
Earnings Season Picks Up Speed
The earnings season is now in full swing. After major US banks like JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Goldman Sachs set the tone with strong results, the big tech names take the stage this week. Netflix, Tesla, IBM, and Intel will kick things off, followed by a range of European heavyweights. Expectations are high: investors are looking for more clarity on how companies are coping with rising financing costs and a slower growth environment. With parts of the US government still shut down and official data on employment and retail sales unavailable, corporate earnings take on even greater importance. In the absence of hard economic figures, market sentiment is being shaped by what companies themselves report, making this a crucial and potentially volatile week. Politics continues to linger in the background. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is meeting his Chinese counterpart He Lifeng in Malaysia, in an attempt to ease ongoing trade tensions. Still, most market attention is focused on Friday, when long-awaited US inflation data will be released. These figures will be key for the Federal Reserve, which is increasingly questioning whether inflation is truly under control. Elsewhere, figures on Chinese growth, UK inflation, and Japanese consumer prices will be released throughout the week, but the main focus clearly lies at the end of the week. Until then, all eyes are on company results, which remain the most reliable barometer of the state of the economy. Cadeler Cadeler was the most notable mover within the portfolio this week, falling by around 10%. Interestingly, CEO Mikkel Gleerup took this opportunity to buy in: on 16 October, he purchased approximately 4,000 shares. This insider purchase is seen as a vote of confidence in the company’s future, which is active globally in the installation and maintenance of offshore wind farms. Analysts remain positive: the latest recommendation is Buy with a price target of $23.50. AI analyst Spark from TipRanks also rates the stock as Outperform. Despite temporary pressure on cash flow, revenue growth remains robust, and the valuation still looks attractive in light of the long-term outlook. Centrica Centrica also came under the spotlight this week. Barclays raised its recommendation to Overweight, with a new price target of 210 GBX, suggesting an upside potential of over 20% from current levels. Other banks followed suit: RBC raised its target to 200 GBX (Outperform), Berenberg to 190 GBX (Buy), while JPMorgan and Citigroup made smaller adjustments, maintaining Neutral and Buy ratings respectively. Our target price has now been reached, but we are holding the position as we still see further upside. Grab Holdings Grab Holdings remained relatively stable on the market, despite Nordea Investment Management AB further increasing its stake. The asset manager purchased over 437,000 additional shares, bringing its total holding to more than 17.19 million shares—worth approximately $87.6 million. Grab reported a net profit margin of 3.65% for the past quarter and earnings per share of $0.01, in line with expectations. DBS Group Research raised its price target from $6.35 to $7.55. While the share price has yet to move significantly, institutional investor interest continues to rise. According to Sharesunderten, this may signal that the market anticipates a valuation recovery once a clear growth catalyst emerges. We are maintaining our position in the stock for now.