Non-U.S. Stocks: Currency Leads, Earnings Lag

July 28, 2025 | Julia Sheehan, Associate Research Analyst

There was a striking reversal in equity performance trends during the first half of 2025, with non-U.S. stocks outperforming their U.S. peers by a significant margin. Specifically, the MSCI ACWI ex-U.S. and Russell 3000 indices returned 17.9% and 5.8%, respectively, on a year-to-date basis through June 30. While it is unclear whether this shift is a temporary phenomenon or the unraveling of a multidecade pattern, a deeper exploration of year-to-date returns for various equity benchmarks may provide some answers. Notably, currency movements, particularly the weakening of the U.S. dollar, have played an outsized role in the returns of non-U.S. stocks this year, adding 14% and 9% to the total year-to-date returns of the MSCI Europe ex-UK and MSCI Japan indices, respectively. Multiple factors have contributed to this bout of dollar weakness, including uncertainty regarding tariffs, concerns about the U.S. fiscal deficit, and a growing global interest in diversifying into non-U.S. assets. European and Asian equities have benefitted from these dynamics, with both regions experiencing strong capital flows in the first half of the year. This helps explain the second-largest return driver for international equities in 2025: multiple expansion. Indeed, improving investor sentiment and capital inflows have recently propelled international equity valuations above their long-term averages. Pledges for increased defense spending and infrastructure development in Europe (as described in a recent Chart of the Week) are especially stoking enthusiasm among investors, with fiscal stimulus measures and rate cuts serving as additional sentiment tailwinds.

While the factors detailed above warrant excitement about non-U.S. equities, it is prudent to address the risks facing the asset class as well. To that point, a third takeaway from the return decomposition detailed above is what is nearly absent from the total return of Europe and Japan: meaningful earnings growth. While certain sectors of the non-U.S. market, such as Financials and Information Technology, have strong growth projections, broad earnings expectations are mixed, with European companies expected to report a 0.3% drop in earnings for the second quarter. In conclusion, there is certainly a case for optimism related to the prospects of non-U.S. stocks going forward, but it is important to underscore the importance of earnings growth as the key driver of long-term returns.

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