The Engie logo is on the face of an office building in Lindau, Bavaria, Germany, on February 22, 2026.
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LONDON — European stocks closed mixed on Thursday, as corporate earnings took the spotlight.
While the pan-European Stoxx 600 finished the session just below the flatline, most major bourses ended the day in positive territory.
It was a busy day for earnings in Europe with Deutsche Telekom, Schneider Electric, Allianz, AXA, Munich Re, Engie, Eni, Saint-Gobain, London Stock Exchange Group, Stellantis and Covestro among the firms reporting on Thursday.
German sportswear giant Puma published its full-year earnings for 2025 on Thursday morning, reporting a 13.1% decline in sales that it attributed to its strategy “reset,” which was completed last year. The company also pointed to currencies being a headwind. Shares ended the day more than 9% higher.
Puma share price
The firm reported an operating loss of 357.2 million euros ($421.8 million), down from an operating profit of 548.7 million the previous year. The loss was narrower than the 374.3 million euro loss anticipated in an analyst consensus provided by Puma.
Puma said sales declined notably in the second half of the year, while its profit margin fell by 260 basis points to 45%. It proposed canceling dividend payouts for 2025, and said it expected to report an operating loss of between 50 million and 150 million euros this year.
In a Thursday note, analysts at Jefferies said the earnings report showed Puma had made progress “slightly ahead of the journey mapped out in the closing stages of 2025” with “no major surprises from a tough end to 2025.”
“The group had already outlined 2026 as a transition year and guidance today feels consistent,” they said.
Britain’s Rolls-Royce said Thursday it expects profits of over £4 billion ($5.42 billion) in 2026, as it reported a larger-than-expected profit jump of 40% for 2025. London-listed shares of the company ended Thursday up 3.2%.
LSEG advanced more than 9% after it unveiled plans for a £3 billion share buyback. The financial markets data and infrastructure provider’s annual pre-tax profits reached £1.97 billion, up 56% on the previous year.
Elsewhere in corporate earnings, Allianz achieved its biggest ever full-year operating profit, at 17.4 billion euros, a year-on-year rise of 8.4%. Shares in the German multinational insurance and financial services giant ended more than 0.8% higher. AXA closed more than 1% higher after the French multinational insurer’s underlying earnings came in at 8.4 billion euros for the year, up 6% year-on-year.
Shares in Engie advanced more than 7% after the French utility name said it was buying U.K. Power Networks, an electricity provider that runs the power grid for London and the southeast of England region, in a deal worth £10.5 billion (roughly $14 billion).
The positive direction in European equities comes despite continued uncertainty over global trade after President Donald Trump’s tariff announcements last weekend.
Still, markets have been relieved that a universal 10% tariff came into effect rather than the threatened higher 15% rate, and attention has turned to earnings reports.
The S&P 500 was last seen nearly 1% lower as Nvidia‘s stock slipped 4% Thursday after the chip giant posted a fourth-quarter earnings and revenue beat Wednesday. On Wall Street, the Nasdaq Composite was last seen almost 1.7% lower, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 0.4%.
Asia-Pacific markets rose overnight, tracking Wall Street gains as strong earnings lifted investor sentiment.
