Before the bell: Quiet Before The Storm?

This morning, we’re talking about coffee, empty warehouses, and new electric buses looking for an owner. There are also many earnings reports on the way.

Yesterday, the Bel20 index lost 0.7%. The average European stock didn’t fare much better, dropping by 0.9%. In Belgium, WDP took another hit, losing 3.3% of its market value after already shedding 4.7% last Friday following its earnings report. The culprit this time was a downgrade of its American peer, ProLogis (-3.8%), by Goldman Sachs. The investment bank is sensing trouble across the entire sector. In the U.S., the S&P 500 slipped 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.3%. Notable gainers included Kenvue (+5.5%), Nvidia (+4.1%), and Boeing (+3.1%).

In Asia, markets opened mixed this morning. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index (+0.2%) is slightly in the green, while in Tokyo, the Topix is down 1%. Meanwhile, the earnings season is in full swing. In France, today we’ll get reports from Compagnie des Alpes and L’Oréal. In the U.S. 3M, Raytheon Technologies, Lockheed Martin, General Motors, Enphase, Seagate, Texas Instruments, and Danaher are all set to open their books.

It smells like… coffee

One of the standout gainers among Benelux stocks yesterday was Dutch coffee roaster JDE Peet’s, best known locally for its Douwe Egberts coffee. The stock surged by 16.4% after it was revealed that investment group JAB is tightening its grip on the company. JAB has been the main shareholder of JDE Peet’s since 2013. After the deal, the German investor will own 68% of the company’s shares. JAB will put €2.2 billion on the table to acquire 86 million shares from U.S. snack giant Mondelez. The deal values each share of the coffee roaster at €25.10, because of the deal, the stock closed yesterday just below that price.

Van Hool déjà vu?

It happens from time to time that a customer cancels an order. Usually, it’s not a huge problem. If it is, then one has to question the risk management of the company. A business shouldn’t be overly dependent on a single customer. At Ebusco, things have gone completely wrong. The Dutch electric bus manufacturer has lost a major order after Qbuzz—a Dutch transportation company owned by Italy’s national railway company—canceled a contract for 59 buses. What makes it worse is that Ebusco had already produced 55 of the 59 buses. Investors are now understandably questioning Ebusco’s survival chances. The company’s stock plunged by 19.5% on the Amsterdam stock exchange yesterday. Those who subscribed to the IPO in 2021 and held on to their shares are now facing a loss of 97.6%.

Did you know…

that Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, has a side job? He has been serving as a board member at Nike since 2005. With 19 years under his belt, he is also the longest-serving board member of the American sportswear manufacturer.

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