ii view monthly round-up: February 2026
Demand for real assets triumphs over AI affected service companies. Equity analyst Keith Bowman looks at company events over the past month.
3rd March 2026 11:45
by Keith Bowman from interactive investor
ii view monthly round-up: February 2026
Demand for real assets that potentially help build AI infrastructure such as data centres outperformed service oriented companies which are under threat from AI.
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The commodity and mining sector dominated FTSE 100 index rose 6.7% in February. In the US, the manufacturing heavy Dow Jones rose 0.2%, with the tech and software heavy Nasdaq Composite down 3.4%.
Specifically, copper miner Antofagasta (LSE:ANTO) reported record profits during the month. Copper is used across a wide array of products from electrical wiring to integrated electronic circuit boards.
A near one-third rise in revenues for the Chile-based miner drove annual profits up by just over a half to $5.2 billion (£3.8 billion). The company expects 2026 production of between 650,000 and 700,000 tonnes compared with 653,700 tonnes in 2025. Anto shares rose 17% in February.
Cancer drug maker AstraZeneca (LSE:AZN) climbed 14%. A one-fifth gain in cancer, or oncology related sales to $7 billion helped drive annual sales up 8% in 2025 to $58.7 billion. Core annual earnings per share climbed 11% to $9.12 per share.
Croda International (LSE:CRDA), a maker of speciality chemicals for items such as beauty creams and medicines, detailed sales that beat City hopes. A 5% increase in quarterly sales to £419 million drove annual adjusted pre-tax profit up 8.4% to £276.2 million. The FTSE 100 company gained 13% in February.
The UK’s biggest property company by stock market value, Segro (LSE:SGRO), broke records. Annual profits exceeded £500 million for the first time ever, rising 8.3% to £509 million. That helped underpin a 6.1% increase in the dividend payment for 2025 to 31.1p per share. Segro shares were up 11% for the month.
Back in the miner sector, both Glencore (LSE:GLEN) and Anglo American (LSE:AAL) also benefited from exposure to copper. Larger-than-expected annual shareholder returns at Glencore helped drive its shares up 7% last month, while better-than-forecast annual adjusted profit aided an 8.6% gain for Anglo shares.
On the downside, shares in property advertiser Rightmove (LSE:RMV) fell 9.5%. Recent results reiterated plans to increase 2026 investment in AI focused products, dragging on profits over the year ahead. Initiatives include transforming the group’s app and AI-powered search capabilities as well as upgrading the back-end infrastructure.
Advertising giant WPP (LSE:WPP) reported declines in sales and profit in 2025. WPP now battles ad-driven and AI assisted competition from the likes of Facebook owner Meta and Google owner Alphabet. A total dividend payment of 15p per share in 2025 compares with 39.4p the year before, with its shares down 8.9% in February. Under former Microsoft executive Cindy Rose, WPP announced plans to try and rejuvenate growth.
Provider of data services to industries such as insurance and legal, RELX (LSE:REL), attempted to reassure investors over the month regarding the threat from AI. Expected customer demand for analytics and decision tools underpinned management forecasts for growth in sales and profits during 2026. Outlook confidence was supported by increased shareholder returns. Relx shares fell 2.8% in February.
Looking overseas, Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO) climbed 9%. Despite an ongoing customer switch towards healthier products, fourth-quarter sales rose 5% to $11.82 billion, driving adjusted earnings up 6% to $0.58 per share. The drinks giant predicts growth in 2026 adjusted sales of 4% to 5%.
Elsewhere, French headquartered TotalEnergies SE (EURONEXT:TTE) maintained hopes for increased 2026 production. Project ramp-ups during 2025 in Brazil, Iraq, Algeria and Uganda are all expected to support a 5% increase in 2026 production. Shares in the oil major improved 8.2% during February.
On the downside, retailer and data centre operator Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) fell 12%. The Dow Jones company predicted 2026 investment expenditure far exceeding Wall Street estimates with the expenditure likely weighing on near-term profits.
Finally, The Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) retreated 6%. The parks and streaming giant warned of fewer overseas visitors to its US theme parks during the current ongoing quarter, likely impacted by Trump trade policy deterring customers. However, the Dow Jones company-maintained hopes for a full year improvement in earnings, but with growth expected to be second-half weighted.
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