Consumer Products and Services

EU firms’ barriers to Russia re-entry are sky-high

10 Mar 2025

Groups like Renault and Inditex quit the country after Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Contracts make it theoretically feasible for them to return. But even if a peace deal proves possible, the risks are too great for European groups to go back.

Beijing buzzwords hint at slow-burn consumer fix

10 Mar 2025

Lower income taxes and shorter work weeks were among the most-discussed topics during China's annual policy meeting. Those are sensible steps to boost consumption over the long term. But with deflationary risks mounting, officials are under pressure to deliver quick stimulus.

Only a takeover will unlock Seven & i’s full value

4 Mar 2025

The Japanese firm's shares rose on media reports it will replace CEO Ryuichi Isaka, then fell 10% on worries it will reject Couche-Tard's $47 bln offer. Isaka once had activist backing and failed to perform. That sets a high bar for Seven & i to go it alone, even with a new boss.

MrBeast buzz risks being new media’s old story

28 Feb 2025

The popular YouTube star may look to raise capital in a deal valuing his business at a whopping $5 bln. Huge audiences and a chance to overturn Hollywood beckon. But others like Vice once held similar promise and flopped. Like his forebears, he’s at the mercy of distribution.

Insurers will struggle to dodge climate-change tab

26 Feb 2025

From California to Delhi, losses from floods and wildfires are growing. Meanwhile, insurers are pulling cover to protect themselves. Governments can’t let that happen en masse, though, meaning the $3.6 trln property and casualty sector will end up paying one way or another.

New Unilever CEO has a chance to revisit mega-M&A

25 Feb 2025

Hein Schumacher is leaving the $139 bln Dove soap maker after less than two years. His replacement, finance boss Fernando Fernandez, inherits a stable of mostly humdrum brands vulnerable to competition. Buying something, like previous target Haleon or a beauty group, may help.

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.

Walmart drops bag of fear into trolley of greed

20 Feb 2025

The retail giant touted a strong holiday season, but it also flagged potential worries about inflation-drained shoppers and looming tariffs. Such ambivalence cost it 6%, or some $50 bln, of market value. It’s the latest sign of how Trump-fueled economic exuberance is fading.

AI agents have clear mission, hazy business model

20 Feb 2025

Companies are building applications based on artificial intelligence to perform tasks on behalf of workers. ‘Agentic AI’ could deliver $52 bln of revenue by 2030, BCG reckons. But developing tech and training staff takes time. Until clients value the benefits, it’s an extra cost.

Torrid AppLovin reignites scorching PAIR trade

13 Feb 2025

Strong results helped the mobile ads outfit add 30% to its valuation. Having already outpaced all tech stocks last year, including Nvidia, the $160 bln company is leading a fiery foursome targeting dominant incumbents. Palantir, IonQ and Reddit are also part of the hot new club.

Shein’s IPO haste implies an ill-fitting outcome

12 Feb 2025

The fast fashion retailer seems set on a $50 bln listing by mid-year. With the US applying new tariffs and trade tensions heating up, the normal banker advice would be to wait. If Shein’s motivation is to gain recognition, a cut-price valuation is the wrong way to get it.

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.

Why Elon Musk is a headache for broadband bosses

11 Feb 2025

The SpaceX founder’s Starlink business has about 5 mln users of its satellite internet service. It’s a big risk for telecom firms in developing countries with few fixed-line connections, like India. But Western incumbents, particularly in the US, should also be concerned.

Power groups’ post-DeepSeek pain looks justified

3 Feb 2025

The Chinese OpenAI rival’s lower costs saw shares in the likes of $57 bln Vistra and $103 bln GE Vernova crater. Scope for demand from AI users to soar may explain why they have partly recovered. But the risk that innovation means less power is real, and warrants a discount.

Consumer giants’ growth no longer involves food

31 Jan 2025

Unilever plans to invest in beauty but will not spend any of its M&A budget on edible goods. That’s a big shift for the $143 bln group, noted for Marmite and Magnums. As rivals like Nestlé see shoppers snub brands, the strategy could add value – but it’s hard for others to copy.

Fevertree’s Molson Coors brew tastes bittersweet

30 Jan 2025

The Blue Moon maker has purchased an 8.5% stake in the $1.2 bln purveyor of posh tonic water and exclusive rights to sell its mixers in the US. The UK firm’s investors have cut risk, but face a long wait for returns. There’s no such jeopardy for its new partner.

DeepSeek scrambles AI development reasoning

30 Jan 2025

Breakthrough cost-efficiency claims from the made-in-China model stunned investors expecting a spending splurge, eroding $600 bln of chipmaker Nvidia’s value. In this week’s Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists debate what the advance means for machine-learning hype.

Starbucks serves up broken windows theory of value

29 Jan 2025

Boss Brian Niccol is starting with the small stuff to turn around the java slinger: trimming menus, nixing upcharges and so on. Making often-drab stores more inviting is a reasonable recipe to boost business. But the stock’s 38% rise since he came on is priced for a bolder brew.

LVMH signals US is yet to be luxury’s new China

29 Jan 2025

The $368 bln French group’s China weakness meant its shares had a torrid time in 2024. A surge in richer Americans’ wealth implies the US could be an alternative luxury growth engine. Underwhelming results at LVMH, normally a bellwether, suggest this remains a work in progress.

Smithfield IPO gets at meat of the M&A matter

27 Jan 2025

The US pork producer would be worth $11 bln, with debt, on its mooted price range, 50% more than its Chinese owner paid in 2013. Sales growth has been slow, even as profit at a key unit doubled under WH Group. The spinoff, however sensible, speaks to the folly of many deals.