The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that Stifel's Ian Gillies thinks first quarter results for Canadian industrial companies are "likely to be fine," however, he does not expect investors to "care one way or another given how much changed during the quarter." The Globe's David Leeder writes that Mr. Gillies gave his Atkinsrealis Group share target a $4 trim to $96. He continues to rate the shares "buy." Analysts on average target the shares at $93.31. Mr. Gillies says in a note: "Uncertainty is the enemy of spending. We anticipate outlooks to weaken with the release of 1Q25 results. In our view, decision paralysis will be caused by uncertainty, and that is going to be almost as bad as potential tariffs. ... A lack of certainty over potential costs for new capital projects will harm confidence and thus lower spending. This is likely to manifest itself in weak book-to-bill ratios for long cycle stocks later in 2025E and weakening near-term revenue trends for short cycle stocks. The 'hard' data such as non-resi spending is not yet reflecting these changes but survey data is. For example, the Dodge Momentum Index was down 6.9 per cent in March, 2025, after accelerating in the prior three months."
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