of the companies exceeded the expectations of the analysts in the past quarter, reports the “FT” in relation to the Bofa.
In contrast, despite Trump’s customs policy and deteriorating US economy data, US major corporations presented strong quarterly results. According to analysts, the S&P 500 controls Goldman Sachs Even to one of the highest numbers of positive surprises compared to the forecasts for 25 years – only exceeded by the rashes during coron apandemy.
Since analysts had already corrected their forecasts because of the trade war, companies were not as rewarded on both sides of the Atlantic, which were positively surprised as usual – their share prices only rose moderately. Conversely, companies that disappointed, particularly hard, were punished by Goldman Sachs.
Currency effects of further brake factor
Another challenge for European export companies is the strong euro, which has gained $ 12 percent compared to the dollar since the beginning of the year. Since many of the companies achieve their sales in US dollars, the euro rally is noticeable according to “FT”. The newspaper quotes an analysis of barclays, according to which over 80 percent of companies in the Stoxx 600 currency effects mentioned as a negative factor in its quarterly reports.
While investors benefited from the euro strength outside the euro zone, it tightened international competitive conditions for Europe’s industry. In comparison, the weaker dollar US exporters create an advantage, since revenue abroad is worth more.
In addition, Trump’s new customs policy is causing additional uncertainty in the export business, with the direct influence still remaining low – many companies would fall back on previously attached inventory. According to “FT”, the actual burden of the trade barriers should only be shown in the second half of the year.
Export -oriented companies, especially car manufacturers, were particularly affected by disappointing results. One reason why Volkswagen, Stellantis and Mercedes-Benz expressed all warnings because of the effects of Trump’s tariffs. On the other hand, European financial companies sometimes surprise with good results: German bank, UBS and BNP Paribas exceeded the forecasts of the analysts-borne by strong results in the trading business.