European stocks move higher as Swiss Life, Greggs report earnings
It’s just after midday in London and European stocks have continued to move higher amid a series of earnings reports from Swiss Life and Greggs.
The Stoxx 600 was up 0.7% at 1:20 p.m. London’s FTSE 100 is 0.65% higher, the French CAC 40 is up 0.64% and the DAX has gained nearly 0.6%. All major sectors are in the green.
— Sawdah Bhaimiya
Novo Nordisk up 3% as traders digest recent CEO shake-up
Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk was up 3.3% on Tuesday at 11:35 a.m. in London, as traders digested news that longtime CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen is stepping down as part of a leadership shake-up.
The drugmaker announced Friday that it’s searching for Jørgensen’s successor, as its obesity injection Wegovy faces tough competition from competitor Eli Lilly’s treatment, Zepbound. The new chief executive will be critical in bringing Novo Nordisk back in line with rivals in the weight loss drug market.
″[It’s] a gigantic surprise,” analysts at Denmark’s Sydbank said in a note about the announcement. “We admit that Novo Nordisk is currently facing challenges on the American market as a result of compounders’ copies of Wegovy, just as the share price has fallen more than 50% [since summer 2024].”
They added, “However, we also remind you that the share price has more than tripled during Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen’s tenure as CEO of Novo Nordisk.”
— Sawdah Bhaimiya, Karen Gilchrist
Lagercrantz annual profit rises 16% on the back of ‘build-and-buy’ acquisition strategy
Swedish tech solutions and electronics group Lagercrantz on Tuesday reported a 16% annual increase in profit, pinning its growth on a “build-and-buy” acquisition strategy.
The company saw its annual profit after taxes increase to 1.02 billion Swedish Krona ($105.5 million) compared to 877 million Swedish krona in the previous financial year. Revenue also grew 16% to 9.39 billion Swedish krona ($971.9 million).
Lagercrantz completed seven acquisitions during the financial year ranging from the acquiring of a protective cases manufacturing company CP Cases to tactical telescope mast system provider Mastsystem.
“The business concept is to acquire small and medium-sized leading technology companies and get them to grow and develop in a positive way – a so-called “buy-and-build” strategy,” Lagercrantz President and CEO Jörgen Wigh said in a statement.
“We consistently invest freed-up cash flows in new, well-functioning businesses with high returns and thereby finance our growth ourselves,” he added.
Wigh said the company’s goal is to grow total profit by at least 15% per year, which corresponds to the doubling of profit every five years, with one-third of profits generated via organic growth and two-thirds through acquisitions.
Wigh noted that despite geopolitical uncertainty, he remains optimistic about the company’s growth.
“The spring’s discussions around trade barriers are creating uncertainty, but despite this, the situation remains stable and positive for most of the Group’s businesses. Lagercrantz has a strong financial position, which creates resilience and the scope for further acquisitions,” Wigh added.
— Sawdah Bhaimiya
‘No major surprises’ in Vodafone results, say JPMorgan analysts
Shares of London-listed telecom operator Vodafone rose 1.75% at 10 a.m. London time after reporting 2025 full-year results that met analyst forecasts.
JPMorgan analysts said the company’s outlook for the 2026 financial year was “broadly in-line,” but cautioned that adjusted profits derived from Vodafone’s European operations were likely to be 3% below expectations, at the halfway point for the year.
The Wall Street bank’s analysts said Vodafone’s German operations had fallen short of expectations because it did not add enough broadband subscribers and did not capitalize on the fourth-quarter weakness of its competitor Deutsche Telekom.
“We expect consensus to lower German estimates but raise [rest of the world] forecasts, such that group forecasts overall are broadly unchanged,” said JPMorgan analyst Akhil Dattani.
— Ganesh Rao
EU facing ‘historical opportunity’ amid euro rally, says ECB’s Schnabel
The euro area became a safe haven in the aftermath of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs policies, Isabel Schnabel, a member of the European Central Bank’s Executive Board, said in a post on X on Tuesday.
That means the region is now “facing a historical opportunity to foster the international role of the euro.”
The euro has gained around 9% against the U.S. dollar so far this year, adding close to 4% since U.S. President Donald Trump announced his full list of reciprocal tariffs on April 2.
“A new European growth narrative is emerging, and there is momentum to embark on reforms,” Schnabel added in a consecutive post, suggesting that the European Union needs “to address the entire value chain: from the start-up phase through the growth phase, all the way to the exit stage within European capital markets.”
— Chloe Taylor
UBS shares dip following Bloomberg report on additional capital requirements
UBS shares were down 2.57% at 9:20 a.m. London time, following a Bloomberg News report saying the Swiss government is expected to require the banking giant to hold as much as an additional $25 billion in further loss-absorption capital. UBS will be mandated to increase its ability to cover 100% of capital at its foreign units at the forthcoming proposal that is expected to be revealed in early June, Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Switzerland’s Federal Department of Finance declined to comment on the report. UBS and the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority did not immediately respond to CNBC requests for comment.
This photograph shows a sign of the Credit Suisse reading in German “part of the UBS group” and displayed on a branch of Swiss banking giant UBS in Basel on May 5, 2025.
Fabrice Coffrini | AFP | Getty Images
UBS has been contending with the possibility of additional capital requirements since it absorbed collapsed Swiss rival Credit Suisse in 2023, arguing that further restrictions will affect its performance and competitiveness.
The Swiss government has expressed concerns that instability or an outright default at UBS — whose balance sheet is nearly double the country’s gross domestic product — could destabilize Switzerland’s financial system.
— Ruxandra Iordache
European stocks open higher
It’s 19 minutes after the opening bell, and the pan-European Stoxx 600 is trading up 0.2%.
Sectors are in mixed territory, with regional utilities stocks leading gains. London’s FTSE 100 is currently 0.2% higher, while the French CAC 40 has gained 0.1% and the DAX is little changed.
— Chloe Taylor
Vodafone posts 411 million euro loss in 2025, warns trade ‘uncertainties’ could affect earnings
A Vodafone store in central London on May 16, 2023.
Adrian Dennis | AFP | Getty Images
Telecom giant Vodafone reported a full-year operating loss of 411 million euros ($462.7 million) on Tuesday, citing impairment charges for Germany and Romania that came to 4.5 billion euros.
The previous year, the company posted a full-year operating profit of 3.7 billion euros.
The 2025 loss came as the company reported a 2% jump in full-year revenue, with total revenue coming in at 37.4 billion euros.
Analysts had been expecting total revenues of 38.1 billion euros, according to LSEG data.
Shares of Vodafone were 0.3% higher at 8:22 a.m. in London, paring losses seen immediately after the opening bell.
Looking ahead to 2026, Vodafone noted that its financial performance could be affected by “significant uncertainties” in the current macroeconomic climate, particularly relating to trade and foreign exchange rates.
The company expects adjusted EBITDAaL (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and after lease expenses) to fall in the range of 11 billion euros to 13 billion euros. In full-year 2025, Vodafone’s adjusted EBITDAaL came in at 11 billion euros, in line with its guidance.
— Chloe Taylor
Greggs plans new stores as ‘product innovation’ drives sales growth
A vegan sausage roll from a Greggs outlet in London in 2019.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
British bakery chain Greggs reported a 7.4% year-on-year jump in sales for the 20 weeks to May 17, with total sales for the period coming in at £784 million ($1.05 billion).
Like-for-like sales in company-managed stores were up by 2.9%, the firm added in its Tuesday trading update.
Greggs cited “product innovation” as a driver of the sales growth, noting that its over-ice drinks range and hot food options were performing well.
Over the reporting period, Greggs said it had opened a net 20 stores, bringing the total number up to 2,638. It said it expected net openings for the full year to be between 140 and 150 shops.
In a note to clients on Tuesday morning, Investec analyst Kate Calvert gave Greggs a “buy” rating and a target price of 2,670 pence. The stock closed at 1,999 pence on Monday.
“The shares trade on a forward PE of 14.5x, close to the bottom of its last 10 years’ PE forward valuation range, which does not reflect its growth opportunity or improving cash generation,” she said.
— Chloe Taylor
Swiss Life first-quarter income jumps
Insurer Swiss Life said in a trading update on Tuesday that its fee income rose 3% year on year in the first quarter of 2025, reaching 659 million Swiss francs ($791 million).
Its premiums also rose by 6% from the previous year to 7.9 billion Swiss francs.
The company said its rising fee income was mainly due to strong performance across its own and third-party products and services, as well as the strength of its Swiss Life Asset Managers division.
— Chloe Taylor
British pound extends gains
The British pound was 0.2% higher against the U.S. dollar at 6:29 a.m. in London on Tuesday, extending its gains from the previous day to trade at around $1.338.
On Monday, sterling rose 0.6% against the greenback after the U.K. and the EU reached a landmark agreement to reset their post-Brexit relations.
What to keep an eye out for today
British telecom giant Vodafone Group is expected to report its 2025 financial year results.
Analysts polled by FactSet expect full-year total sales to be £31.74 billion ($42.39 billion), with a pre-tax profit of £1.84 billion. Earnings per share is expected at 7.10 pence.
UBS analysts expect the merger with U.K. competitor Three will add £470 million to adjusted profits, but will detract from free cash flow as the company will be forced to invest upfront.
“While easing declines in German service revenues should be a tailwind for the shares, the prospect of further [free cash flow] downgrades will likely weigh on the stock near-term,” UBS analyst Polo Tang added in an earnings preview note to clients on May 12.
The stock currently trades at nearly 5.3% expected dividend yield. Analysts forecast a dividend of 3.78 pence per share, according to FactSet.
U.K. baker Greggs and Swiss Life are also set to report earnings on Tuesday.
— Ganesh Rao
Here are the opening calls
Here are Tuesday’s opening calls.
European bourses are expected to open higher Tuesday, with London’s FTSE expected to open up 43 points at 8,726, Germany’s DAX up 92 points at 23,998, the French CAC 40 up 41 points at 7,908 and Italy’s FTSE MIB up 92 points at 40,330, according to data from IG.
— Holly Ellyatt
