Europe’s troubles make top firms cheaper

Article Excerpt

High inflation, rising interest rates and the war in Ukraine have all combined this year to hurt European economies and stocks prices. Still, Europe is home to some of the world’s leading companies—and many of them are now trading are attractive prices. The top holdings of the European-focused ETFs we looked at on pages 111 and 112 are all high-quality, global leaders in their respective industries. Not only do these companies overall have strong track records of profitable growth, but they also have balance sheets with the financial strength to see them through difficult times. The table above right shows the credit ratings of the top ETF holdings as provided by the main rating agencies—a rating of A or above indicates a strong ability to service debt. Also evident from the table are the high levels of profitability achieved by these companies over the last few years. The top European companies are, in many cases, among the global leaders in their respective markets. Here’s a..