Muted 1Q26, weaker growth ahead

THE recently concluded first-quarter (1Q26) reporting season for 2026 was undeniably weak, led by a surprisingly poor set of results from the banking sector as well as the consumer sector, except for a few that managed to either meet or beat market forecasts.

In a surprise turn of events, what have been market darlings and villains in terms of earnings performance over the past few quarters exchanged positions as companies like Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd returned to profitability while banking stocks like Malayan Banking Bhd and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd reported negative earnings growth year-on-year (y-o-y) of 4.1% and 2.9%, respectively.