How to start 2026? We have selected for the KBC Securities Dynamic Top Pick List 12 large-cap companies — AB InBev, Aedifica, Argenx, ASMi, Azelis, DEME, D'Ieteren, Shurgard, Sofina, Vopak, WDP, and Wolters Kluwer — along with 3 small and mid-cap names (under €1.5bn in market capitalization): Corbion, EVS, and IBA. So, going into 2026, we maintain a balanced approach in our Dynamic Top Pick List, featuring 8 cyclical and 6 defensive stocks, with a particular emphasis on value stocks that have b...
Adecco: 3Q25 strong beat; outlook 4Q25 seems in line. Air France-KLM: Bit light but outlook unchanged. ArcelorMittal: In line 3Q25, supportive medium-term outlook. AMG: 3Q25 EBITDA beats by 5%, ‘only' modest FY guidance increase might disappoint. BAM Group: Maintains outlook as expected. CTP: Guidance at the lower end due to a missed deal in Romania. Strong operational trends continued. IMCD: 3Q showed pressure on gross margin. Kinepolis: US peer AMC; better revenues and EBITDA in ...
The tariff war has eased, but with Trump, uncertainty has become a guarantee. While the macro-economic impact has been limited so far, the prolonged situation could still result in significant and long-lasting economic damage. We are maintaining a defensive stance in our Benelux Dynamic Top Pick List. The Federal Reserve (FED) has started its easing cycle, but the final amount of interest rate cuts is uncertain. The European Central Bank (ECB) has now largely completed its interest rate cutting ...
Acomo: Acquires Manuzzi, expanding footprint in Southern Europe ASR: Ingrid de Swart to succeed Jos Baeten as CEO of ASR in May 2026 Fagron: Antitrust clearance for Brazilian Purifarma and Injeplast deals PostNL: Relaxation USO D+3 brought forward, pre-earnings analyst call 3Q25 Sofina: Over €0.5bn of additional firepower
In this October update of our Dynamic Top Pick List we are removing VGP while adding Shurgard and Wolters Kluwer. Since its recent inclusion in our Dynamic Top Pick List in July-25, VGPs share rose by 10.6%. While we still believe there is significant upside to the share price, we don't see short term catalysts. In fact, the macro picture remains cloudy with the jury still out on the impact of tariffs and the erratic US policy shifts. Also, we are a bit concerned that competition in Western Eur...
This morning Sofina announced a rights offering of up to €545.6m, issuing a maximum of 2,446,428 new shares at €223.00 per share. This represents a 12.1% discount to the TERP of €253.61 (based on the 23 September 2025 closing price of €255.80). The subscription ratio is 1 new share for 14 preferential rights. The proceeds aim to enhance Sofina's investment platform, enabling increased capital deployment, larger investment tickets, and flexibility in exit timing. Sofina's reference shareholder (c...
The WSJ reported that ByteDance, parent of TikTok, is nearing a deal to resolve U.S. regulatory concerns. A consortium led by Oracle, Silver Lake, and Andreessen Horowitz are set to control 80% of its U.S. business under a U.S.-China framework. The arrangement also includes an American-dominated board and Oracle handling U.S. user data in Texas, while licensing ByteDance's algorithms. Sofina acquired a minority stake in ByteDance in 2016 through a special purpose vehicle alongside other investor...
In this September update we added 2 stocks to the KBC Securities Dynamic Top Pick List : We added AB InBev after the share price weakened post-2Q results. ABI's 2Q volumes fell 1.9% organically, below expectations, mainly due to a 9% drop in Brazil where a price hike led to temporary market share loss. However, strong revenue per hl growth (+4.9%) drove a 6.5% organic EBITDA increase, with 1H growth at +7.2%, near the top of FY guidance (+4–8%). AB InBev, the world's largest brewer, generates ...
A €6bn private equity deal for Cognita, a UK-based private school operator and one of Sofina's key holdings, is on the brink of collapse. Jacobs Capital, the majority shareholder, aimed to sell a significant stake in Cognita in Apr'25. The stake sale to the primary bidders, Blackstone and CVC, is now unlikely to proceed, according to the Financial Times. The deal's failure stems from a valuation mismatch and the UK's new 20% VAT on private school fees, which has introduced market uncertainty. In...
1M Performance - Absolute Total Return: During Jul'25 (1M period), the KBCS Holdings Universe posted a total return of -0.5% which was mainly driven by the performance of the multi-asset holdings (-0.9%), while the single-asset holdings posted a return of +0.4%. The 3 top performers during the period were Financière de Tubize (+11.7%), KBC Ancora (+9.4%) and Quest For Growth (+5.5%) while the 3 worst performers were Brederode (-6.4%), Heineken Holding (-5.0%) and D'Ieteren Group (-4.7%). YTD Pe...
ASM International: 2Q25 Results; Positive tone, weak orders. CM.com: 1H25 results; disappointing performance, guidance downgrade. Gimv: Gimv fuels Hemink's sustainable expansion. KPN: Solid 2Q25, guidance raised largely on €25m IPR claim benefit. Philips: 2Q25 Preview; improvement needed. Randstad: 2Q25 in line; outlook touch below; FX spoils the party but operational leverage story is unfolding. Sofina: Newsletter #16. Universal Music Group: EU opens in-depth investigation into Downtown ...
Since the last publication of our Dynamic Top Pick List on 5 June 2025, our selection has seen again a nice outperformance versus the reverence indices (AEX, Bel20 and Eurostoxx50) of on average 3.3%. Our July update brings 3 adjustments to the list : Since being added to the list in December 2024, Fagron's share price has surged +/-22%, driven by strong Q1 2025 results and robust growth across all regions. Fagron reaffirmed its FY25 guidance and unveiled its “Compounding for Growth” strategy, ...
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