Citi ups Kion to 'buy' on industrial truck cycle inflection, shares rise

Kion AG

08/09/2026 08:11

** Shares in Kion Group KGX.DE rise 4.3% after Citi upgrades the German forklift provider to "buy" from "neutral", citing a potential inflection in the industrial truck cycle
** Citi says improving German macro data and improvement in Kion's Intelligent Automation Solutions unit point to acceleration in industrial truck demand into 2027, which could lead to a re-rating of the shares
** "We remain positive on the drivers of growth in warehouse automation – especially around physical AI adoption," the broker adds
** It says China competition concerns are overdone, especially in high-end trucks, while incremental EU protectionism could alleviate bear-case concerns
** Citi sees Kion's margins expanding and sales growth recovering to more than 6% in 2027, with its EBIT estimates more than 10% ahead of consensus for 2027/28
** Out of 19 analysts that cover Kion, 15 rate the stock "strong buy" or "buy", and ​four "hold"   - SEG data
** Up to Monday's close, the shares were down 33.6%​ YTD

(Reporting by Basile Day)
((Basile.Day@thomsonreuters.com))