With the big caps releasing some of the earnings report expect for the banks, the question is have they met analysts expectation. In its corporate earnings assessment, CIMB Securities said the second-quarter 2026 (2Q26) corporate earnings season has delivered a mixed performance so far, with the beat-to-miss ratio improving quarter-on-quarter but remaining below last year’s level.
As of August 23, 56 companies, or 56% of CIMB Securities’ coverage, had reported their 2Q26 results, with eight companies, or 14%, outperforming expectations, while 13 companies, or 23%, missed forecasts. The remaining 35 companies, or 63%, met expectations.
The resulting beat-to-miss ratio stood at 0.62 times, an improvement from 0.52 times in the first quarter of 2026 but below the 0.88 times recorded in 2Q25.
CIMB Securities said year-on-year earnings growth was led by Petronas Chemicals, Westports, SD Guthrie, Top Glove and Genting Plantations, supported by factors including higher average selling prices, tariff increases, industrial land-sale gains and stronger fresh fruit bunches (FFB) production.
Among the 26 FBM KLCI constituents covered by CIMB Securities, 12, or 46%, had reported their results as of August 23.
Most of the reported results met expectations, with Petronas Chemicals and YTL Power being the exceptions after posting weaker-than-expected earnings.
The eight companies that outperformed expectations were spread across eight sectors, namely Dialog in oil and gas, Bermaz Auto in automotive, AEON in consumer, Genting Malaysia in gaming, Top Glove in gloves, ViTrox in technology, Genting Plantations in plantations and Westports in transport.
The earnings beats were largely driven by stronger-than-expected sales volumes or average selling prices, alongside higher contributions from associates.
Meanwhile, underperformers were concentrated in the oil and gas, utilities, property and consumer sectors.
Oil and gas counters including Yinson, Petronas Chemicals and Dayang were affected by weaker-than-expected sales, while utilities players Malakoff and YTL Power were weighed down by lower contributions from their power plants.
In the property sector, SP Setia and UEM Sunrise underperformed expectations.
Consumer companies Fraser & Neave, MyNews and 7-Eleven also recorded earnings misses, with CIMB Securities attributing the weakness largely to softer sales and higher operating expenses.
The brokerage has adjusted several of its stock recommendations following the latest batch of results.
It upgraded Genting Plantations, Bermaz Auto, YTL Power, IGB REIT and Sunway REIT to Buy from Hold, while VS Industry was upgraded to Hold from Sell.
Conversely, AMMB, Affin and MyNews were downgraded to Hold from Buy, while Top Glove was cut to Reduce from Hold.
CIMB Securities said the 2Q26 earnings season is currently showing an improvement in the beat-to-miss ratio compared with the previous quarter, although the ratio remains below the level seen a year earlier.
Year-on-year earnings growth has so far been supported by stronger contributions from Petronas Chemicals, Westports, SD Guthrie, glove manufacturers and technology companies.
The brokerage maintained its FBM KLCI target of 1,745 points, while highlighting Genting Plantations, YTL Power, IGB REIT, Sunway REIT and Bermaz Auto as its preferred picks following improved risk-reward profiles after their 2Q26 results.
