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(Bloomberg) -- Euronext NV Chief Executive Officer Stephane Boujnah said US President Donald Trump’s return to the White House could present a boon for the pan-European bourse and regional companies, as Europe is “now perceived as a great investment opportunity.”
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”The first weeks in office of Donald Trump show that we have entered a time of unilateral, disinhibited decisions,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg News. “These decisions will affect global economies, but mainly the US one. There are more and more discussions among investors since the start of the year on European companies, whose valuations are significantly below US valuations.”
European stock exchanges including Euronext and the London Stock Exchange have struggled to attract many new listings in recent years as more companies choose to stay private and the booming US market lures the largest names. But Boujnah is expecting this year to be different, as Euronext’s pipeline for initial public offerings is “very thick.”
“Lots of companies are ready and willing to go public, and investors are also ready to participate in IPOs,” he said. “The valuations of listed companies on Euronext are steady and markets are very dynamic.”
Earlier this month, Unilever Plc decided to list its ice cream unit primarily in Amsterdam, a win for the country’s stock exchange.
“They have decided that it is the right thing to do and we are really happy about it,” Boujnah said. “It shows a really promising path for this year and how Europe is able to attract big names.”
Euronext reported net income of €144.6 million ($151 million) in the fourth quarter, inching above Bloomberg-compiled analyst estimates of €143.8 million, according to a statement Thursday. The exchange’s revenue was up more than 11% year-over-year, reaching €415.8 million in the last three months of 2024, driven by performance in fixed-income trading.
On Thursday, Euronext announced it was launching fixed-income derivatives on major European government bonds, to be introduced in September 2025 and marking the first-ever mini futures to be cash-settled on European government bonds.
Euronext unveiled a three-year strategic plan last November, with expectations revenue and core profit will grow by more than 5% a year on average until 2027. As part of its diversification plan, Euronext announced last month that it will acquire Nasdaq’s Nordic power futures business.