Earnings Season in Europe: Allianz, Telekom, and Poste Italiane Set Records

The European business landscape in early 2026 was dominated by reports of exceptional financial health among the largest market players. German Allianz once again achieved a historic profit record, allowing its board to announce a significant increase in dividend. Similar successes are celebrated by the Deutsche Telekom group, which raised its targets for fiber-optic network expansion, planning to cover 25 million households. The German insurance sector demonstrates high resilience to macroeconomic turbulence, as also confirmed by the solid results of Münchener Rück. These results prove that after a period of uncertainty, the largest entities have regained their ability to generate operating surpluses. The increase in corporate profitability in 2025 occurred after a period of adaptation to higher external financing costs, which were the result of the most aggressive cycle of interest rate hikes in the history of the eurozone, which began in 2022. The Italian service and finance sector is undergoing a deep transformation, symbolized by the plans of Poste Italiane and the bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS). Poste Italiane reported a profit of 2.2 billion euros, focusing on synergy with operator TIM and the use of artificial intelligence for cost optimization. Meanwhile, bank MPS announced a strategic plan until 2030, which assumes a payout of 16 billion euros to shareholders, representing an almost complete return of capital generated during the restructuring process. Telecom Italia (TIM), led by Pietro Labriola, after a difficult process of separating its network infrastructure, is returning to dividend payments, promising half a billion euros in 2027. „Tim disciplinata, strategicamente coerente e finanziariamente prevedibile” (Disciplined, strategically coherent, and financially predictable) — Pietro Labriola, CEO of Telecom Italia In the energy sector, the E.ON conglomerate dominates, which despite rising investment expenditures recorded a 9 percent growth in EBITDA. The company plans to invest as much as 48 billion euros by 2030 in European energy infrastructure, which is essential for the climate transition. However, not all sectors show a growth trend; the owner of the WMF brand, the SEB group, announced a reduction of up to 2,100 jobs in the household appliances segment. This contrasts with the situation in professional services, where demand for advanced connectivity, e.g., during major events, allows operators like TIM to consider introducing premium pricing for the most demanding business clients.