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Investing.com – Brazil stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Financials, Public Utilities and Consumption sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Sao Paulo, the Bovespa gained 1.78% to hit a new all time high.

The best performers of the session on the Bovespa were RUMO Logistica Operadora Multimodal SA (BVMF:RAIL3), which rose 10.56% or 1.63 points to trade at 17.06 at the close. Meanwhile, Grupo Vamos SA (BVMF:VAMO3) added 6.63% or 0.24 points to end at 3.86 and Sendas Distribuidora SA (BVMF:ASAI3) was up 5.32% or 0.50 points to 9.90 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Hapvida Participacoes e Investimentos (BVMF:HAPV3), which fell 5.63% or 0.96 points to trade at 16.10 at the close. Brava Energia SA (BVMF:BRAV3) declined 1.09% or 0.15 points to end at 13.57 and Magazine Luiza SA (BVMF:MGLU3) was down 0.97% or 0.10 points to 10.16.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the B3 Stock Exchange by 559 to 370 and 48 ended unchanged.

Shares in Hapvida Participacoes e Investimentos (BVMF:HAPV3) fell to 52-week lows; losing 5.63% or 0.96 to 16.10. Shares in Brava Energia SA (BVMF:BRAV3) fell to all time lows; falling 1.09% or 0.15 to 13.57.

The CBOE Brazil Etf Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Bovespa options, was down 5.37% to 28.74.

Gold Futures for February delivery was up 0.81% or 33.55 to $4,198.75 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in January rose 0.95% or 0.55 to hit $58.66 a barrel, while the March US coffee C contract fell 0.89% or 3.40 to trade at $379.90 .

USD/BRL was down 0.84% to 5.34, while EUR/BRL fell 0.62% to 6.19.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.08% at 99.51.

Investing.com -- Moody’s Ratings has upgraded Bombardier Inc.’s corporate family rating to Ba3 from B1, while maintaining a positive outlook for the aircraft manufacturer.

The ratings agency cited Bombardier’s continued progress in reducing financial leverage, increased earnings, improved margins, and strong free cash flow position as key factors behind the upgrade.

"The upgrade reflects Bombardier’s continued progress reducing its financial leverage, increased earnings, improved margins and strong free cash flow position," said Moody’s Ratings Analyst Will Gu.

Bombardier has generated positive free cash flow since 2021, with expectations of over $500 million for 2025. The company’s adjusted operating margin increased to 11.4% for the last twelve months ending September 2025, up from 9.4% in 2023.

The aircraft manufacturer continues to show strong revenue visibility with a book-to-bill ratio of 1.85x as of the third quarter of 2025 and a substantial $16.6 billion backlog. The company has committed to repaying $350 million in debt by the end of 2025, with additional repayments expected through 2026.

Moody’s also upgraded Bombardier’s probability of default rating to Ba3-PD from B1-PD and its senior unsecured notes ratings to Ba3 from B1. The agency withdrew LearJet Inc.’s B1 rating on backed senior unsecured revenue bonds issued by the Connecticut Development Authority following full repayment of the debt.

The Ba3 rating benefits from Bombardier’s very good liquidity, significant scale, strong market position in the business jet sector, and substantial backlog. However, the rating remains constrained by the company’s exposure to the cyclical business jet market and high fixed charges of about $650 million annually.

Bombardier maintains very good liquidity with approximately $2.3 billion in financial resources compared to about $500 million in obligations. The company held about $1.2 billion in cash as of September 30, 2025, with full availability on its $450 million ABL facility that expires in 2029.

The positive outlook indicates Moody’s expectation that Bombardier will continue generating free cash flow while improving margins and financial leverage in 2026 and 2027, with leverage potentially dropping below 3.5x.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

Investing.com -- Moody’s Ratings has downgraded Brown-Forman Corporation’s senior unsecured ratings to A2 from A1 while affirming its Prime-1 commercial paper rating, the agency announced Wednesday.

The rating outlook has been revised to stable from negative following the downgrade, which Moody’s said reflects expectations that Brown-Forman’s operating earnings and capital allocation will result in weaker credit metrics than previously anticipated.

Following the partially debt-funded acquisition of Diplomático in January 2023, the company’s debt to EBITDA leverage peaked at 2.7x. While Brown-Forman has since reduced leverage to 2.2x as of July 31, 2025, through debt repayment, earnings have also declined.

Moody’s does not expect leverage to decrease further, citing the company’s recent focus on share buybacks, including a new $400 million share repurchase program announced in October 2025.

The rating agency projects EBITDA growth will be muted over the next 12-18 months, with Brown-Forman guiding to a low single-digit operating income decline in the fiscal year ending April 2026. Lower consumer consumption and cautious inventory levels at distributors and retailers are expected to drive flat results over the next year.

Moody’s believes the U.S. alcoholic beverage industry faces both secular and cyclical challenges, with recovery likely to be muted as health and wellness remains a focus and consumer spending remains cautious. The premium spirits category in key markets continues to face challenges as consumers adjust to previous high inflation and elevated inventory levels.

Despite these headwinds, the expansion of the Jack Daniel’s brand with the introduction of Jack Daniel’s Blackberry, modest pricing actions, and a favorable mix shift toward higher-margin products are expected to support stable earnings.

Moody’s projects debt-to-EBITDA leverage to increase slightly to 2.5x by fiscal 2026 and remain there in 2027, assuming $400 million of share repurchases over the next year. Free cash flow was $160 million over the last 12 months, with some improvement expected to above $200 million, though share repurchases are likely to consume all of that cash.

The A2 rating is supported by Brown-Forman’s strong profitability, good geographic diversification, and ownership of the Jack Daniel’s brand, the world’s largest American whiskey. The business generates healthy margins and steady operating cash flows while maintaining very good liquidity.

Rating constraints include the company’s relatively small scale, limited product diversification, and significant concentration of sales and profits from the Jack Daniel’s brand family. The ratings also reflect some margin deterioration over the past 3-5 years and increasing financial leverage resulting from acquisitions and planned share repurchases.

An upgrade could be considered if Brown-Forman demonstrates consistent organic revenue growth, market share stability, and good cost management that improves earnings, while sustaining debt to EBITDA leverage below 2.0x and committing to more conservative financial policies.

The ratings could be downgraded if debt to EBITDA leverage is sustained above 2.5x, operating earnings decline due to market share losses, pricing pressure, or increased costs, or if liquidity weakens. A more aggressive financial policy could also lead to a downgrade.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

Investing.com -- S&P Global Ratings revised its outlook on Micron Technology to positive from stable, citing increasing scale and faster growth due to artificial intelligence demand.

The rating agency affirmed Micron’s ’BBB-’ credit rating while noting that AI has elevated the company’s EBITDA and cash flow, and will increase compounded growth.

Micron’s fourth quarter performance was exceptional with revenue reaching $11.3 billion, growing 46% year over year and 22% sequentially. Management-adjusted gross margin reached 45.7%, up 670 basis points from the previous quarter, with the company targeting 50.5%-52.5% in the next quarter.

The data center segment now represents 56% of fiscal 2025 revenue, surpassing prior peaks of about one-third and reflecting the shift toward AI-driven demand.

S&P estimates that High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) revenue was around 15% of total in fiscal 2025, while premium products represented roughly 35%. The agency expects constrained industry capacity and AI demand to keep supply and demand balance favorable in 2026.

Micron’s strong balance sheet supports the outlook revision with S&P Global Ratings-adjusted net leverage at 0.2x, below the upgrade threshold of 1x.

The company guided capital expenditure net of government incentives to exceed $18 billion in fiscal 2026 from $13.8 billion in 2025, predominantly focused on DRAM capacity and equipment with limited NAND spending.

S&P noted that Micron management refuted recent reports about HBM4 missteps, maintaining that there will be no redesign and the timeline remains intact for shipping beginning in the second quarter of fiscal 2026.

The agency could consider an upgrade over the next 12 months if demand trends for AI products remain intact, industry supply conditions remain favorable, and good trends in demand and supply persist into 2027.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

Investing.com -- S&P Global Ratings has revised Uber Technologies Inc.’s outlook to positive from stable, while affirming its current rating.

The rating agency cited Uber’s leading platform and proven operational framework as key factors supporting healthy organic gross bookings growth. In the third quarter of 2025, Uber delivered 22% trip growth year-over-year, driven by a 17% increase in monthly active platform consumers to 189 million and higher average trip frequency.

S&P expects Uber’s gross bookings to exceed $190 billion in 2025, aligning with the company’s fourth-quarter guidance of 17%-21% growth on a constant currency basis.

Despite rideshare maturity and competition, S&P highlighted growth opportunities in cross-platform usage and grocery and retail delivery expansion. Cross-platform consumers, including Uber One subscribers, spend approximately three times more than single-product users.

The rating agency forecasts Uber’s adjusted free operating cash flow will increase to about $5.9 billion in 2025 and $7.2 billion in 2026, adjusted for changes in restricted cash and investments of about $2.7 billion.

Uber maintains a long-term leverage target of 2x, though S&P expects EBITDA growth to support deleveraging to well below 1.5x over the next 12-18 months. The company has committed to returning around 50% of annual free operating cash flow to shareholders through share buybacks.

While autonomous vehicle technology poses a potential long-term risk, S&P does not expect it to materially impact Uber’s credit profile over the next couple of years. The rating agency noted that Uber has formed strategic partnerships with various players including Waymo, Lucid, and NVIDIA to position itself for the evolving autonomous vehicle landscape.

S&P could upgrade Uber to ’BBB+’ within 12 months if the company maintains gross bookings growth above 15% annually, achieves adjusted free operating cash flow exceeding $7 billion, and sustains adjusted debt to EBITDA below 1.5x.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

Investing.com -- Steel tube producer Vallourec has been upgraded to investment grade by S&P Global Ratings, which raised the company’s credit rating to ’BBB-’ from ’BB+’ with a stable outlook.

The rating agency cited Vallourec’s sustainable improvement in margins, with the company delivering an EBITDA margin of about 20% for three consecutive years, reaching 23% in the third quarter of 2025.

S&P noted that Vallourec has demonstrated its ability to sustain strong margins closer to those of local peers such as Tenaris, which reported EBITDA margins of 25%-30% over the past couple of years.

The company achieved this performance despite a less favorable environment by implementing structural operational efficiencies and maintaining strict cost discipline. These improvements helped Vallourec maintain EBITDA above €750 million even as spot prices on oil country tubular goods (OCTG) and demand in the U.S., its main market accounting for about 40% of group revenue, softened during 2025.

S&P revised its assessment of Vallourec’s business risk profile to "fair" from "weak" based on these sustainable improvements. The rating agency now forecasts EBITDA of about €800 million in 2025, lower than its previous forecast of €850-€900 million due to global economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions that delayed customer activity and orders outside North and South America.

For 2026, S&P expects EBITDA to increase closer to 2024 levels of €800-€850 million, supported by favorable developments in key markets. These include a major long-term contract with Petrobras in Brazil and potential benefits in the U.S. market, where Vallourec, as one of the few domestic producers of premium OCTG, should not be penalized by the sharp increase in steel tariffs.

The company reached a net debt position of zero at year-end 2024, thanks to favorable working capital dynamics and significant divestments, including the sale of the Dusseldorf-Rath site in Germany for €155 million.

S&P expects Vallourec to maintain a net debt position close to zero, excluding leases, in line with its financial policy that allows for net debt to EBITDA of up to 0.5x. The rating agency anticipates the company will distribute most of its free operating cash flow to shareholders rather than pursuing growth opportunities.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.