The Swiss food group Nestlé ($NESN (-0,54%) ) has dismissed CEO Laurent Freixe with immediate effect. The move follows an investigation into an undisclosed "romantic relationship" between Freixe and a female employee who reported directly to him, the company announced in Vevey.

The Board of Directors saw Freixe's behavior as a violation of the Nestlé Code of Conduct and internal guidelines, according to the statement. "This was a necessary decision," said Nestlé Chairman Paul Bulcke. He thanked Freixe for his many years of service to Nestlé.

The Board of Directors appointed Nespresso boss Philipp Navratil as the new CEO. The Board emphasized that the strategic direction would remain unchanged, but that the aim was to increase the pace of growth and efficiency.

Navratil has been with Nestlé for 24 years. He began his career with the company in 2001 in Internal Audit. A year ago, he was appointed head of Nespresso. Navratil has been a member of the Executive Board since the beginning of January.

Nestlé does not come to rest

For Nestlé, this is the next abrupt change of leadership in a comparatively short space of time. Freixe only took the helm at Nestlé in September 2024, replacing the German manager and former Fresenius ($FRE (-0,78%)) CEO Mark Schneider at the time.

With around 277,000 employees, Nestlé is the largest food company in the world. According to its own figures, the company sells more than 2,000 brands in 185 countries and has a market capitalization of more than 200 billion euros. The share price has performed poorly in recent years, prompting criticism from investors.

The Fed's interest rate decision + AMD's quarterly figures + Siemens Healthineers grows strongly + Fresenius also surprises at the start of the year + BMW expects tariff cuts + Quarterly figures from the USA in brief

The Fed's interest rate decision

• Investors are now looking ahead to the next highlight of political significance today, Wednesday: the Fed's interest rate decision.
• Observers are eager to see how the Fed will react to US President Donald Trump's demands to cut interest rates.
• It is expected to resist the political pressure and not adjust its key interest rates.
• In view of Trump's erratic tariff policy, the environment for monetary policy is very uncertain.

Quarterly figures from AMD $AMD (-7,23%)

• Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) reported non-GAAP earnings of $0.96 per diluted share for the first quarter on Tuesday, up from $0.62 a year earlier.
• Analysts polled by FactSet had expected $0.94.
• Revenue for the quarter ended March 29 was $7.44 billion, up from $5.47 billion a year earlier.
• Analysts had expected 7.12 billion US dollars.
• For the second quarter, the chip manufacturer expects sales of between 7.1 and 7.7 billion US dollars.
• Analysts are forecasting 7.22 billion US dollars.
• Advanced Micro shares rose by almost 5% after the close of trading.

Siemens Healthineers $SHL (-0,1%)grows strongly

• The medical technology group Siemens Healthineers grew more strongly than expected in the second quarter (to the end of March).
• Sales rose by 8.7 percent to 5.9 billion euros, as the company announced in Erlangen on Wednesday.
• On a comparable basis, revenue rose by 6.8 percent.
• This excludes currency and portfolio effects.
• The company benefited from good business in imaging and the US cancer specialist Varian.
• Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) improved by almost a fifth to 982 million euros.
• Savings from the restructuring of the diagnostics business also had a positive impact here.
• For fiscal year 2024/25, however, Siemens Healthineers was more cautious about earnings development due to the US tariffs.
• The company now expects adjusted earnings per share of between €2.20 and €2.50.
• Previously, the Group had forecast the lower end at 2.35 euros per share.
• Healthineers continues to expect comparable sales growth of five to six percent.

Fresenius $FRE (-0,78%)also surprises at the start of the year

• The hospital and pharmaceuticals group Fresenius continued to grow at the start of the year and earned a surprisingly high amount.
• "We have started the year 2025 with an excellent business development and confirm the outlook for the full year," said Group CEO Michael Sen in Bad Homburg on Wednesday.
• Adjusted for one-off effects, turnover climbed by seven percent to 5.63 billion euros in the first quarter compared to the previous year, according to the DAX-listed company.
• Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (adjusted EBIT) increased by four percent to 654 million euros.
• Although the corresponding margin fell from 11.9 to 11.6 percent, Fresenius performed better than analysts had expected on average.
• The ongoing savings program and the core business with the flourishing generics provider Kabi once again provided a tailwind.
• In contrast, the hospital division Helios recorded a decline in earnings despite sales growth due to the loss of state energy subsidies in Germany.
• Group-wide, the result from continuing operations - i.e. excluding Fresenius Medical Care (FMC) - rose by 12 percent to 416 million euros.

BMW $BMW (-0,07%)expects tariff reductions

• The car manufacturer BMW is expecting tariff reductions in the summer and is therefore maintaining its outlook for the year.
• The tariff increases are likely to be only temporary in some cases and there should be reductions in tariffs from July 2025, the DAX-listed company announced in Munich on Wednesday.
• The current forecast takes into account tariff increases that have already come into force by March 12 as well as countermeasures taken by the company.
• "Due to the volatile development and the ongoing negotiations, the expected effects of customs duties can still only be depicted using assumptions," the Group said.
• BMW performed better than feared in the first quarter.
• Earnings before interest and taxes slipped by 22.5 percent to 3.14 billion euros due to the weakness in China, while sales fell by 7.8 percent.
• In the Automotive division, the operating margin (EBIT) fell by 1.9 percentage points to 6.9 percent.
• However, this was better than analysts' average estimates.
• At the bottom line, the surplus fell by a good quarter to 2.17 billion euros.

Quarterly figures from the USA in a nutshell

• Super Micro Computer Inc. $SMCI (-1,04%)exceeded analysts' estimates of USD 0.30 with earnings per share of USD 0.31 in the third quarter.
• Sales of USD 4.6 billion below expectations of USD 5.05 billion.

• Electronic Arts Inc. $EA (+0,4%)misses analysts' estimates of USD 1.08 with earnings per share of USD 0.98 in the fourth quarter.
• Sales of USD 1.9 billion above expectations of USD 1.55 billion.

• Corsair Gaming Inc. registered shares DL -.0001 $CRSR (-2,08%)misses analysts' estimates of USD 0.11 with earnings per share of USD 0.09 in the first quarter. Revenue of USD 396.8 million above expectations of USD 366.2 million.

Wednesday: Stock market dates, economic data, quarterly figures

• ex-dividend of individual stocks
• Deutsche Lufthansa EUR 0.30
• EssilorLuxottica EUR 3.95

• Quarterly figures / company dates USA / Asia
• 12:30 Walt Disney quarterly figures
• 13:00 Uber Technologies quarterly figures
• 15:00 Philip Morris | Pepsico AGM
• 22:05 Qiagen | Adtran | Avis Budget quarterly figures
• Untimed: Sandisk quarterly figures

• Quarterly figures / Company dates Europe
• 07:00 Fresenius | Siemens Healthineers | Vonovia | Klöckner & Co | Aker ASA
• 07:30 Telecom Italia | Auto1 | BMW | Hensoldt | Novo Nordisk quarterly figures
• 07:30 Siemens Healthineers | Vonovia PK
• 07:45 Jungheinrich | Ahold Delhaize quarterly figures
• 08:00 Schaeffler | Flutter Entertainment Quarterly figures
• 08:30 Fresenius | BMW PK | Siemens Healthineers Analyst Conference
• 09:00 Endesa quarterly figures
• 10:00 Fuchs | Mercedes-Benz Group | Wacker Chemie | Grenke AGM
• 10:00 Klöckner & Co PK | Schaeffler Analyst Conference
• 10:15 BMW Analyst Conference
• 13:00 Novo Nordisk Analyst Conference
• 14:00 Auto1 Earnings Call
• 22:05 ARM Holding Quarterly Results

• Economic data

08:00 DE: New orders March seasonally adjusted FORECAST: +1.0% yoy previous: 0.0% yoy | Manufacturing turnover March

11:00 EU: Retail Sales March Eurozone PROGNOSE: +0.1% yoy previous: +0.3% yoy

20:00 US: Fed, outcome of FOMC meeting Fed funds target rate FORECAST: 4.25% to 4.50% previously: 4.25% to 4.50%

No time given: PO: ECB annual meeting

$FRE (-0,78%) Fresenius will propose a dividend of €1.00 per share for the financial year 2024

(https://www.fresenius.com/de/dividende)

At 53 billion euros, the 40 DAX companies are likely to pay out almost one billion euros more this year than a year ago - more than ever before.

The reason for the strong development is high consolidated profits and unexpectedly rising dividends at a good dozen companies, including $ALV (-0,75%) Allianz, $MUV2 (-1,37%) Munich Re and $RHM (+1,29%) Rheinmetall.

At 109 billion euros net profit, the DAX companies are likely to have earned as much in 2024 as in the previous year, according to Handelsblatt calculations. Slump in earnings for the three car manufacturers $BMW (-0,07%) BMW, $MBG (-0,19%) Mercedes and $VOW (+0,69%) VW will be offset by companies in other sectors, in particular the major insurers Allianz, Munich Re and $HNR1 (-1,21%) Hannover Re, but also $DTE (-0,27%) Deutsche Telekom, $HEN (+0,74%) Henkel and $EOAN (+1,49%) Eon.

More than a dozen DAX companies have announced higher dividends than the market had previously expected. For example $ALV (-0,75%) 15.40 euros per share after 13.80 euros in the previous year. Analysts had forecast just under 15 euros. The insurer is thus distributing just under six billion euros. This is a record in the German corporate landscape.

The biggest jump is at $MUV2 (-1,37%) Munich Re: The reinsurer is increasing its dividend by five euros per share to 20 euros.

The two healthcare specialists $FRE (-0,78%) Fresenius and $FME (+0,63%) Fresenius Medical Care, the brand manufacturer $HEN (+0,74%) Henkel, the automotive supplier $BTR Continental, the $CBK (-0,84%) Commerzbank, $RHM (+1,29%) Rheinmetall and $HNR1 (-1,21%) Hannover Re have raised their dividends, in some cases significantly more than expected. This is also due to rising profits, which justify a higher profit share for shareholders.

The largest dividend payers in the DAX are

• $ALV (-0,75%)
• 
  $DTE (-0,27%)
• 
  $MBG (-0,19%)
• 
  $SIE (-1,85%)
• 
  $VOW (+0,69%)

Like the car manufacturers, a number of companies in the DAX remain below the usual international payout ratios, including the family-run groups $BEI (-1%) Beiersdorf and $MRK (+0,78%) Merck. They pass on less than 30 percent of their profits. This leaves enough of a buffer so that dividends do not have to be reduced immediately in more difficult times.

Germany's most valuable group, $SAP (-1,81%) SAP, with a payout ratio of 85%, is pushing the limit: net profit of 3.1 billion euros in the past year compares with a total dividend payout of 2.7 billion euros. However, the profit was burdened by a one-off effect.

So far, a total of 20 companies have increased their dividends, with only $BAS (-0,2%) BASF and the three car manufacturers. Four companies have yet to do so: $RWE (+0,83%) RWE, $SY1 (+1,39%) Symrise and $VNA (+1,86%) Vonovia are likely to increase their dividends, while analysts expect $PAH3 (+1,87%) analysts expect a reduction at Porsche Holding.

Source (excerpt) & chart: Handelsblatt, 15.03.25

As was announced on Monday evening, the healthcare group Fresenius $FRE (-0,78%) intends to reduce its stake in the dialysis subsidiary Fresenius Medical Care $FME (+0,63%) (FMC) in the dialysis subsidiary. Fresenius currently still holds around 32.2 percent. In future, the stake is to be reduced to 25 percent plus one share.

Fresenius announced that it intends to sell approximately 10.5 million shares in Fresenius Medical Care by way of an accelerated bookbuilding process. This corresponds to approximately 3.6 percent of FMC's issued share capital. Fresenius describes the transaction as a further strategic milestone on the way to a more focused and stronger company. A strengthened balance sheet and further deleveraging will increase strategic flexibility and improve the financial profile.

Analysts have recently been positive about Fresenius shares. The US bank JPMorgan praised the company's continued good progress. It has raised its target price for Fresenius from 41.90 euros to 56.90 euros.

Source: Der Aktionär

Good news from the German healthcare industry! Fresenius $FRE (-0,78%) reported adjusted operating profit above market expectations in the fourth quarter. The strong performance of the Kabi and Helios segments contributed to this.

The results show that the company achieved an EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) of 646 million euros (approx. USD 678 million), which is above the analysts' estimate of 634 million euros. This is a positive signal for investors and underlines the stability of the company.

For 2025, Fresenius expects organic sales growth of 4 % to 6 % before exceptional items and EBIT growth in constant currencies of between 3 % and 7 %. The company also plans to propose a dividend of EUR 1 per share for the 2024 financial year.

The results are also a good sign for the former dialysis division, Fresenius Medical Care, which also exceeded market expectations on Tuesday. An exciting year ahead! 👍

Hello everyone, after passing the 200k mark in my overall portfolio a good two months ago, my pure equity/ETF portfolio has now done the same. The driver is by far $PLTR. (-2,66%) Some problem children should of course not be missing in such a portfolio $P911 (-0,34%)
$NKE (-1,08%) . Both should still need a little time for the turnaround.

I will sell in the near future $FRE (-0,78%) to further reduce the DE share. Otherwise, the ETFs will continue to be fed with a savings plan in order to reach the target of > 60% ETF share.

As always, feedback is welcome

Interview with Clemens Fuest - Germany on the brink? Ifo President finds: "Elon Musk is talking nonsense"

The German economy is stagnating and economic output is not rising above the 2019 level. That is the bitter outcome of a lost half-decade, as Clemens Fuest, President of the Ifo Institute, makes clear in an interview with the FAZ.

"We have real problems," says Fuest, adding that it is not just external circumstances that are weighing on Germany's economy, but also home-grown problems. In this tense economic environment, Fuest voices fierce criticism of Elon Muskthe CEO of Tesla. Musk, known for his sometimes controversial statements and visions, hatte zuletzt Vorschläge gemacht which Fuest describes as "gross nonsense". These proposals relate in particular to Musk's ideas on the industry of the future.

"Germany is not on the brink"

Musk has repeatedly emphasized that Germany must fundamentally change its industrial policy in order to remain competitive. Fuest replied: "Germany is not on the brink, wie er behauptet . Our country is stuck in stagnation, that's something completely different."

Fuest emphasizes in the interview that German economic policy should aim to further promote its strengths. "Depending on the count, there are between 1,000 and 1,500 companies in Germany that are world market leaders in a niche. No other country has this in this form. And that leads to the export strength that continues to characterize Germany."

The Ifo Director calls for political decision-makers in Germany and Europe to rethink and adapt their strategies. "The approach of relying heavily on subsidies to transform the economy" was wrong, he emphasizes. The "traffic light coalition has also failed to find an answer to the decline in investment in companies and housing construction".

"Depending on the count, there are between 1,000 and 1,500 companies in Germany that are world market leaders in a niche. No other country has this in this form. And that leads to the export strength that continues to characterize Germany."

My dears, which world market leaders can you think of here? And which German niche companies are you counting on?

$SIE (-1,85%)
$MUM (-0,16%)
$SAP (-1,81%)
$AIXA (+1,72%)
$ADS (+1,59%)
$RR. (-0,16%)
$FRE (-0,78%)

Interview mit Clemens Fuest - Deutschland am Abgrund? Ifo-Präsident findet: „Elon Musk redet groben Unfug“

Dax dividends fall

In 2025, the 40 DAX companies will be paying out seven percent less than last year, according to a forecast by Handelsblatt. Car manufacturer shareholders will be hit particularly hard.

Many DAX shareholders will have to adjust to lower dividends for the current financial year: According to a forecast by Handelsblatt, the 40 Dax-listed companies will pay out a combined €48.5 billion next spring. That would be seven percent less than in the previous year.

At the same time, 22 companies are likely to further increase their payouts and eight will reduce their dividends. But overall, there will be a decline for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic. This is mainly due to the car manufacturers, where the dividend total is likely to fall by almost 35% to around ten billion euros. This is due to falling profits at VW $VOW (+0,69%) , BMW $BMW (-0,07%) and Mercedes $MBG (-0,19%) due to poor sales figures in Europe and especially in the former boom country China.

In contrast, the sporting goods manufacturer Adidas $ADS (+1,59%) , the Deutsche Telekom
$DTE (-0,27%) and the arms manufacturer Rheinmetall $RHM (+1,29%) are increasing their dividends particularly sharply. This also applies to Deutsche Bank
$DBK (-0,8%) and Commerzbank $CBK (-0,84%) and the insurers Allianz $ALV (-0,75%) , Munich Re
$MUV2 (-1,37%) and Hannover Re
$HNR1 (-1,21%) . The healthcare group Fresenius $FRE (-0,78%) has not distributed anything for 2023, but is now planning a dividend again.

Commerzbank analyst Andreas Hürkamp sees a rotation: "In 2011, the automotive sector replaced utilities as the sector with the highest dividends. Now it is becoming apparent that after 14 years, insurers will be the new number one dividend payers in the DAX."

Handelsblatt