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Articles by The Corner

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The Corner
The Corner has a team of on-the-ground reporters in capital cities ranging from New York to Beijing. Their stories are edited by the teams at the Spanish magazine Consejeros (for members of companies’ boards of directors) and at the stock market news site Consenso Del Mercado (market consensus). They have worked in economics and communication for over 25 years.
iberdrola megachuli

Spanish economy 28th February 2025

Iberdrola’s profit increases 17% to €5,612M in 2024 thanks to regulated network assets and tariff revisions

Bankinter | Results and guidance surprisingly positive. Dividends on the rise. Dividend yield 2025 4.90%. Key figures compared with consensus: total EBITDA €16,848M (up 17%) versus €16,243M est.; NBI €5,612M (up 17%) versus €5,550M estimated; adjusted NBI €5,530M up 15%. Funds generated by operations: €11,836 million (up 10%); Net Debt €51,700 million versus €47,914 million in December 2023. The dividend per share on 2024 results rises 15% to €0.6350/share. The…

Ebro Foods productos

Relevant News Item 27th February 2025

Ebro Foods net profit up 11% to €208 million, driven by growth in operating results and sales of assets

Intermoney | Very positive results for the company, with a 2% growth in revenue (due to improved volumes) and exceeding estimates in EBITDA (up 6.7% compared to our estimate of 5.2% and the consensus of 5.3%) and EBIT (up 7.2% compared to our estimate of 5.6%) thanks mainly to improved margins. In the €26M improvement in EBITDA to €413M, 73% of the increase is due to improved margins and the…

eeuu supermercado consumo 1

In the World 27th February 2025

Disappointment in US consumer confidence: down to 98.3 from 105.3 previously

Banca March | Consumer confidence in the United States disappoints. In January, the index produced by the Conference Board fell more than expected, dropping to 98.3 from 105.3 previously and well below the predicted 102.5. This decline in confidence was mainly explained by the deterioration of expectations, which fell by nearly 10 points to 72.9, reaching its lowest level since April last year. Thus, after closing 2024 with an increase…

Mediaset and Netflix

In Spain 27th February 2025

Media Surrealism: Government offers TV channel to El País – which rejects it and dismisses executives promoting it – while setting up registry to disclose support each media outlet receives

José Miguel Contreras, media advisor to Pedro Sánchez and one of the executives of Prisa – the publishing company of El País – who was dismissed yesterday, already benefited from the granting of a television channel by another socialist president, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, almost 20 years ago. Contreras was one of the promoters of La Sexta, whose support for the current Government is unwavering. Yesterday, Contreras and Núñez, the…

reinounido mercado laboral

In Europe 27th February 2025

UK to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 with ‘ambition’ of raising it to 3% by 2029

Bankinter | The Prime Minister (Keir Starmer) announced that he will increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 with the ‘ambition’ of raising it to 3% by 2029 (vs. the current 2.3%). According to Starmer, the increased defence spending will not be financed by tax rises or increased debt, but rather by cutting ‘expenditure on overseas development’. Opinion of the Bankinter analysis team: Good news for the defence…

alemania CDU Merz

In Europe 26th February 2025

Merz’s first proposals: dissolution of debt ceiling and special defence fund of €200 billion

Banca March | In the new Parliament, which will not take office until 24 March, the far right AfD and the far left Die Linke have 216 seats out of a total of 630. With more than a third of the votes, they could block the easing of the deficit. However, the current parliament has the power to amend the constitutional article that restricts the structural deficit to just 0.35%…

microsoft feriaCM

In the World 26th February 2025

Microsoft reiterates plan to invest $80 billion in AI during this fiscal year

Bankinter | Microsoft reiterates its plan to invest $80 billion in AI during this fiscal year (which ends in June) although it ‘could accelerate or strategically adjust its infrastructure in some areas.’ Bankinter’s analysis team opinion: Microsoft’s comments came after two analyst reports suggesting that Microsoft had cancelled some data centre leases. According to Bloomberg, Monday’s report stated that spending was being replaced by other competitors such as Oracle. These…

Aena nuevita

Relevant News Item 26th February 2025

Aena profit rises 19% in 2024 to €1,934 million, above pre-pandemic figures

Intermoney | Aena (AENA) (Buy, Target Price €215/share) has announced its 2024 annual results and will hold a conference call today at 1pm. The main figures are shown in the following table. Based on last year’s traffic levels, which far exceeded pre-pandemic records (112% in Spain), Aena generated EBITDA of €3.51 billion in 2024 (up 16%), or 127% of the 2019 figure, quite in line with estimated IMV (€3.52 billion)….

Cortefiel

Spanish economy 26th February 2025

Abu Dhabi royal family buys 67% of Cortefiel

The royal family of Abu Dhabi has reached an agreement to purchase 67.91% of Tendam, the company that owns chains such as Cortefiel, Springfield, Women’s Secret, and Pedro del Hierro from the CVC and PAI funds. The operation, which has been carried out through Multiply Group, means that both CVC and PAI will retain 32.09% of the capital after valuing the company at around €1.5 billion, below the €2 billion…

ing 15 970x597

Spanish economy 26th February 2025

ING Group interested in acquiring Banco Sabadell if BBVA takeover bid not approved by Spanish competition authority

Alphavalue/ Divacons | ING Group considered the acquisition of Banco de Sabadell in 2024, with the aim of expanding its presence in Spain, a market that ING considers to be high-growth, according to what was published yesterday by El Confidencial, citeing sources close to the matter. According to the same article, the Dutch bank is awaiting the decision of the Spanish competition authority on the approval of BBVA’s takeover bid…