March 1, 2024

LONDON — Around a half of European companies missed earnings expectations in the latest reporting season despite already low expectations, analysts told CNBC, who predicted that the region will continue to struggle amid high interest rates.

As of Feb. 29 with 313 companies having reported, 50.2% posted a beat, according to a CNBC analysis of FactSet data. This was the smallest percentage of beats — thus the worst earnings season — since the first quarter of 2020 when the pandemic first hit European firms.

The sector breakdown showed that materials, consumer discretionary and health care were among the worst performing sectors for the last three months of 2023. On the other hand, tech and utilities were the sectors with the highest proportion of beats versus expectations, according to the FactSet data.

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