France stocks lower at close of trade; CAC 40 down 0.21%

Investing.com – Belgium stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Technology, Healthcare and Industrials sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Brussels, the BEL 20 lost 0.29%.

The best performers of the session on the BEL 20 were Umicore SA (EBR:UMI), which rose 2.84% or 0.45 points to trade at 16.30 at the close. Meanwhile, Syensqo SA (EBR:SYENS) added 2.34% or 1.64 points to end at 71.76 and Azelis Corporate Services NV (EBR:AZE) was up 1.41% or 0.13 points to 9.37 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Lotus Bakeries (EBR:LOTB), which fell 3.25% or 250.00 points to trade at 7,450.00 at the close. UCB SA (EBR:UCB) declined 2.24% or 5.40 points to end at 235.30 and Melexis NV (EBR:MLXS) was down 1.37% or 0.80 points to 57.45.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Brussels Stock Exchange by 51 to 38 and 20 ended unchanged.

Gold Futures for February delivery was down 0.07% or 3.00 to $4,310.00 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in January rose 0.14% or 0.08 to hit $57.68 a barrel, while the February Brent oil contract rose 0.03% or 0.02 to trade at $61.30 a barrel.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.05% to 1.17, while EUR/GBP unchanged 0.24% to 0.88.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.10% at 98.09.

Investing.com -- British stocks declined on Friday, tracking broader European losses, as the pound weakened and new data showed the U.K. economy unexpectedly remained in contraction in October.

The blue-chip index FTSE 100 dropped 0.6% and the British GBP/USD fell 0.3% against the dollar to around 1.3350.

The DAX index in Germany declined 0.3%, the CAC 40 in France lost 0.2%.

Get premium news and insight, AI stock picks, and deep research tools by upgrading to InvestingPro - get 55% off today

UK round up

The U.K. economy unexpectedly remained in contraction in October, with gross domestic product falling by 0.1% on a monthly basis, according to data released Friday by the Office for National Statistics.

The decline matched the drop seen during the prior month and fell below economists’ expectations of 0.1% growth. On an annual basis, the U.K. economy expanded by 1.1% in October, matching the previous month’s growth but below the 1.4% forecast.

Uncertainty ahead of the Autumn budget presented by Chancellor Rachel Reeves likely contributed to the economic slowdown.

In corporate news, Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) announced it had signed an interim modernized agreement with the Yinhawangka Aboriginal Group regarding the company’s mining operations on Yingawangka land. This interim agreement builds upon their 2013 arrangement, with a full agreement expected to be finalized in 2026.

Capita PLC (LON:CPI) provided a trading update for the 11 months to November 30, noting that while revenue performance in some divisions fell short of expectations, the outsourcing firm’s full-year profit guidance remains unchanged. The company also announced it has reached a transition agreement for its remaining closed book Life & Pensions contracts.

Card Factory PLC (LON:CARDC) lowered its full-year profit guidance, citing persistent consumer pressures affecting high street footfall during its critical trading period. The company now expects to deliver adjusted profit before tax for the full financial year between £55 million and £60 million, down from previous expectations. Card Factory attributed the downgrade to "well publicised" pressures facing UK consumers that have impacted confidence and shopping behavior.

Meanwhile, WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH) announced it has revised the publication date for its preliminary results for the financial year ended August 31, 2025. The global travel retailer will now release its results on December 19, 2025, later than previously planned in its October 29 announcement.

Investing.com -- S&P Global Ratings has revised Paysafe Ltd.’s outlook to stable from positive while affirming its ’B’ rating, citing expectations that the company’s leverage will remain elevated through 2026.

The ratings agency now forecasts Paysafe’s leverage will exceed 5.5x in 2025-2026, making a rating upgrade unlikely in the next 12-24 months. S&P has significantly lowered its revenue and EBITDA projections for Paysafe, aligning with the company’s revised 2025 guidance.

S&P expects Paysafe’s adjusted EBITDA margins to weaken to 18% in 2025 from 24% in 2024. Combined with adverse currency impacts on total debt, this will push the company’s adjusted debt to EBITDA ratio to 7.6x in 2025, up from 5.5x in 2024.

The leverage is projected to moderate to 6.3x in 2026, supported by earnings growth and net debt reduction, but will remain above S&P’s 5.5x upgrade threshold until at least 2027, longer than previously anticipated.

Paysafe is expected to generate flat revenue growth in 2025, affected by the disposal of its direct marketing business and slower implementation of new digital wallets solutions. However, S&P forecasts 5%-6% organic annual revenue growth from 2025-2027, driven by strengthened sales and marketing teams and continued demand for online gambling merchant accounts.

The temporary EBITDA margin decline in 2025 is attributed to the sale of the higher-margin direct marketing business, increased contribution from lower-margin products, and $35 million in exceptional costs related to litigation and transformation projects.

S&P projects a gradual EBITDA margin improvement to approximately 20% in 2026 and 22% in 2027 as Paysafe delivers on strategic initiatives and reduces transformation costs.

Free operating cash flow (FOCF) is expected to contract to $70 million in 2025 from $140 million in 2024, before recovering to $120 million in 2026 and over $160 million in 2027.

Paysafe remains committed to deleveraging, with a track record of opportunistically buying back debt, including $92 million in 2024 and $167 million in 2023. The company is forecast to prepay about $30 million of debt in 2025.

S&P notes that Paysafe has increased its share buyback program by $70 million to be executed over 2026-2027, but does not expect large dividend payments until the company achieves its deleveraging objectives.

The stable outlook reflects S&P’s view that organic revenue growth and gradually reducing exceptional costs will support Paysafe’s EBITDA margin recovery and debt reduction through 2026.

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 its outlook on Heineken N.V. to positive from stable, while affirming its ’BBB+/A-2’ ratings.

The rating agency cited Heineken’s increasing exposure to growing profit pools in emerging markets, which should support organic volume growth over the medium term. Currently, emerging markets account for about 55% of the company’s net revenue in 2024, with Mexico, Brazil, India, Vietnam, and South Africa being the main contributors.

Heineken has demonstrated a strong track record in organic revenue growth and market share gains despite challenging industry conditions. According to Euromonitor, the company’s global market share within the beer category reached approximately 12.4% in 2024, up from about 11% in 2019.

The Dutch brewer recently announced a binding agreement to acquire FIFCO’s beverage and retail businesses for approximately $3.2 billion to strengthen its presence in Central America. The transaction, expected to close in first-half 2026, will make Costa Rica one of Heineken’s top five operating markets by operating profit.

Heineken’s new strategic plan, Evergreen 2030, focuses on fewer and bigger brands, targeting five global brands (Heineken, Amstel, Birra Moretti, Tiger, and Desperados) and 25 local/regional brands. The company plans to deliver gross savings of about €400 million-€500 million annually while accelerating digital and AI capabilities.

Despite these positive developments, Heineken faces challenges in some core markets. During the first nine months of 2025, total company volumes declined by 2.3%, with Europe and Latin America leading the downturn. For the full year 2025, S&P forecasts volumes to decline by about 2%-3%.

The positive outlook reflects the possibility of a rating upgrade if Heineken successfully executes its Evergreen 2030 strategy, resulting in improved operating performance. S&P expects to see organic revenue growth including a positive trend in beer volume, sequential improvement in EBITDA margin, and quick deleveraging following the FIFCO acquisition.

S&P could revise the outlook back to stable if Heineken fails to demonstrate sustainable improvement in its underlying operating performance or if discretionary spending prevents the company from reducing its leverage to about 2.5x or below in the near future.

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

Investing.com – Sweden stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Telecoms, Oil & Gas and Healthcare sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Stockholm, the OMX Stockholm 30 declined 0.28%.

The best performers of the session on the OMX Stockholm 30 were EQT AB (ST:EQTAB), which rose 1.53% or 5.00 points to trade at 331.90 at the close. Meanwhile, Lifco publ AB (ST:LIFCOb) added 1.39% or 4.80 points to end at 350.00 and Essity AB B (ST:ESSITYb) was up 1.35% or 3.50 points to 262.50 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Svenska Handelsbanken AB A (ST:SHBa), which fell 2.14% or 2.85 points to trade at 130.10 at the close. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB A (ST:SEBa) declined 1.66% or 3.20 points to end at 189.55 and Nordea Bank Abp (ST:NDASE) was down 1.49% or 2.55 points to 168.10.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Stockholm Stock Exchange by 370 to 367 and 71 ended unchanged.

Crude oil for January delivery was up 0.12% or 0.07 to $57.67 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in February unchanged 0.00% or 0.00 to hit $61.28 a barrel, while the February Gold Futures contract rose 0.01% or 0.30 to trade at $4,313.30 a troy ounce.

EUR/SEK was up 0.48% to 10.90, while USD/SEK rose 0.52% to 9.29.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.10% at 98.09.