PETALING JAYA: Corporate Malaysia is expected to see stronger earnings in 2026, partly driven by continued investments and the strength of the ringgit, analysts say.
Among the key sectors poised for growth this year is the technology industry, which is set to be boosted by the continued rise of artificial intelligence (AI)-related projects and data centres.
Head of equity sales at Rakuten Trade Vincent Lau told StarBiz that the local tech sector’s delayed recovery appears to be finally kicking in.
“We are seeing prices for RAM (random access memory) picking up, as well as share prices for companies like Micron Technology and Intel Corp going up,” he said.
Lau also noted that there has been an increase in orders within the local electrical and electronics (E&E) sector.
Further propelling the local tech sector is the influence of AI, as global tech giants like Google and Amazon continue ongoing investments in AI technology.
“Globally and locally, there’s a demand to purchase servers to automate their processes and incorporate machine learning as a part of capital expenditure spending. It’s now a necessity for many businesses,” he said.
Beyond technology, corporate earnings of sectors such as construction, mechanical and electrical, banking, property and data centres are likely to remain resilient this year.
The construction sector, for example, is expected to benefit from ongoing government spending on roads and flood mitigation projects.
Meanwhile, the consumer sector, particularly those involved in imports and tourism, is set to benefit from the strong ringgit, noted Lau.
Malacca Securities head of research Loui Low echoed a promising outlook on the local consumer and construction sectors for this year.
“We expect continuation of earnings growth in 2026 within the consumer and construction sector, especially among those related to data centres and related to the value chain of data centres,” Low said.
However, sectors that may experience less supportive conditions this year include the furniture and automotive industry, as a result of competition from Vietnam and China respectively, Lau said.
Nevertheless, those in the affordable segment within the automotive sector, such as Proton and Perodua, should largely remain unaffected, he affirmed.
Analysts agree that industries centred around imports will continue to gain from the strong ringgit.
“We continue to expect the growth of consumer and domestic-driven markets as the main theme for 2026,” Low said.
At the same time, Low warns that there is risk of a shift of sentiment towards export companies if the ringgit weakens.
“Therefore, how the ringgit trends should be monitored closely,” he said.
Lau added that he hopes to see some reversal of foreign fund outflows this year.
Last year, the stock market had a net outflow of foreign funds of over RM22bil, representing more than five times the RM4.2bil net outflow seen in 2024.
“Almost one month in, we are seeing some net inflow year-to-date. The week ended Jan 9 reported a huge inflow of RM191mil, so we can see some positives there.”
When asked about results expectations for the fourth quarter of 2025, Lau predicted a generally strong earnings outcome, as the year-end typically brings higher spending with companies seeking to finish utilising their budgets.
“However, with the ringgit’s recent rapid ascent, we may still see some price losses here and there, especially among exporters,” Lau said.
