Netherlands

Prosus’ delivery M&A makes most sense as a starter

24 Feb 2025

The $105 bln investor is paying $4 bln for Just Eat Takeaway.com. Prosus shares fell, perhaps due to the target’s past struggles and the absence of immediate synergies. But if the Dutch group used its Delivery Hero stake to drive a tie-up with Just Eat it might create more value.

Heineken mixes tasty cocktail for insipid future

12 Feb 2025

The $45 bln brewer’s shares jumped 12% after it raised its profit outlook for 2025. It was a surprise for a sector facing slowing sales and tariff wars. But by cutting costs and boosting investment, Heineken and peers can manage the decline and prop up their depressed valuations.

DeepSeek rise blurs ASML’s AI-driven recovery

29 Jan 2025

Booming orders from customers like TSMC sent the $290 bln maker of semiconductor machines’ shares up 8%. But a Chinese model using fewer, less advanced chips is a threat, and may increase the risk of a US export purge. A return to last year’s heady valuation looks harder.

ASML’s sunny AI destination has a cloudy roadmap

15 Nov 2024

The $270 bln semiconductor equipment maker has stuck to its 2030 sales guidance, thanks to growing data centre needs. But chipmakers’ strife, politics, and weak smartphone demand remain near-term headaches. Investors may like ASML’s destination, but the route there looks bumpy.

Shell’s legal win flags need for new green metrics

12 Nov 2024

A Dutch court has nixed a 2021 ruling forcing the $204 bln oil major to cut emissions by 45% by 2030. Such metrics had already been undermined by Big Oil asset sales, which don’t stop climate change. Drillers’ spending on low-carbon energy is a better gauge of green credentials.

Why brewers are betting big on alcohol-free beer

22 Oct 2024

Consumers are shunning booze due to health concerns and shifting tastes, forcing beermakers to adapt. In this episode of the Big View podcast Louise Fitzpatrick, an executive at the Dutch brewer Heineken, explains the opportunities and challenges of selling suds without alcohol.

JAB’s pricy coffee shot is not as dumb as it looks

21 Oct 2024

The German investment group scooped up a 18% stake in JDE Peet’s, which it listed in 2020, from Mondelez at a fat 32% premium. That eliminates a share overhang and risk of an interloper. And, with the $12 bln Douwe Egberts seller’s stock cheap, the markup is easy to swallow.

ASML’s weakness flags limits of the AI boom

15 Oct 2024

The 260 bln euro chip-machine maker’s shares plunged again amid flaky demand from smartphone customers. ASML already has separate issues with Intel and China. The struggles of a key sector stock are a timely reminder that the AI wave doesn’t lift all boats.

Drink giants’ risky new plan: quantity not quality

1 Oct 2024

Liquor makers like $80 bln Diageo until recently focused on ‘premiumisation’, where customers consume less alcohol but pay up for fancy brands. With punters feeling the pinch, that strategy looks dicey. Yet flogging more cheap booze is optically awkward and financially painful.

Autos’ car crash ups the likelihood of EU airbags

30 Sep 2024

Stellantis and Volkswagen delivered big profit warnings, amid falling demand for cars. Their woes may encourage policymakers to vote through tariffs on Chinese rivals and go easy on EU carbon fines. But falling output and strained consumers mean carmakers need self-help too.

ASML faces bigger problems than China

16 Sep 2024

Fears of US tech export curbs have pummelled the $320 bln Dutch firm’s shares. A longer-term worry is that the growth of AI leads to new technologies, and less need for ASML’s machines that make chips smaller and efficient. That, more than trade wars, may hurt its rich valuation.

Big Beer’s stumbles leave investors ice cold

14 Aug 2024

Heineken shares are down after it disappointed investors hoping for a sport-fuelled profit party. Rival Carlsberg’s valuation has fallen due to a $4 bln soft drinks takeover. For CEOs, emerging markets growth and deals in the right areas are the only way to add fizz to stocks.

Power grids’ low-wattage resources may spark M&A

13 Aug 2024

European electric utilities have to invest big to meet rising demand. Yet balance sheets are laden with debt and raising equity is tough. Some will have to sell assets, or whole companies. Iberdrola’s $5 bln acquisition of a UK peer at a decent premium could be the first of many.

Woodside’s deal poses a new green conundrum

13 Aug 2024

Months after shareholders rejected its climate transition plan, the oil driller is buying an ammonia facility in Texas for $2.4 bln to help hit its emissions reduction goals. But the tech and end-uses are questionable. The return gives investors little to cheer, too.

Airlines’ margins head to lower cruising altitude

2 Aug 2024

Carriers from $2 bln Air France-KLM to $7 bln Lufthansa reported healthy demand in the first half of 2024. But earnings are falling as expenses bite. With the switch to sustainable aviation fuel threatening to push costs ever higher, investors are bracing for smaller margins.

Shell-BP fantasy M&A has some grounding in reality

1 Aug 2024

Merging the two big UK oil groups is an idea that’s decades old. Shell boss Wael Sawan has minimal need or inclination to take the plunge. But $97 bln BP’s cheap valuation and potential synergies mean his hand might be forced if a rival lobbed in a bid, or if oil prices slumped.

Carmakers strain to navigate the next swerves

1 Aug 2024

After responding to the unexpected success of $720 bln Tesla, older manufacturers now face rising China exports amid slower EV growth. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists discuss how GM, VW and others – including governments – are handling the nascent trade war.

Philips’ share-price revival is only half finished

29 Jul 2024

The Dutch medical group’s orders are finally growing again, boosting the stock by 10%. Yet Philips is still well below its 2021 peak, before a faulty sleep-aid crisis. Keeping margins high and sales rising may help, but selling the consumer unit may complete the rejuvenation.

Consumer titans have Covid-era issue, in reverse

26 Jul 2024

In the pandemic, Nestlé and Unilever’s higher prices were accompanied by falling sales. Now they are tempting consumers to buy more products, but prices are harder to budge. One issue hasn’t changed: the giants’ vulnerability to cheaper and healthier eating habits.

Carmakers drive efficiency hopes into a ditch

25 Jul 2024

The shares of carmakers Nissan and Stellantis fell around 7% after weak results. The tough US market is hurting sales, erodes the European group’s high margins and hinders its Japanese peer’s turnaround. Unsold cars and cautious consumers mean any recovery will take time.