Remy Cointreau upgrades outlook
A bottle of Remy Martin XO Excellence cognac at the Remy Cointreau SA headquarters Club in Cognac, France, on Dec. 9, 2016.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
French drinks firm Remy Cointreau has posted 5.7% organic sales growth for its fiscal first quarter, ahead of analyst expectations, and marking the first quarter of growth since 2023.
The cognac-maker reduced its forecasts for the impact of tariffs, improving its profit guidance for the full year.
— Matt Ward Perkins
Volkswagen cuts guidance as U.S. tariffs hit profit
A technician cleans the VW logo during the final inspection of German carmaker Volkswagen’s electric ID. 3 car, during a media tour, in Dresden, Germany, May 14, 2025.
Matthias Rietschel | Reuters
Germany’s Volkswagen on Friday lowered its full-year guidance and reported a sharp drop in second-quarter profit, as the auto giant navigates the disruptive impact of U.S. tariffs.
Europe’s biggest carmaker posted operating profit of 3.83 billion euros ($4.49 billion) for the three months through June, down 29% from 5.4 billion euros a year ago.
Analysts had expected second-quarter profit to come in at 3.94 billion euros, according to a Factset-compiled consensus.
Read the full story here.
— Sam Meredith
Earnings still in focus
Puma Speedcat trainers are displayed at a Puma store London, Britain, January 23, 2025.
Hannah Mckay | Reuters
It’s set to be a slightly quieter day on the earnings front, but several big names have either reported ahead of the opening bell, or will do so later in the session.
Luxury behemoth LVMH, one of the region’s most valuable companies, reported lower-than-expected quarterly sales late on Thursday, while German sports apparel giant Puma warned this morning that it’s expecting to notch a loss this year on the back of a sales decline and the impact of U.S. tariffs. Elsewhere this morning, German auto giant Volkswagen cut its guidance, also citing President Donald Trump’s tariffs regime.
Also due to report today are British lender NatWest, French drinks giant Remy Cointreau and Italian energy firm Eni.
— Chloe Taylor
Opening calls
Good morning from London.
There’s just under an hour and a half to go until the final opening bell of the week, and regional indexes are currently looking poised to move into negative territory.
Futures tied to the German DAX, Italian FTSE MIB and French CAC 40 indexes were all last seen trading 0.2% lower. Those tied to London’s FTSE 100 were last heading marginally lower.
Regional shares ended the Thursday session higher, as investors focused on U.S.-EU trade talks, the European Central Bank’s widely anticipated interest rate hold and a flurry of corporate earnings.
— Chloe Taylor