>>> What to look at today - 26th of March 2026


Stocks and bonds both edged lower and oil climbed as persistent Middle-East tensions and conflicting signals from the US and Iran about their ceasefire talks sapped risk sentiment. MSCI’s Asian share benchmark fell 0.9%, snapping a two-day gain, as elevated energy costs threatened to stoke inflation and crimp economic growth. Equity-index futures for the US and Europe both indicated modest losses. The MSCI All Country World Index headed for its first drop this week, indicating that earlier optimism may be fading as the US and Iran wrangle over talks with no end to war in sight. Brent crude rose 1.9% to about $104 a barrel, rebounding from Wednesday’s declines. Since then, the US insisted negotiations were ongoing, but Iran rejected outreach by President Donald Trump. Oil has stayed volatile this week, with losses typically followed by gains the following day. The higher crude prices showed up in the bond market with yields on the Treasury 10-year note rising two basis points to 4.35%. The benchmark yield has jumped about 40 basis points since the war began, reinforcing expectations that policymakers may keep interest rates elevated due to faster inflation. Bonds also dropped in Japan and Australia. Markets had been modestly optimistic this week as US efforts to end the conflict appeared to gain momentum, overshadowing reports that Iran had rejected a truce. Amid the mixed signals on negotiations, Washington ordered thousands of troops to the region, raising concern that Trump may be gearing up for the kind of risky ground invasion he once opposed. On Thursday, Israel said it completed a wave of strikes in Isfahan, Iran, targeting infrastructure in several areas. Trump has been pushing for talks with Iran in a bid to halt a conflict that’s approaching the four-week mark. The White House said the US has been in productive talks with Iran in the last three days and has compiled a plan stipulating the Islamic Republic dismantle its main nuclear facilities and use a reduced missile arsenal in self-defense only. But Tehran is signaling little willingness to compromise. A move by the US to start indirect talks is illogical and not viable at this stage, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. Amid all this, traders stayed focused on the Strait of Hormuz — a vital artery for Middle East oil flows — that remains effectively closed for ships. The Iranian parliament is working on a draft bill that would impose a fee on vessels seeking safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, the Fars news agency also reported. Meanwhile, BlackRock Inc. President Rob Kapito said investors may be underestimating the risks stemming from the Iran war, which are likely to weigh on growth and drive inflation higher even if the conflict ends soon.
In other corners of the market, shares in South Korea fell 2.3%. Asian memory and storage stocks tracked losses in US peers on concerns of lower demand, after Google researchers touted a new compression technique for large language models and vector search engines. Meanwhile, concerns over the conflict in the Middle East have rippled across Asia. South Korea has set up an emergency task force to prepare for adverse scenarios, Japan is reviewing its supply chain for petroleum-related products, and the Philippines has declared a national emergency. US After Hours NAVN +22% higher on earnings; MLKN -16.6%, WS -12.1% lower on earnings; NERV +9.7% on new data; GO +4.7% on CEO insider buy.

Nikkei -1.07% Hang Seng -2.01% CSI -1.14% Shanghai -1.03% Shenzen -1.37%

Eur$ 1.1562 CNH 6.9082 CNY 6.9044 JPY 159.46 GBP 1.3357 CHF 0.7920 RUB 81.0417 TRY 44.3690 WTI$ 92.09 +1.97% Gold 4,473 -1.69% BTC 70,294 -0.97% ETH 2,125 -1.86%

S&P -0.35% Nasdaq -0.37% EuroStoxx -0.66% FTSE -0. 20% Dax -0.84% SMI -0.37%

Macro :
- Iran War Shows BRICS Limits as India Pushed to Choose Sides
- Defense Supply Gap Seen Driving Investment as US Focus Shifts

Keep an eye on :
- AAD GY : Amadeus Fire Sees 2026 Revenue EU362M to EU394M
- BAS GY : BASF Raises Prices for Standard Amines Portfolio in Europe
- BAS GY : BASF Opens €10 Billion China Site as Iran War Stokes Turmoil
- BOL SS : Boliden: Garpenberg’s Production Seen ~30% of Capacity/Year, Boliden’s Garpenberg Mine Impact Worse Than Expected, RBC Says
- CADLR NO : Cadeler Follow-On Offering for Up to ~10% of Company: Terms
- CWR LN : Ceres Power FY Revenue Beats Estimates
- CSG NA : CSG NV FY Revenue Beats Estimates
- CWC GY : Cewe Stiftung Sees 2026 Revenue EU870M to EU900M, Est. EU892.8M
- DHER GY : Delivery Hero 2026 Adjusted Ebitda Forecast Misses Estimates
- DEZ GY : Deutz Sees 2026 Adjusted Ebit Margin 6.5% to 8%
- EUZ GY : Eckert & Ziegler Sees 2026 Adjusted Ebit About EU80M
- EDF FP : KKR, Clearway, LS Power Among Suitors for EDF’s US Assets: FT
- ERICB SS : Ericsson to Expand, Modernize SoftBank’s Core Network in Japan
- GAM SW : GAM Holding Assets Under Management CHF12.5B Vs. CHF16.3B Y/y
- HMB SS : H&M 1Q Operating Profit Beats Estimates
- HHFA GY : Hamburger Hafen Sees 2026 Ebit EU175M to EU195M
- HLAG GY : Hapag-Lloyd Sees 2026 Ebitda $1.1B to $3.1B, Est. $2.92B
- HEN3 GY : Henkel Is Said to Near Deal for Hair-Care Brand Olaplex
- JEF US : Jefferies 1Q EPS Misses Estimates
- KME IM : Apollo Provides €300M to KME to Buy Paragon’s Stake in Cunova
- SKB GY : Koenig & Bauer Sees 2026 Revenue at Prior Year Level
- KTN GY : Kontron FY Revenue Misses Estimates
- MRL SM : Merlin Properties Offers About 56.3m Shares, Terms Show, Spanish REIT Merlin Offers Shares to Fund Bet on AI Data Centers,Merlin Properties Offering Prices at EU13.64/Share
- BMPS IM : Paschi Strips Lovaglio of CEO Role After He Defied Board
- NDX1 GY : Nordex to equip 28-MW wind farm in Saxony-Anhalt
- NVDA US : Nvidia-Backed Startup Seeking to Counter Chinese AI Eyes $25 Billion Valuation -- WSJ
- ONON US : On’s Second CEO Change in a Year Could Indicate Bigger Issues at the Company - WWD
- PSM GY : ProSieben 4Q Sales Miss Estimates, ProSieben FY Sales EU3.68B
- PUIG SM : Puig, Estée Lauder Families Negotiate Stakes in Deal: Expansion
- QDT FP : Quadient FY Ebitda Misses Estimates
- RGTI US : Rigetti Plans $100 Million Investment in UK Quantum System
- SAGAA SS : Blackstone Sells Lisbon Portfolio to Sagax for About €90 Million
- SHA0 GY : BaFin Fined Schaeffler For Market Abuse Regulation Violation
- G24 GY : Scout24 2025 Dividend per Share Misses Estimates
- S92 GY : SMA Solar Maintains 2026 Sales Forecast
- SPIE FP : Spie to Buy SGS Industrial Services; No Terms
- TRI FP : Trigano 2Q Like-for-Like Sales +4.6%
- UCB BB : UCB Positive Opinion for New Zilbrysq Zilucoplan Pen in EU
- UN0 GY : Germany’s Uniper warns EU methane rules will hit Europe’s energy supplies - FT
- VOW GY : Volkswagen’s Skoda to Pull out of China This Year After Slump
- WAC GY : Wacker Neuson Sees 2026 Ebit Margin 6.5% to 7.5%
- WSU GY : Washtec FY Revenue Meets Estimates
- WEW GY : Westwing Group FY Revenue Meets Estimates; Westwing Sees 2026 Revenue EU470M to EU495M, Est. EU486.3M

>>> Europe : Brokers Upgrades & Downgrades - 26th of March 2026

>>> Up
* ABN Amro GDRs Raised to Market Perform at KBW; PT 33 euros
* Almirall Raised to Buy at JB Capital Markets; PT 14.80 euros
* ARM Holdings ADRs PT Raised to $200 from $165 at Barclays
* Bankinter Raised to Buy at Bestinver; PT 15.20 euros
* Chemometec Raised to Buy at SEB Equities; PT 400 kroner
* Close Brothers Raised to Buy at UBS; PT 555 pence
* Commerzbank Raised to Outperform at KBW; PT 39 euros
* Heidelberg Materials Raised to Outperform at Oddo BHF
* Hensoldt Raised to Buy at BofA; PT 88.50 euros
* ING Raised to Market Perform at KBW; PT 26 euros
* Leonardo Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank; PT 70 euros
* Nyfosa Raised to Buy at SEB Equities; PT 74 kronor
* Soitec Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley; PT 70 euros
* SSAB Raised to Buy at ABG; PT 85 kronor
* STMicro Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley; PT 36 euros
* Suominen Raised to Reduce at Inderes; PT 1.10 euros

>>> Down
* Nokia Cut to Hold at SEB Equities; PT 7.40 euros
* Redeia Cut to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley; PT 15 euros
* REN Cut to Underperform at RBC; PT 3.40 euros
* Saab Cut to Neutral at BofA; PT 709 kronor
* Sagax Price Target Cut to SEK 207 from SEK 212 by SEB
* Terna Cut to Sector Perform at RBC; PT 10 euros
* Warsaw Stock Exchange Cut to Reduce at Erste Group

>>> Initiation
* Baillie Gifford European Growth Trust Cut to Sell at Investec
* Bank of America Rated New Buy at Jefferies
* BRGE LN Rated New Hold at Investec
* Citigroup Rated New Buy at Jefferies
* Eqva ASA Rated New Buy at Arctic Securities; PT 4.10 kroner
* European Smaller Companies/The Rated New Buy at Investec
* HBX Group International Rated New Buy at Berenberg
* Intrum Rated New Neutral at SB1 Markets; PT 41 kronor
* JPMorgan European Discovery Trust PLC Rated New Buy at Investec
* JPMorgan Rated New Hold at Jefferies
* Montanaro European Smaller Cos. Trust Cut to Hold at Investec
* Polar Capital Tech Rated New Outperform at Peel Hunt
* Sentia Rated New Buy at SB1 Markets; PT 95 kroner
* Serica Rated New Neutral at SB1 Markets; PT 260 pence
* Systemair Rated New Buy at SB1 Markets; PT 94 kronor
* U.S. Bancorp Rated New Hold at Jefferies
* Van Lanschot Kempen GDRs Rated New Buy at William O'Neil
* Wells Fargo Rated New Buy at Jefferies

>>> Call
* Boliden’s Garpenberg Mine Impact Worse Than Expected, RBC Says
* HBX Group Gets Another Buy as Berenberg Sees Outsized Growth
* Redeia Lacks Catalysts, Cut to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley
* Schaeffler Gets Positive Catalyst Watch at Citi, PT Increased
* STMicro, Soitec Upgraded as Morgan Stanley Sees Optical AI Play

>>> Stoxx 600 Pre-Market Indications

  • Hensoldt (HAG TH) +2%
    • Hensoldt Raised to Buy at BofA; PT 88.50 euros
  • Legal & General (LGI TH) +1.8%
    • Watch Private Credit-Linked Stocks on Jefferies Results, Ares
  • Wienerberger (WIB TH) +1.4%
  • CSG NV (NW0 TH) +1.4%
  • Saab (SDV1 TH) -1.4%
    • Saab Cut to Neutral at BofA; PT 709 kronor
  • Thyssenkrupp (TKA TH) -1.4%
  • Brenntag (BNR TH) -1.5%
  • Frontline PLC (HF6 TH) -1.5%
  • Siemens Energy (ENR TH) -1.5%
    • Siemens Energy Calls, Sanofi Call Roll: EMEA Options Snapshot
  • Vodafone (VODI TH) -1.5%
  • CaixaBank (48CA TH) -1.7%
  • Aixtron (AIXA TH) -1.8%
  • Evolution (E3G1 TH) -2%
    • Evolution Downgraded to Sell from Neutral by Goldman Sachs
  • Boliden (BWJ TH) -7.9%
    • Boliden’s Garpenberg Mine Impact Worse Than Expected, RBC Says

>>> TradeGate Pre-Market Indications

DAX:
  • BASF (BAS TH) -1.1%
    • BASF Opens €10 Billion China Site as Iran War Stokes Turmoil
  • Deutsche Bank (DBK TH) -1.1%
  • Siemens Energy (ENR TH) -1.5%
MDAX:
  • Hensoldt (HAG TH) +1.8%
    • Hensoldt Raised to Buy at BofA; PT 88.50 euros
  • Thyssenkrupp (TKA TH) -1.2%
  • Aroundtown (AT1 TH) -1.3%
  • Salzgitter (SZG TH) -1.6%
  • Delivery Hero (DHER TH) -2.1%
    • Delivery Hero 2026 Adjusted Ebitda Forecast Misses Estimates
  • Deutz (DEZ TH) -2.4%
    • Deutz Sees 2026 Adjusted Ebit Margin 6.5% to 8%
SDAX:
  • Medios (ILM1 TH) +2.9%
  • SFC Energy (F3C TH) +1.6%
  • HelloFresh (HFG TH) -1.2%
  • Suedzucker (SZU TH) -1.8%
  • SMA Solar (S92 TH) -2.6%
    • SMA Solar Maintains 2026 Sales Forecast
  • Kontron (KTN TH) -7.2%
    • Kontron FY Revenue Misses Estimates

WWD : On’s Second CEO Change in a Year Could Indicate Bigger Issues at the Compa

On’s Second CEO Change in a Year Could Indicate Bigger Issues at the Company
Shares for On Holding fell more than 11 percent on Wednesday.

Shares of On Holding fell more than 11 percent by the end of trading on Wednesday after the Swiss company revealed its second top leadership change in a year.

In a surprise announcement, On revealed that Martin Hoffmann will step down as chief executive officer in May as part of a “planned hiatus” to pursue philanthropic interests. In turn, On cofounders David Allemann and Caspar Coppetti now will serve as co-CEOs and Scott Maguire will be promoted to president and chief operating officer.

On executives noted that the changes will not impact its 2026 guidance, which calls for net sales to grow by at least 23 percent on a constant currency basis for the full year. That implies reported net sales of at least 3.44 billion Swiss francs. The company also noted earlier this month in its most recent earnings report that it anticipates “continued elevated profitability” in 2026, with a full-year gross profit margin of at least 63 percent and an adjusted EBITDA margin between 18.5 percent and 19 percent.

But market watchers are skeptical of both the CEO change and other shifting trends, including a slowdown in the American business, the lack of a clear wholesale strategy and slipping DTC sales.

Jefferies’ equity analyst Randal Konik pointed to the departure of co-CEO Marc Maurer just one year ago as a bad sign. “The departure of two CEOs in a year is notable for a company that considers itself in the first inning of growth,” Konik wrote in a research note on Wednesday. “We see this as a reaction to [business] complexity rising and competitive pressure building. [The total addressable market] of On is not as big as the market thinks, so growth will slow, margins will compress, and the stock price will decline substantially.”

Konik also called out On’s slowdown in its Americas business and its direct-to-consumer channel as pause for concern.

“DTC slowdown may already be happening,” he wrote. “Moreover, paid search is rising, which may indicate the company is trying to drive new customer growth. Americas business is slowing too. USA in particular only up 13 percent in ’25, slowing roughly 1,300 basis points from last year’s trend. If USA goes negative in ’27, it doesn’t matter what growth occurs in China.”

As for William Trading analyst Sam Poser, the executive changes have led his firm to reduce its price target from $44 a share to $41 a share. The analyst suggested that On needs more work on its wholesale channel to succeed in the future.

“We remain concerned that On does not have the necessary ground game in place to understand and execute against the nuanced differences between and within the store base of its wholesale accounts,” Poser wrote in a research note. “As a result, many of On’s U.S. wholesale accounts are looking for alternatives as On’s segmentation and allocation strategies are based on what On hopes for, but not how the consumers are shopping.”

Poser added that he expects, and is beginning to see, deceleration of sell-through rates at athletic specialty retailers like Foot Locker and JD Sports, which will likely become greater, and more evident as Nike regains momentum at those retailers.

Konik agreed with this take as well, adding in his note that Nike’s big marketing and research and development budgets will make it harder for On to sustain its previous easy share gains in the years ahead.

“We expect On’s growth will moderate through ’26 and beyond, as the company faces tougher comparisons, rising competition and DTC and apparel benefits plateau,” Konik said. “Wholesale door expansion is slowing and On appears increasingly dependent on paid search to drive DTC traffic. Bottom line, we see parallels with brands such as K-Swiss or Puma — brands that, historically, have had a niche, then a star moment, then fade.”

For Jonathan Komp, senior research analyst at Baird Equity Research, he’s a bit more optimistic of On’s leadership changes — adding in a note that Maguire taking a larger role at the company is a “key positive” for On.

“In our interactions, we have been impressed by Maguire’s executive leadership background and expertise as a product-led operator, which we believe has brought an important fresh perspective to On’s executive leadership team,” Komp wrote.

The analyst added that Allemann and Coppetti taking on a larger role in the company is also a good thing.

“Both David Allemann and Caspar Coppetti were among On’s original cofounders and have been actively involved as executive co-chairmen — with Allemann especially focused on marketing [and] Coppetti on global sales historically — including in publicly facing roles with investors,” Komp added. “Accordingly, we view both as exceptionally positioned to lead On’s next chapter as co-CEOs.”

WSJ : Nvidia-Backed Startup Seeking to Counter Chinese AI Eyes $25 Billion Valua

Nvidia-Backed Startup Seeking to Counter Chinese AI Eyes $25 Billion Valuation
Reflection is one of several startups working alongside Nvidia to build powerful, freely available ‘open-source’ AI models

Reflection, a startup backed by chip giant Nvidia NVDA 1.99%increase; green up pointing triangle that is leading an effort to create freely available U.S. AI systems, is in talks to raise $2.5 billion at a valuation of $25 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

The company is one of a handful of Nvidia-linked startups that are seeking to build a network of “open source” AI models, which businesses, labs and universities can use and repurpose according to their needs.

The deal would add firepower to Reflection, which is central to Nvidia’s efforts to create an open-source ecosystem that can run on its chips and counter the growing and increasingly sophisticated offerings in China. A spokesperson for Reflection declined to comment.

JPMorgan Chase is in talks to participate in the round through its newly formed Security and Resiliency Initiative, which was created in December to back U.S. companies in industries critical to the economy and national security, the people said. The bank said at the time that it planned to invest up to $10 billion into venture-backed startups through the initiative.

Disruptive, an earlier investor in Reflection, is also expected to invest.

Reflection has developed close ties with Nvidia, which invested about $800 million in a previous funding round that valued the young startup, which has yet to generate meaningful revenue, at $8 billion, the Journal has reported.

The $25 billion valuation for Reflection represents its value before the $2.5 billion investment, the people said.

The deal is part of a flurry of investments in so-called neolabs, which are giving priority to long-term research and building new AI models over short-term profits.

Nvidia has been introducing Reflection to potential customers. That includes foreign governments that plan to develop homegrown AI infrastructure that gives them power over how the technology is used.

Reflection recently committed several billion dollars to build models customized for the Korean language in a deal with South Korean conglomerate Shinsegae Group. Thousands of Nvidia chips will power the data center supporting the project. Reflection plans to make more deals like this one, with the goal of becoming the open model used by sovereign clouds in U.S. allies around the world, the people familiar with the matter said. AI boosters have taken to calling such systems “sovereign AI.”

Investors have described Reflection as the “DeepSeek of the West”—an alternative to the open-source models offered by Chinese companies. U.S. AI labs haven’t given priority to open-source models, creating concerns that other countries will end up using Chinese technology instead.

“Open models are Trojan horses for the infrastructure they bring with them,” Reflection Chief Executive Misha Laskin said in an interview earlier this month.

Laskin, a Russian-Israeli researcher who previously worked for Google’s DeepMind, started the company in 2024. It has raised more than $2 billion to date, not including the latest financing, from investors including 1789 Capital, where Donald Trump Jr. is a partner, as well as Lightspeed Venture Partners, CRV and Sequoia Capital.

Reflection is also part of a new consortium of startups, called the Nemotron Coalition, that Nvidia has assembled to develop open AI models. Other members include AI startups Cursor and Thinking Machines Lab.

The Financial Times earlier reported some details of the investment.

FT : Bidders circle as EDF’s renewable assets in the US go on sale

Bidders circle as EDF’s renewable assets in the US go on sale
KKR, Clearway Energy and LS Power among groups interested in acquiring French group’s American clean energy business

KKR, Clearway Energy Group and LS Power are circling EDF’s North American renewable energy business as the state-owned French power group sells assets to cut debt and ready a rollout of new nuclear plants. 

The private equity firm, clean power developer and independent energy producer are among up to five suitors after a first round of nonbinding bids for the assets worth roughly €4bn, according to people familiar with the matter.

The sale of EDF Power Solutions is the most advanced part of a drive by the French group to raise funds and sell off assets under chief executive Bernard Fontana, who was appointed in May last year to steer the sprawling nuclear operator and energy distributor through an ambitious phase of new reactor constructions in Europe.

KKR has been a big investor in renewable energy in recent years, taking stakes in portfolios of solar farms or backing offshore wind projects from South Korea to the UK.

Clearway, jointly owned by France’s TotalEnergies and BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners, has a portfolio of clean energy and gas assets across the US, while LS Power is focused on electricity generation, transmission and infrastructure.

The sale of the EDF division, which has roughly 26 gigawatts of developed projects in wind, solar and energy storage across the US, Canada and Mexico, comes amid a race to secure power sources in the US to fuel data centres.

Fontana has outlined €1bn a year in cost savings to 2030 and is considering further disposals to cut the group’s debt, which stood at €51.5bn debt at the end 2025.

That was €2.8bn lower than a year earlier but EDF’s net debt ratio was almost three times operating profits last year, compared with 1.5 times a year earlier, after a fall in earnings.

EDF has estimated it needs to spend €25bn a year on the maintenance of its existing nuclear reactors — its French fleet of 57 is Europe’s largest — and preparing the way for at least six new ones in France.

Those will cost about €73bn, in 2020 prices, and will be largely financed by a state loan. But EDF still needs to hire thousands of people and stump up preparatory costs. 

Fontana has also confirmed plans to try to open up the capital of EDF’s Italian business Edison, through a listing or by bringing in an investor.

A plan to sell Dalkia, an EDF unit focused on energy efficiency services and alternative sources of power such as biomass, is on the backburner, according to several people familiar with the French group’s plans.

The division could be worth €3bn-€4bn but its sale has been complicated because the French government is not keen for EDF to start selling off assets at home ahead of a presidential election in 2027, one of the people added.

EDF, LS Power, KKR and Clearway all declined to comment. 

FT : Ferrari flies personalised supercars to super-rich Middle East buyers

Ferrari flies personalised supercars to super-rich Middle East buyers
Premium manufacturers keep delivering to lucrative customers despite sea freight disruption

Premium carmakers are delivering hyper-personalised supercars by air to their top Middle Eastern customers as the war in Iran threatens demand in one of their most lucrative markets.

Ferrari last week halted deliveries of most vehicles to the Gulf as car carriers remained unable to enter the region due to restrictions imposed by Iran on the Strait of Hormuz.

However, the Italian manufacturer said it was making a “few deliveries via airplane”. Ferrari has also told investors that its vehicles could be shipped to clients outside the region if requested.

Even before the US and Israeli first struck Iran, some super-wealthy customers paid for air freighting to take delivery of their limited-edition, bespoke luxury models more quickly. Air freight had been about three times more expensive than shipping.

Logistics and car industry executives said the price hikes caused by the conflict meant delivering a luxury vehicle by air could now cost four to five times more than by sea — a difference eager buyers were still willing to pay.

The average cost to fly a kilogramme of cargo from Europe to the Middle East has increased by two-thirds since the start of the conflict to $2.96, according to Freightos, a logistics information service. The cost of flying a luxury vehicle would be even higher.

“It just depends on whether the manufacturers are cutting into their own margin because of their relationship with the client, or whether the client has offered to move it on their own dime,” said Ian Arroyo, chief strategy officer at Freightos.

Bentley said it was using existing inventory in the region to fulfil orders placed before the conflict began and was not delivering by air.

BMW-owned Rolls-Royce said it was doing “everything possible” to meet customer demand but declined to provide details.

“It’s a very important region for us,” Chris Brownridge, CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars said, adding that he was in daily contact with his Middle Eastern customers. “Many of our clients who have vehicles expected would like them to be delivered and we’re working as best we can with the logistics to facilitate that delivery.” 

Logistics companies said small numbers of vehicles could also be transported using shipping containers rather than car carriers, although that method would also be costly and time consuming.

The US and China are bigger markets than the Middle East in terms of vehicle volume, but the region is crucial for luxury carmakers because its high-net-worth individuals are willing to spend large amounts to make their vehicles highly personalised. Personalisation accounts for about a fifth of Ferrari’s automotive revenue. 

Earlier this month, Volkswagen also warned that the war in the Middle East would hurt sales of its luxury vehicles, saying the region was “significant” for its premium brands that include Porsche, Lamborghini and Audi.

While most manufacturers said existing orders had not been cancelled, some industry executives said new orders were not being placed. One European carmaker said it was suspending plans to open new dealerships in Saudi Arabia, while customer visits to its showroom in Abu Dubai had dropped.

“It’s gone very, very quiet,” said the chief executive of the European manufacturer. If the conflict was prolonged, he said the company may need to reallocate some of the vehicles earmarked for the Middle East to countries such as Japan. 

“We are selling the most expensive version of the most expensive cars in the Middle East,” he added. “It’s hard to get the same return to the business by placing vehicles that would have been sold in the Middle East elsewhere.” 

Bentley boss Frank-Steffen Walliser also said the Middle East represented “the best market in the world” in terms of profit contribution. “We are very concerned about the situation. For sure, people in the Middle East have other thoughts than looking for a new Bentley at the moment.” 

The disruption comes at a particularly challenging period for the sector, with higher tariffs in the US and a sharp sales slowdown in China. Many luxury brands had hoped that growth in the Middle East would offset some of the declines in their key markets, if not entirely.

“There is just nowhere to go,” said Andy Palmer, the former CEO of Aston Martin. “I’ve not seen for an awfully long time . . . where every market is dire.”

>>> US After Hours Summary: NAVN +22% higher on earnings; MLKN -16.6%, WS -12.1%

After Hours Summary: NAVN +22% higher on earnings; MLKN -16.6%, WS -12.1% lower on earnings; NERV +9.7% on new data; GO +4.7% on CEO insider buy

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: NAVN +22%, PGEN +19.4%, KRMN +1%

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: NERV +9.7% (presents data from its safety trial evaluating roluperidone), GO +4.7% (CEO bought 112,808 shares worth ~$717K), HNRG +4.6% (secures record capacity pricing in 3-yr agreement), WKHS +2.5% (announces availability of new W56 Step Van model), NEXT +2.2% (Director bought 71,500 worth ~$506K), ENS +1.5% (strategic manufacturing restructuring), FLY +1.3% (supported LMT in two space exercises), BTG +1.2% (results from exploration program at Back River), DRVN +0.7% (activist hedge fund pushes co to explore sale or breakup, according to WSJ), EBS +0.5% (secures $60+ mln in new contract award with US govt), RGTI +0.1% (to invest up to $100 mln in the UK to accelerate quantum computing development)

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: MLKN -16.6%, WS -12.1%, DERM -7.8%, EPAC -5.9%, CELC -2.5%, JBS -0.6%

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: CBUS -20.9% (stock offering), STM -0.7% (stock offering by selling shareholder), TTD -0.1% (names Reddit CFO to its board of directors), CRWD -0.1% (CRWD and IBM expand strategic collaboration to accelerate agentic SOC transformation), IBM -0.1% (CRWD and IBM expand strategic collaboration to accelerate agentic SOC transformation)