Freenet earns less + Bitcoin with a new ATH + AT&T continues to expand its fiber optic business + Alphabet strong due to praise for AI statements + Infineon and Nvidia cooperate

Freenet $FNTN (-13.35%)earns less

• Despite somewhat weaker business in the first quarter, mobile communications and TV provider Freenet believes it is on course to achieve its targets for the year.
• Thanks to additional subscribers, sales rose by just under two percent year-on-year to a good 604 million euros according to adjusted figures, as the MDax-listed company announced in Büdelsdorf on Wednesday evening.
• Profits actually fell - due to a tax credit in the previous year, but also due to higher advertising expenditure for the company's own mobile brands.
• As a result, the bottom line for Freenet shareholders was a profit of a good 57 million euros this time, compared to almost 70 million euros a year earlier according to adjusted figures.
• Operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (adjusted EBITDA) fell by just under 1 percent to a good 126 million euros.
• Analysts had expected higher sales and operating earnings.
• However, the Freenet Management Board is confident for the current year.
• Adjusted operating profit is expected to rise to between 520 and 540 million euros as planned.
• The news was initially rather poorly received on the financial market.
• In after-hours trading on the Tradegate platform in the evening, the Freenet share lost almost two percent compared to the Xetra closing price.

Bitcoin $BTC (+0.16%)with a new ATH

• Bitcoin reached almost USD 112,000 in early trading on Bitstamp as hopes for an easing of crypto regulation in the US increased.
• Since the election of Donald Trump as US president, Bitcoin has gained around 60 percent and currently has a total valuation of 2.2 trillion dollars.

AT&T $T (-0.29%)continues to expand its fiber optic business

• AT&T has reached an agreement to acquire the consumer fiber optics business of Lumen Technologies for USD 5.75 billion in cash, the companies announced on Wednesday.
• The deal further expands the wireless carrier's national fiber infrastructure.
• By purchasing the business, AT&T gains 1 million fiber customers and significantly expands its fiber network in Denver, Las Vegas, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland, Salt Lake City and Seattle, according to an AT&T statement.
• The sale of the consumer fiber assets, first reported by Reuters, will allow Lumen to focus on growing the company's enterprise fiber business, Chris Stansbury, Lumen's chief financial officer, told Reuters in an interview.
• The cash proceeds from the sale will help Lumen reduce its debt by $4.8 billion and improve cash flow by reducing interest expense by more than $300 million a year, according to Stansbury.

Alphabet $GOOGL (+2.27%)strong, due to praise for AI claims

• At Alphabet, a positive interpretation of the company's latest statements on artificial intelligence (AI) prevailed in the middle of the week.
• This was matched by a series of favorable analyst comments.
• On the second and final day of the company's annual developer conference, shares in Google's parent company rose by almost four percent to around 170 US dollars on Wednesday.
• The stock market heavyweight thus led the list of winners in the Nasdaq 100.
• At times, the shares reached their highest level in two and a half months at 173.14 dollars.
• The day before, the company's initial statements on the AI mega-trend had met with a negative response.
• Since the beginning of the year, however, the share price has still fallen by ten percent, placing it in the lower midfield of the technology-heavy selection index.
• The latter has risen by one percent in the same period.
• Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai had already announced on Tuesday that the company would bring its own products to market more quickly in order to keep pace with the new competition in the age of AI.
• After decades of dominance, the tech giant's important search engine business is coming under increasing pressure.
• However, it still maintains a market share of around 90 percent here - and is upgrading its search engine with AI functions.
• This should help the Group to strengthen its continued leading role in the search engine market, commented analyst Ingo Wermann from DZ Bank.
• His colleague Doug Anmuth from the US bank JPMorgan added that the developer conference had confirmed his assessment that Google is taking a leading role in many AI areas with its xxx Gemini.
• Jefferies expert Brent Thill titled his commentary on the developer conference "Year of Gemini".
• According to Justin Post from Bank of America, the topic of AI is not yet adequately priced in at Alphabet.

Infineon $IFX (+1.83%)and Nvidia $NVDA (+1.66%)cooperate

• Infineon and Nvidia are working together to develop the next generation of power supply systems for AI data centers.
• These systems are based on a new architecture with centralized power generation using 800V high-voltage DC, according to Infineon.
• The new high-voltage DC distribution ensures a safe and even more efficient power supply.
• According to Infineon, the company has set itself the goal of creating new standards in power supply for AI data centers.

Thursday: Stock market dates, economic data, quarterly figures

• ex-dividend of individual stocks
• Porsche AG € 2.31
• Puma SE € 0.61
• CTS Eventim AG & Co. KGaA € 1.66
• Takkt AG € 0.60
• ZEAL Network SE € 2.40
• Imperial Brands PLC £ 0.40

• Quarterly figures / company dates USA / Asia
• 05:00 Lenovo annual results
• 15:00 Home Depot AGM
• 19:00 DuPont AGM
• Untimed: Autodesk quarterly figures

• Quarterly figures / Company dates Europe
• 07:30 CTS Eventim | Assicurazioni Generali quarterly figures
• 08:00 Easyjet | BT Group quarterly figures
• 11:00 Amadeus Fire | SFC Energy AGM
• 13:45 Evonik Industries Capital Markets Day

• Economic data

08:45 FR: Business Climate Index May PROGNOSE: 99 previous: 99

09:15 FR: Purchasing Managers' Index/PMI non-manufacturing | 09:15 FR: Purchasing Managers' Index/PMI manufacturing (1st release) May FORECAST: 48.9 PREVIOUS: 48.7

09:30 DE: Purchasing Managers' Index/PMI non-manufacturing (1st release) May PROGNOSE: 49.2 previous: 49.0 Total Purchasing Managers' Index (1st release) FORECAST: 50.3 previous: 50.1

09:30 DE: Purchasing Managers' Index/PMI manufacturing (1st release) May FORECAST: 48.8 PREVIOUS: 48.4

10:00 DE: Ifo Business Climate Index May PROGNOSE: 87.5 PREVIOUS: 86.9 Situation assessment PROGNOSE: 86.9 PREVIOUS: 86.4 Business expectations PROGNOSE: 87.9 PREVIOUS: 87.4

10:00 EU: Purchasing Managers' Index/PMI non-manufacturing | Purchasing Managers' Index/PMI manufacturing Eurozone (1st release) May FORECAST: 49.3 PREVIOUS: 49.0 Total Purchasing Managers' Index (1st release) FORECAST: 50.8 PREVIOUS: 50.4

10:30 UK: Purchasing Managers' Index/PMI non-manufacturing (1st release) May PROGNOSE: 50.7 previous: 49, | Purchasing Managers' Index/PMI Manufacturing (1st release) May PROGNOSE: 46.7 previous: 45.4

14:30 US: Initial Jobless Claims (week) Forecast: 230,000 Previous: 229,000

15:00 BE: Business Climate Index May FORECAST: n/a previous: -14.7

15:45 US: Purchasing Managers' Index/PMI Services (1st release) May FORECAST: 50.6 PREV: 50.8

15:45 US: Purchasing Managers' Index/PMI Manufacturing (1st release) May FORECAST: 49.8 PREVIOUS: 50.2

16:00 US: NAR, Existing Home Sales April FORECAST: +2.7% yoy previous: -5.9% yoy

Slump in the DAX: investors are seeing red

There is a great deal of uncertainty on the stock markets at the moment, and this is being further fueled by US President Trump's aggressive tariff policy. On the last trading day of the week, investors have to accept massive losses in the Dax. Of the 40 companies listed in the leading German index, only two shares were able to record a positive closing price. The remaining 38 stocks experienced double-digit declines in some cases. Deutsche Bank was particularly affected $DBK (-0.21%)which fell by 9.77 percent, and MTU Aero Engines $MTX (+0.98%)whose shares fell by 8.11 percent. Deutsche Börse, Infineon $IFX (+1.83%) and Siemens Energy $SIE (-0.83%) also suffered losses of more than 7 percent. The Dax itself closed 4.95 percent lower at 20,641.72 points.

Trade war continues to weigh on the markets

Pressure on the markets remains high as uncertainty over trade relations between the USA and China persists. China's announcement that it would impose counter-tariffs on US goods has heightened fears of a full-scale trade war. At times on Friday, the Dax fell by up to 5.6 percent to 20,579 points. The MDax and EuroStoxx50 also suffered significant losses. There were significant declines in the banking sector in particular, which is heavily dependent on economic developments. Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank $CBK recorded losses of up to 12.1 and 9.3 percent respectively. Volatility on the markets is likely to remain high as long as the uncertainty surrounding customs policy persists.

Slight stability at Adidas and Beiersdorf

Despite the general downward trend, there were also some bright spots in the Dax. The shares of Adidas $ADS (-0.18%) were able to maintain their position as the lone frontrunner with a plus of 0.54 percent. Symrise $SY1 (+0.29%) and Beiersdorf $BEI (-0.64%) also remained relatively stable, with Symrise recording a minimal gain of 0.01%, while Beiersdorf fell by 0.37%. Investors are hoping that the negative spiral of tariffs and counter-tariffs can be halted through negotiations, but the uncertainties remain and could continue to weigh on the markets.

Sources:

https://www.n-tv.de/wirtschaft/Das-sind-die-groessten-Verlierer-im-Dax-article25682125.html

https://www.n-tv.de/wirtschaft/Dax-schmiert-ab-US-Zoelle-China-Zoelle-und-jetzt-article25681044.html

Total of 104% tariffs for China + Infineon buys + Stada postpones IPO + Redcare wants to issue new convertible bonds + Continental wants to become a pure tire manufacturer again

Total tariffs announced for China now amount to 104 percent

• In addition to the particularly high general special tariffs for China, US President Donald Trump has also ordered tariffs of 90 percent on low-value goods from the country - a tripling of the previously planned duties for these items.
• This is the result of a decree that the Republican signed on Tuesday evening (local time).
• Originally, Trump wanted to impose a 30 percent tariff on goods with a value of less than 800 dollars (around 724 euros) from May 2.
• Until now, such goods were exempt from tariffs.
• Thanks to this rule, Chinese online retailers such as Temu and Shein delivered their products to the USA on a large scale.
• In the decree, the President also enshrined the previously announced particularly high US special tariffs for China.
• He thus replaced the initially planned additional 34% with tariffs of 84%.
• This was Trump's response to the counter-tariffs of 34% announced by Beijing.
• The USA had initially imposed additional tariffs of 20 percent on goods from China since January.
• The total tariffs announced for China now amount to 104 percent.

Infineon $IFX (+1.83%)buys more

• Following the 2.5 billion dollar takeover of Marvell Technology's automotive Ethernet business, Infineon shares rose by 0.8 percent.
• The takeover offers Infineon the opportunity to expand its technology platform, wrote ING analyst Jan Frederik Slijkerman.
• In addition, the acquisition enables the semiconductor company to enter the automotive segment, offering higher value-added products while strengthening its platform.
• However, the transaction comes with a high price tag, he added.

Stada postpones IPO

• Stada
  is postponing its planned IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
• The pharmaceutical manufacturer cited the current market volatility, US tariffs and geopolitical uncertainties as reasons for the postponement.
• A new date for an IPO is currently being examined.

Online pharmacy Redcare $RDC (+0.99%)wants to issue new convertible bonds

• The online pharmacy Redcare wants to issue new convertible bonds and buy back old securities.
• The new bonds are to be sold in the amount of 300 million for a term of 7 years, as the company announced on Tuesday after the close of trading in Sevenum, the Netherlands.
• They will carry a coupon interest rate of 1.75 to 2.25 percent and the conversion premium is expected to be between 40 and 45 percent.
• The results of the allocation are expected to be announced on the same day.
• At the same time, Redcare (Shop Apotheke Europe) intends to buy back outstanding convertible bonds for 225 million euros, which mature in 2028 and have a coupon of 0 percent.
• The proceeds of the new issue are to be used for this and for "general corporate purposes".
• The news was not well received on the stock exchange.

Continental $CON (-1.36%)wants to become a pure tire manufacturer again

• The automotive supplier and tire manufacturer Continental, which is about to be split up, now also wants to separate from its plastics technology division Contitech.
• In a fundamental decision, the Executive Board has decided to make the Contitech division independent, the company announced.
• The exact details will be decided at a later date.
• As things stand, Continental considers the sale of Contitech to be the most likely option.
• Continental is already planning the spin-off of its automotive supplier division, which is to be listed on the stock exchange as an independent company.
• If the shareholders give their approval at the end of April, the IPO of the division will take place under a new name in September.
• A possible sale of Conntitech should only take place afterwards, it was said.
• Only the traditional tire business is to remain with Conti after the sale.
• The supplier will thus once again become a "focused global tire company", according to the press release.

Wednesday: Stock market dates, economic data, quarterly figures

• ex-dividend of individual stocks
• Vestas Wind Systems DKK 0.55
• Gap USD 0.17

• Quarterly figures / company dates USA / Asia
• 16:00 Spotify AGM

• Quarterly figures / company dates Europe
• 08:00 Leifheit Annual Report
• 10:00 Deutsche Telekom AGM
• 10:30 BNP Paribas Extraordinary General Meeting
• 11:00 Volkswagen 1Q sales figures | Telefonica AGM
• 14:15 Zurich Insurance AGM
• 18:30 Porsche AG Pre-Close Call 1Q

• Economic data

08:00 DE: Truck Toll Performance Index March

14:30 NL: ECB Director Cipollone, participation in panel on "Macro-financial stability policy in a fragmented world"

15:00 EU: ECB, APP/PEPP monthly report

16:00 US: US Trade Representative Greer, Congressional Hearing on "The Trump Administration's 2025 Trade Policy Agenda"

16:30 US: Crude oil inventory data (previous week) from the government Energy Information Administration (EIA)

17:00 US: Richmond Fed President Barkin, speech at Economic Club of Washington event

20:00 US: Minutes of FOMC meeting on 3/18/19 and economic forecast

No time given: US: "Reciprocal" US import tariffs come into force

$IFX (+1.83%)
$MRVL (+3.56%)

Infineon acquires Marvell's Automotive Ethernet business for 2.5 billion dollars to further strengthen its number one position in the automotive microcontroller market.

The new segment is expected to generate approx. 250 million in sales (approx. 1.5% of group sales) with a gross margin of 60%.

Infineon's main aim is to expand its position in software-driven vehicles and also to play a role in IoT and humanoid robots.

Infineon has further expanded its market position and now has 13.5% market share in the automotive semiconductors market (remains market leader and has risen in many countries) and 32% in the automotive microcontroller market (+3.6%, increasing the gap to 2nd place by 2.7%)

"We are the global number one in automotive semiconductors for the fifth consecutive year and we are equally successful across the world. For the first time in our history, Infineon is among the top two automotive semiconductor companies in every region," said Peter Schaefer, Executive Vice President and Chief Sales Officer Automotive at Infineon. "This global success is a token of our strong product portfolio, outstanding customer support and our dedication to the specific needs of our customers."

You rarely see buying prices like this 🤑

PS: On Sunday there will be another article on cyclical, anti-cyclical and crisis-proof stocks...

You can look forward to it 🤭

- 14 positive surprises

- Three negative surprises

- Dividend increases

- Dividend decreases

- Overview of all DAX stocks

Link:

https://shorturl.at/Tdnfw

$ALV (+0.47%)
$MUV2 (+0.4%)
$RHM (-0.59%)
$MBG (-0.07%)
$SAP (+0.92%)
$BMW (-0.45%)
$AIR (+0.28%)
$VOW (-0.88%)
$DBK (-0.21%)
$CBK (+2.17%)
$SIE (-0.83%)
$P911 (-3.76%)
$DTE (+0.32%)
$IFX (+1.83%)

In uncertain times, it is important to keep a watchlist so that you can pick up stable shares at bargain prices. I hope we go down a few more levels, another -20% would be nice, even if the short to medium-term price losses hurt.

I currently have almost 30 stocks on my watchlist, some of which are attractive in terms of price, while others are still far too high for me. I have not listed stocks that are already in my portfolio and that I would like to buy (in order of dividend amount):

Hercules Capital $HTGC (+0.39%) or Main Street Capital $MAIN (+0.12%)
Chevron $CVX (+0.24%)

Vinci SA $DG (+0.02%)
United Parcel Service $UPS (+1.55%)
3i Infrastructure $3IN (-1.57%)
Iron Mountain $IRM (+0.01%)
Micro Star International $MSS
Nextera Energy $NEE (-5.9%)
Partners Group $PGHN (-0.25%)
Itochu Shoji $8001 (-1.19%)
Canadian National Railway $CNR (+0.56%)
Svenska Cellulosa $SCA B (+0.2%)
VAT $VAT
Investor AB $IVSB
Assa Abloy $ASSA B (-1.22%)
Linde $LIN (+0.84%)
John Deere $DE (+0.93%)
Landstar Systems $LSTR (+0%)
Dover Corporation $DOV (+0.97%)
Alimentation Couche-Tard $ATD (-0.49%)
ASML $ASML (+0.51%)
Infineon Technologies $IFX (+1.83%)
Sherwin-Williams $SHW (+0.12%)
Tencent $700 (-0.51%)
Microsoft $MSFT (+0.7%)
S&P Global Inc. $SPGI (+0.33%) or Moody's Corp. $MCO (+0.17%)
Visa $V (+0.38%) or Mastercard $MA (+0.48%)
Ferrari $RACE (-0.66%)

Which stocks do you have on your watchlist?

#aktien
#watchlist
#crash
#stock
#market

$AIXA (+1.15%) Reports FY 2024

Sales: 633M vs 625M expected 🟢

EBIT: 131M vs 137M expected 🔴

Income: 106M vs 117M expected 🔴

Outlook for FY25:

Sales: 565M vs 566M expected 🟡

EBIT: 113M vs 121M expected 🔴

Outlook for Q1 FY25:

Sales: 100M vs 126M expected 🔴

The following things are mentioned:

• Competitive position and market shares in key sectors expanded 🟢
• Difficult environment 🔴
• Power electronics for AI (making the move here) $IFX (+1.83%) move) 🟢
• Record quarter with 227M sales 🟢
• Bookings have fallen by -7% to 596M, Q4 2023 to 2024 even by -23% 🔴
• Order backlog thus falls to 290M 🔴
• Weakening demand due to cutbacks in customer investments 🔴
• Decline in gross margin from 44% to 41% 🔴
• It is emphasized that a lot is now being invested in R&D to play the next cycle
• Reduction of the dividend to 15 cents (from 40 cents) is justified by the build-up of a cash position
• Gross margin to remain constant in the current FY2025 (41-42%) 🟡
• The balance sheet looks more solid, with less debt and a higher equity ratio 🟢
• Inventories have also been reduced, resulting in a positive cash flow 🟢

"We will use the current phase of market consolidation to optimally prepare for the next growth phase of the semiconductor cycle," says Dr. Felix Grawert, Chief Executive Officer of AIXTRON SE

"The year 2024 has developed significantly differently than originally expected. Nevertheless, we are continuing to invest consistently in our future. Our new innovation center will further strengthen our research and development activities. The focus of our activities in 2025 is now on strengthening profitability and rebuilding a strong cash position," says Dr. Christian Danninger, Chief Financial Officer of AIXTRON SE.

Conclusion:

The figures were pretty much as expected and the revenue outlook was also in line with expectations. However, profitability has suffered and will continue to do so next year. The difficult market environment was known. The dividend cut sounds sensible, as do the investment plans. However, the order backlog does not look so good, as the order backlog is only sufficient for half a year. However, the balance sheet and the reduction in inventories are positive. I don't really see the share price loss as justified. What do you think about the development and would you buy now? @Tenbagger2024 What are you doing with Aixtron?

Have you heard about the new chip factory in Dresden? The EU Commission has now approved a subsidy of 920 million euros for Infineon. $IFX (+1.83%) approved. This subsidy accounts for almost a fifth of the total investment required for construction.

The new factory will be connected to an existing Infineon plant and will enable the production of a wide range of semiconductors. According to the EU Commission, this will strengthen security of supply in Europe and promote technological independence. The aim is to significantly increase domestic chip production in the EU.

A total of around five billion euros has been earmarked for the expansion of the factory and production is scheduled to start in 2026. In this way, Infineon not only wants to increase its own competitiveness, but also contribute to Europe's technological autonomy.

What do you think of the development of the chip industry in Europe? Is this the right step into the future? 👍

Having already discussed the significance of the subsidy for Infineon's shares in the last article, in this article we want to look at the political background.

Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck has emphasized the importance of the Infineon project $IFX (+1.83%) project in Dresden. An investment of 3.4 billion euros will strengthen chip production in Germany and Europe. The European Commission has approved state funding of 920 million euros as part of the European Chips Act. 💰

Habeck sees this not only as an opportunity to reduce dependencies in microelectronics, but also as a sign that Germany is an attractive location for innovative technologies. The new 300 mm front-end production line, called MEGAFAB-DD, will enable Infineon to produce different technologies on the same machines without having to retool them at great expense.

What do you think of this project? Do you think that such investments can secure Germany's competitiveness in the long term? 📈