European equities are splitting the research community right now.
One camp of analysts builds a structurally bullish case on individual European names, anchored in multi-year megatrends: the NATO 2% defence floor, energy security and electrification, semiconductor sovereignty via the European Chips Act, automation driven by labour shortages, and the formalisation of Central and Eastern European retail. Top conviction names cited include Rheinmetall and Airbus on defence, ASML and ASM International on chip sovereignty, Iberdrola and Nexans on energy infrastructure, Roche and Lonza in life sciences, and Dino Polska and Allegro in CEE consumer.
A separate constructive regional view, published this week, is explicitly conditional — it depends on Ukraine and Iran ceasefires materialising and easing Europe's energy-cost drag.
A contrarian thread of recent research stays underweight Europe, pointing to high energy prices, rigid economic structures, fiscal strain, and an ECB still tightening — arguing the US and Japan look more attractive.
Ferrari is the lone bearish single-name call flagged, with researchers questioning its EV pivot.
The disagreement is largely about the odds of geopolitical resolution.