Goldman Sachs carried out a targeted refresh of its European Conviction List in a February 2026 note dated Monday, adding four names and cutting two. The brokerage said the list is intended to flag its most differentiated buy recommendations across European coverage, not to serve as a model portfolio, and emphasised that inclusion is not the same as a change in rating. Likewise, removals do not automatically indicate a negative stance on the companies taken off the list.
In the update Goldman added Schneider Electric, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), Hannover Re and CVC Capital Partners. The firm removed EQT AB and Prysmian from the roster.
Analysts assigned to the newly added names highlighted factors they view as underpinning stronger conviction at this point in the economic cycle.
Schneider Electric was added on the basis that its business mix gives it exposure to faster-growing end markets, which Goldman expects will allow it to outgrow peers. Analyst Daniela Costa pointed to Schneider’s presence in data centres and in transmission and distribution areas tied to renewables as sources of operating leverage. Costa wrote that margins are forecast to expand by more than 400 basis points by 2030. She also noted that the stock, which has typically traded at a premium to peers, currently sits in line with the sector despite what she described as superior growth and returns.
InterContinental Hotels Group joined the list after Goldman said its growth profile had improved. Analyst Ben Andrews described IHG as having "enhanced its growth algorithm," a dynamic Goldman expects to allow the company to outpace U.S. peers. Andrews flagged sequential improvement in revenue per available room and expansion of ancillary revenue streams, trends he expects will support roughly 15% compound annual earnings growth through 2029. Despite that outlook, Goldman noted that IHG shares trade at a wider discount to U.S. peers than historical averages.
Hannover Re was added on expectations that the reinsurer can continue delivering earnings growth even as pricing pressure builds in property and casualty markets. Analyst Andrew Baker pointed to a reserves buffer and a relatively more stable life and health business as elements supporting that growth. Baker also observed that the shares have underperformed, leaving valuation roughly in line with peers despite what he characterised as higher growth and resilience.
CVC Capital Partners was included as Goldman highlighted the firm’s progress in transitioning from a primarily private-equity-focused manager into a more diversified platform. Analyst Oliver Carruthers noted momentum in the private equity fundraising pipeline for 2026 and 2027 and said CVC should benefit from improving capital markets activity. Carruthers added that the shares have lagged peers and now trade at a clear discount to European alternatives firms.
The changes reflect where Goldman Sachs analysts say they have the strongest conviction across European coverage at this stage of the cycle. The firm reiterated that being placed on or removed from the Conviction List should not be interpreted as a formal rating action or as a definitive signal of deterioration in a company’s fundamentals.
Context and next steps
Goldman’s update is framed as a selective reweighting of its highest-conviction ideas within European equities. The newly added names span industrials and infrastructure-linked technology (Schneider Electric), hospitality (InterContinental Hotels Group), reinsurance (Hannover Re) and alternative asset management (CVC Capital Partners). The removals - EQT AB and Prysmian - were not described as the result of any specific negative development, consistent with Goldman’s caution that removals are not necessarily a condemnatory signal.
Investors tracking conviction lists should note the firm’s explicit distinction between a curated list of differentiated buy recommendations and a formal portfolio allocation. As Goldman framed it, the Conviction List is a tool to surface where analysts currently have the most differentiated upside views within their European coverage, rather than a prescriptive set of holdings.