Before the bell: investors bet on an Iran rebound

After the recent blows to European stock markets, investors now appear to be cautiously positioning for a recovery. Today EnergyVision published its first annual results since last year’s IPO.

Investors seemed no longer overly concerned about the crisis in Iran on Wednesday. In the United States, the S&P 500 rose 0.8%, bringing the index back to the level seen before the US attack on Iran. A sharp price increase of more than 100% for DRAM memory announced by Samsung Electronics boosted the memory chip sector. Micron Technology (+5.5%) and SanDisk (+6%) rose again after an already strong year for investors. Tech stocks such as Amazon (+3.9%) were picked up, while Abercrombie & Fitch (-3.6%) warned of slower growth in 2026. In Europe, the Euro Stoxx 50 gained 1.7%. Unlike in the US, however, the index here still stands 5% lower than five days ago.

In Asia, the South Korean stock market continues to make headlines. After the index lost 12% yesterday and 7% the day before, it is recovering by 11% this morning. Since January, the South Korean market has already gained 31%. In Belgium, EnergyVision today published its first annual results following last year’s IPO. Revenue rose 73% to 173 million euros, while net profit came in at just under 16 million euros. Elia also reported quarterly results that exceeded the analyst consensus. Today the supermarket chain Kroger, JD.com, Victoria’s Secret, Marvell, Costco, Universal Media Group and GoPro will release results. Investors will also be able to react to the strong figures from Broadcom. The group significantly beat analyst expectations thanks to strong growth in its AI division.

Greek companies on the Belgian stock market

I sometimes write about them together with my colleague Jan, but on the Brussels exchange there are two Greek companies that receive very little attention from investors: Cenergy Holdings and Titan. Cenergy Holdings produces cables and pipes for energy infrastructure, while Titan Cement manufactures concrete. Are these boring companies? Perhaps. But they are far from small. Cenergy Holdings has a market capitalisation of 4 billion euros and is one of the larger companies on the Brussels stock exchange. That is partly because the share price has risen 878% over the past five years, helped by the rise of wind energy. It is one of the few companies capable of producing the heavy cables used to transport electricity along the seabed. Investors will soon be able to react to yet another set of strong results. Revenue rose 15% to 2 billion euros, and profit came in at 0.91 euros per share. The share has already nearly doubled over the past six months, while Titan has climbed 36%. A breather would therefore not be a bad thing for the shares of these two Greek companies.

Is there music in this?

Did you know that you can indirectly invest in Taylor Swift? Every time someone plays a song on Spotify, money flows to the owners of the rights to that artist’s music. Songs by Taylor Swift and The Beatles, for example, are part of the portfolio of Universal Music Group, which is listed on the Amsterdam stock exchange. The share price is close to its lowest level since the IPO in 2022, but that does not mean the group is not interesting. With more than 700 million streaming subscribers worldwide and subscription prices rising year after year, that revenue stream is structurally growing. The numbers prove it. In the first half of 2025, net profit increased by no less than 56.7%, and subscription revenue grew significantly. Investors are nevertheless cautious about the potential impact of AI on music and whether it could disrupt UMG’s business model. Meanwhile, the group is targeting annual subscription growth of 8 to 10% until at least 2028, which is attracting institutional investors. The company will publish its annual results this evening. I will discuss them in more detail in Saturday’s Spamalot.

Did you know…

that EnergyVision is actually a beneficiary of the conflict in the Middle East? Competitors of EnergyVision will likely have to pass higher gas prices on to their customers. Because EnergyVision focuses on solar energy, it can keep energy prices stable, giving the company a competitive advantage.

This article was translated from Dutch and was originally published on Spaarvarkens.be.