Turning turbulence into triumph: 5 themes reshaping

the investment landscape

Alphinity Investment Management 

September 2025

3 minutes read time

There are five powerful themes reshaping the investment landscape and driving corporate performance, creating winners and losers across global markets.

The AI revolution stands as the defining narrative across global markets, driving fundamental shifts in capital allocation and valuation frameworks. But there are far more factors shaping the current investing landscape.

Lower interest rate expectations and regulatory reform have reignited investor confidence, while US President Donald Trump's tariff agenda has injected supply chain uncertainty and continues to impact both corporate margins and consumer spending power. Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions are fuelling unprecedented defence spending and strategic consolidation as companies position for an increasingly fragmented world.

These converging forces created a tale of two markets during the recent 2Q25 US earnings season.

On the surface, the numbers appeared robust: over 80 per cent of US companies beat earnings expectations, guidance upgrades accelerated to double the 1Q25 rate, and consensus pushed earnings growth forecasts to an impressive 11 per cent and 13 per cent for 2025 and 2026, respectively. Yet beneath this veneer of strength lay a more complex reality. Earnings growth concentrated heavily within just three sectors and performance diverged sharply among industry peers.

US 2Q25 Reporting Season - Strong overall growth of 12%, but largely driven by 3 sectors

This polarised landscape has created an unforgiving environment where companies skilfully navigating these themes are thriving, while those stumbling face harsh consequences.

Five themes defining corporate performance

We see these five powerful themes reshaping the investment landscape and these only further evolved and intensified through the latest US earnings cycle:

1. AI from speculation to implementation. While the mentions of AI remain near historic highs, business language has evolved from speculative possibilities to concrete implementation. Management teams are increasingly providing specific use cases rather than broad theoretical benefits, though most companies acknowledge they remain in the early stages of realising meaningful productivity gains.

2. Defence spending accelerates. Global defence expenditure has surged amid a pronounced strategic pivot towards deterrence capabilities and military modernisation. NATO member commitments are escalating from 2 per cent to a targeted 3.5-5 per cent of gross domestic product by 2030, exemplified by Germany's €500 billion defence infrastructure fund. Global defence spending is projected to expand at 9 per cent annually from a $2.5 trillion baseline.

3. Adapting to the tariff reality. The shift from uncertainty to operational reality has prompted comprehensive corporate responses across multiple fronts. Three-quarters of affected companies are actively restructuring supply chains and renegotiating supplier agreements, while over half are implementing customer price pass-throughs. Strategic import frontloading ahead of tariffs has complicated near-term financial interpretations.

4. Strategic M&A consolidation. Acquisition activity has intensified with a pronounced focus on strategic technology capabilities rather than traditional scale benefits. Well-capitalised companies with proven execution are pursuing disciplined transactions targeting AI competencies, industrial consolidation opportunities, and infrastructure enhancement despite broader economic uncertainties.

5. Consumers not out the woods yet. Despite some recovery from the prior quarter's sharp deterioration, consumer sentiment remains fragile with management guidance pointing to a challenging second-half outlook. Real consumer spending growth is projected at just 1 per cent annualised through H2 2025, driven by softer employment growth, tariff-induced inflation, and scheduled transfer payment reductions. This environment favours companies with defensive, non-discretionary revenue streams as price-sensitive consumers prioritise essential spending.

Navigating complexity

Today's investment landscape rewards execution excellence while punishing missteps, as these five forces - AI implementation, defence modernisation, tariff adaptation, strategic M&A, and consumer resilience - create clear winners and losers even within sectors.

Success requires identifying companies that transform these forces into competitive advantages. As earnings dispersion widens and market patience diminishes, broad sector exposure is insufficient.

Investors must focus on best-in-class operators with proven execution capabilities and structural competitive advantages that benefit from, rather than merely endure, the forces reshaping the global economy.

Funds operated by this manager:

Alphinity Australian Share Fund , Alphinity Concentrated Australian Share Fund , Alphinity Sustainable Share Fund , Alphinity Global Equity Fund , Alphinity Global Sustainable Equity Fund

This material has been prepared by Alphinity Investment Management ABN 12 140 833 709 AFSL 356 895 (Alphinity). It is general information only and is not intended to provide you with financial advice or take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. To the extent permitted by law, no liability is accepted for any loss or damage as a result of any reliance on this information. Any projections are based on assumptions which we believe are reasonable but are subject to change and should not be relied upon. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Neither any particular rate of return nor capital invested are guaranteed.

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Hedge Clippings | 26 September 2025 - Helicopter view of the Economy

Across the Pacific, the US economy surprised to the upside in the second quarter. Revised figures show GDP running at an annualised 3.8%, well ahead of the initial 3.3% estimate and the fastest clip in almost two years. The driver was the consumer, with spending up 2.5%, supported by an upswing in investment in intellectual property - particularly software and AI.

Not all sectors pulled their weight, but financial services, information technology, and manufacturing made solid contributions. Economists, however, were quick to point out the obvious caveat: while the data looks strong, its durability is less clear. A still-uncertain trade policy environment, persistent tariff disputes, and the shadow of slowing global demand could yet put a lid on momentum, while the previous week's soft employment numbers, and the upward inflation pressures remain.

Back home, the inflation story also continues to play out. The monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) indicator rose 3.0% in the 12 months to August 2025, according to the ABS - up from 2.8% in July, and the highest annual rate since July 2024. Housing (+4.5%), food and non-alcoholic beverages (+3.0%), and alcohol and tobacco (+6.0%) were the largest contributors.

The annual trimmed mean inflation rate edged down slightly to 2.6% in August from 2.7% in July, but the CPI excluding volatile items and holiday travel accelerated to 3.4%, compared with 3.2% previously. Housing inflation, in particular, reflected higher electricity costs, with the annual rise skewed by the expiry of one-off rebates. In August last year, households in Queensland, WA and Tasmania were cushioned by State Government rebates of $1000, $400, and $250 respectively. With those programs now finished, out-of-pocket costs have risen, leaving electricity prices up 5.9% year-on-year once rebates are stripped out.

On a monthly basis, however, electricity costs fell 6.3% in August, mainly due to NSW and ACT households receiving the first payments of the extended Commonwealth Energy Bill Relief Fund rebates. The shifting landscape of rebates makes the data noisy, and while the ABS' monthly indicator grabs headlines, the RBA remains more focused on the quarterly numbers - with the September quarter CPI not due until the end of October.

Which begs the question: what will the RBA Board do when it meets next week? Having just cut rates by 0.25% at their last meeting, was the Board a little too quick to bow to pressure from the media and the market? Our experts - Nick Chaplin (Seed Funds Management) and Renny Ellis (Arculus) - might be tempted to say, "I told you so." For now, it seems inevitable that the Board will sit on its hands until at least their November meeting. With some banks and economists starting to backtrack on their expectations of multiple cuts before Christmas, the latest inflation uptick adds an uncomfortable wrinkle.

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