{"id":27653,"date":"2026-08-11T10:34:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T08:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nordeq.se\/juli-foretagens-vinster-ater-i-fokus\/"},"modified":"2026-08-11T16:58:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T14:58:41","slug":"juli-foretagens-vinster-ater-i-fokus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nordeq.se\/en\/juli-foretagens-vinster-ater-i-fokus\/","title":{"rendered":"Monthly News – July"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Corporate profits back in the spotlight \u2013 historically strong order intake and revised-up profit forecasts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the positive performance during the first half of the year, global equity markets were stable or on an upward trend. The MSCI World Index rose by 0.18 %, the US S&P 500 by 0.03 %, the European STOXX Europe 600 by 1.16 %, whilst the Swedish OMXS30 increased by 1.36 %.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At a time when short-term news often dominates investors\u2019 attention, the earnings season serves as a reminder that companies\u2019 long-term profit growth remains the most important driver of value creation in the stock market over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

July was characterised by an earnings season that, on the whole, exceeded market expectations. For the second quarter of 2026, 61 % of companies in the S&P 500 have reported their results. Of these, 86 % beat earnings expectations and 77 % beat revenue expectations. Profits have so far risen by around 47.4 % compared with the same quarter last year, which, if confirmed, would be the highest growth since the recovery from the pandemic in the second quarter of 2021 (FactSet). Corporate results, management comments and analysts\u2019 upwardly revised profit forecasts reinforced the picture of gradually improving global demand. The earnings season shows that this year\u2019s stock market rally has primarily been driven by improved profit prospects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite strong share price performance, the technology sector is currently trading close to its average valuation range over the past twenty years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This trend shows that companies\u2019 profit growth has justified the share price rises, whilst valuations have risen at a considerably more moderate pace than during previous bull markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the Stockholm Stock Exchange, which largely comprises global industrial companies, the earnings season provides clear signals regarding the economic situation and global demand. A compilation of 27 companies reporting order intake, for which analyst estimates were available, shows that aggregate order growth stands at 33 % compared with the previous year, which is 10 percentage points higher than expected. This is the highest level of order intake since the recovery from the pandemic in the second quarter of 2021, although the comparative figures were heavily influenced by the abnormally low levels of the previous year. Investment in electrification, automation, digitalisation, energy and artificial intelligence continues to develop positively and now encompasses significantly more sectors than just technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following several years in which a limited number of large technology companies dominated returns, the trend in 2026 has encompassed an increasing number of sectors and companies. Historically, broader market trends have often created better conditions for active management, as the differences between individual companies then take on greater significance than the general market trend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The market outlook points to a continued strong investment cycle, a boost in productivity in the US economy and stable global growth, supported by corporate reports and economic data. So far this year, companies\u2019 fundamental performance has been more significant for the equity market than short-term uncertainties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Federal Reserve left its key interest rate unchanged and emphasised that future decisions will continue to depend on incoming economic data. The European Central Bank adopted a wait-and-see approach following the interest rate rise in June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The geopolitical situation affected energy prices during the month, but at the same time, developments over the year show that companies with strong market positions and sustainable profitability have been well placed to cope with a changing environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our investment model, Outside View, is based on analysing individual events from a historical and global perspective. By identifying the long-term drivers behind companies\u2019 value creation, we seek to distinguish between temporary market movements and changes that will affect companies\u2019 competitiveness for many years to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 29 June, our Swedish fund, NE Sweden, was featured on Di-TV after ranking first amongst around 100 Swedish funds in terms of returns since the start of the year.<\/strong> The feature presented the fund\u2019s investment philosophy, its largest holdings and the long-term trends that characterise our investment work. We view this recognition as confirmation of the value of a disciplined and selective selection of high-quality companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As at the end of June 2026, our Nordic fund, NE Strategy, has received the highest rating, 5 out of 5, for Consistent Return over 5 years, 10 years and since inception. The fund has also received the highest rating, 5 out of 5, for Total Return over 3 years, 5 years and since inception.<\/strong> Total Return and Consistent Return are rating categories within the LSEG Lipper Leaders Rating System and are based on the fund\u2019s historical risk-adjusted returns relative to comparable funds. In 2024, the fund was also named Europe\u2019s best Nordic fund over a five-year period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

History shows that major technological investment cycles recur at regular intervals. The railway, electricity, the internet and today\u2019s developments in artificial intelligence have all created significant investment opportunities. At the same time, long-term returns have primarily been generated by companies that have succeeded in translating technological advances into sustained profit growth, cash flows and increasing market shares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the course of the year, we have noted increased interest in funds with a clear management philosophy, a long track record and a consistent investment process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an investment environment where interest rates, geopolitics and technological developments continue to influence the markets, confidence in the management model is particularly important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our funds remain focused on companies with strong market positions, high profitability and a good ability to capitalise on long-term structural trends such as digitalisation, automation, electrification and artificial intelligence. The historically strong order intake during the second quarter across several industrial segments, the progressively revised-up profit forecasts and companies\u2019 positive outlooks reinforce our assessment that the conditions for continued strong long-term profit growth are favourable. In an environment where companies\u2019 fundamentals are once again taking centre stage, we believe that an active and selective selection of high-quality companies will continue to be crucial for returns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fact sheets and information brochures are available on request or at www.nordeq.se<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Corporate profits back in the spotlight \u2013 historically strong order intake and revised-up profit forecasts Following the positive performance during the first half of the year, global equity markets were stable or on an upward trend. The MSCI World Index rose by 0.18 %, the US S&P 500 by 0.03 %, the European STOXX Europe […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":27693,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[163,57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-highlights","category-news","entry","has-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nordeq.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nordeq.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nordeq.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nordeq.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nordeq.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27653"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nordeq.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27653\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nordeq.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nordeq.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nordeq.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nordeq.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}