European stocks lower; Siemens up 5% on earnings, Burberry down 9% as luxury spending slowdown bites

European stocks lower; Siemens up 5% on earnings, Burberry down 9% as luxury spending slowdown bites


Mars’ $662 million acquisition bid sends shares of Britain’s Hotel Chocolat soaring 160%

Trafford Centre, Manchester, London, ENGLAND – September 2023: Hotel Chocolat External Store Sign (Photo by Peter Dazeley/Getty Images)

Peter Dazeley | Getty Images News | Getty Images

A $662 million acquisition bid from U.S. food giant Mars sent shares of British chocolatier Hotel Chocolat surging more than 160% on Thursday.

Hotel Chocolat, which was established 20 years ago to bring ethical, affordable luxury chocolate to the high street, said that the deal would allow the brand to expand internationally “further and faster.”

London-listed Hotel Chocolat is primarily U.K.-based, with 124 shops domestically and several others overseas.

Read the full story here.

Biggest movers: Hellofresh down 22%, Burberry down 9%, Embracer up 12%, Siemens up 5%

Hellofresh shares plummeted 22% on Thursday morning after the German meal kit delivery company cut its annual core profit forecast on the back of weak sales growth and rising costs in North America.

Burberry shares dropped 9% after the British luxury fashion brand warned that it may miss its annual revenue forecast amid a global spending slowdown.

At the top of the Stoxx 600 index, shares Swedish games developer Embracer Group jumped more than 12% after the company beat quarterly profit expectations and confirmed its full-year forecast.

Siemens shares climbed more than 5% after the German industrial conglomerate posted record-breaking quarterly earnings.

– Elliot Smith

Negative open for Europe

European stocks opened in slightly negative territory on Thursday.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.2% in early trade, with chemicals shedding 0.7% to lead losses while utilities gained 0.6%.

Siemens beats earnings forecasts, says sales growth to slow in 2024

The lettering logo of the German industrial corporation Siemens, stands on a stele on the Siemens Campus Erlangen.

Daniel Karmann | picture alliance | Getty Images

Siemens on Thursday posted a 10% rise in revenue growth for its fiscal fourth quarter to a record high of 21.4 billion euros ($23.2 billion), beating forecasts, but expects a slowdown in 2024.

The German industrial conglomerate projects sales growth of 4-8% over the next 12 months, down from the 11% increase recorded for the 2023 fiscal year that ended in September, due primarily to a muted outlook for its industrial automation division.

However, the industrial powerhouse enjoyed record quarterly and full-year results as it closed out the fiscal year.

Industrial profit grew 7% to a record 3.4 billion euros in the fourth quarter, above a company-compiled forecast of 3.34 billion euros, to notch a record high of 11.4 billion euros for the year.

Net income was 1.9 billion euros for the quarter, taking the full-year figure to a historic high of 8.5 billion euros, while free cash flow also notched a record 10 billion euros for the full year.

Read the full story here.

– Elliot Smith

CNBC Pro: UBS expects the Fed to halve interest rates next year. Here are 3 of their preferred trades

UBS has highlighted several stock ideas it favors for 2024, as it forecasts massive cuts for interest rates next year.

The investment bank expects the U.S. will see slower economic growth and strong disinflation leading to an interest rate cut of 275 basis points. That would bring the Federal Funds Rate down from the current range of 5.25% and 5.5% to between 2.50% and 2.75%.

Given the economic outlook, UBS strategists recommend a number of trades to clients for 2024. CNBC Pro has highlighted three of them. Subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao

CNBC Pro: ‘Pretty inexpensive relative to earnings growth’: Morgan Stanley is bullish on this Magnificent Seven stock

Shares in this tech giantare set to jump over 10% in the next 12 months, according to Brian Nowak, an equity analyst at Morgan Stanley.

The U.S. investment bank’s price target on the stock – gives it potential upside of around 11.5%.

“What we really liked about [the stock] is we think the market is still under appreciating the durability of their revenue growth in 2024 and 2025,” he told CNBC’s “” on Wednesday.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Amala Balakrishner

European markets: Here are the opening calls

European markets are expected to open in negative territory Thursday.

The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 8 points lower at 7,456, Germany’s DAX down 33 points at 15,713, France’s CAC down 17 points at 7,192 and Italy’s FTSE MIB down 114 points at 29,201, according to data from IG. 

Earnings are set to come from Siemens, Aegon, Premier Foods, Burberry, Aviva, Smiths Group and United Utilities.

— Holly Ellyatt



Source

Figma’s stock sinks more than 20% after last week’s IPO pop
World

Figma’s stock sinks more than 20% after last week’s IPO pop

Dylan Field, co-founder and CEO of Figma, appears on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York on July 31, 2025. Figma shares surged as much as 229% after the design software maker and some of its shareholders raised $1.2 billion in an IPO, with the trading valuing the company far above […]

Read More
OpenAI’s ChatGPT to hit 700 million weekly users, up 4x from last year
World

OpenAI’s ChatGPT to hit 700 million weekly users, up 4x from last year

Jaque Silva | Nurphoto | Getty Images OpenAI is set to hit 700 million weekly active users for ChatGPT this week, up from 500 million in March, marking a more than fourfold year-over-year surge in growth, the company said Monday. The figure spans all ChatGPT artificial intelligence products — free, Plus Pro, Enterprise, Team, and […]

Read More
Tesla approves share award worth  billion to CEO Elon Musk
World

Tesla approves share award worth $29 billion to CEO Elon Musk

Tesla has granted CEO Elon Musk 96 million shares worth about $29 billion, a move aimed at keeping the billionaire entrepreneur at the helm as he fights a court ruling that voided his original pay deal for being unfair to shareholders. In 2024, a Delaware court voided Musk’s 2018 compensation package, valued at over $50 […]

Read More