Cemex adds $1 billion to market value in stock surge after Q1 beat

Shares in Mexican cement maker Cemex CEMEXCPO.MX climb about 6% after surpassing earnings expectations and maintaining guidance, despite impacts from bad weather in Europe and the U.S. and the war in the Middle East

Thursday's gains have so far added 18.5 billion pesos ($1.06 billion) to Cemex's market value

"We continue to see improving demand trends, operational efficiency gains, improving FCF conversion rates, ongoing asset recycling and a consistent return of cash to shareholders as the main stock drivers," say JPMorgan analysts

Scotiabank analysts say the quarterly results supported their bullish outlook: "Europe is Cemex's weakest link, so far, EBITDA from this region was also well above our expectations;" also warns 2027 could pose a bigger challenge

($1 = 17.4237 Mexican pesos)