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    Max Yates

    Research Analyst at Morgan Stanley

    Max Yates is an Executive Director and Senior Equity Analyst at Morgan Stanley, specializing in research coverage of European mechanical engineering companies and equipment manufacturers. He covers notable firms in this sector, including names like ABB and Sandvik, and is recognized for maintaining a strong bullish outlook supported by consistent and well-ranked stock calls. Yates has built his career as a sector specialist, joining Morgan Stanley in recent years after earlier roles in the finance industry, where he developed deep expertise in industrials and capital goods. He holds relevant professional credentials and securities licenses, with strong performance metrics tracked by platforms such as TipRanks, often ranked among the top analysts for his accuracy and returns.

    Max Yates's questions to NXPRF leadership

    Max Yates's questions to NXPRF leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Sought clarification on the mechanics of termination fees for the Empire Wind project and asked for an assessment of the medium voltage capacity situation in Europe, including competitor actions and industry utilization.

    Answer

    Termination fees for Empire Wind consist of a contractual fee (7-10%) plus a termination for convenience fee, which together are expected to cover the lost margin and costs, resulting in no significant financial impact. The company cannot comment on competitors' capacity but stated its own medium voltage capacity in Europe is well-saturated, with strong Q2 growth expected.

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    Max Yates's questions to ABBNY leadership

    Max Yates's questions to ABBNY leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Max Yates of Morgan Stanley inquired about the data center business, asking if order patterns from a large, paused hyperscaler customer have normalized and whether double-digit growth for the segment can be expected for the remainder of the year.

    Answer

    CEO Morten Wierod confirmed that excluding the one hyperscaler, data center orders grew at a mid-teen rate. While expressing long-term confidence in the segment due to AI trends, he declined to speculate on an individual customer's future plans, referring instead to public news flow for updates.

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    Max Yates's questions to ABBNY leadership • Q3 2024

    Question

    Asked what the current order backlog implies for the 2025 outlook, specifically how the backlog for 2025 delivery compares to a year ago and whether it supports the company's 5-7% growth target.

    Answer

    Management declined to give 2025 guidance but provided a breakdown of backlog growth by division, highlighting strength in Electrification, Motion, and Process Automation, contrasted by a decline in Robotics & Automation. They stated there is no indication of a significant change in backlog conversion rates for 2025 and nothing alarming in the data.

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    Max Yates's questions to ABBNY leadership • Q2 2024

    Question

    Questioned the sustainability of the high 23% margin in the Electrification division and whether this level is achievable long-term, especially considering the potential for group margins to exceed guidance if Robotics recovers.

    Answer

    Management is 'very confident' in the sustainability of Electrification's margins, noting that previously underperforming areas within the division are now performing excellently. While acknowledging the group's potential is enormous, they are sticking to the 16-19% margin guidance, which is considered a challenging and appropriate target.

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    Max Yates's questions to ABBNY leadership • Q4 2023

    Question

    Questioned the confidence in achieving a positive book-to-bill ratio for 2024, given the declining order trend in the second half of 2023, and asked which divisions are expected to drive the improvement.

    Answer

    The CEO expressed confidence based on divisional forecasts, citing expectations for large transformational deals and an improvement in the short-cycle business in the second half of the year. He also noted that Q4 was seen as the bottom for order intake in the Robotics & Discrete Automation business, with improvement expected.

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    Max Yates's questions to ABB (ABLZF) leadership

    Max Yates's questions to ABB (ABLZF) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Max Yates from Morgan Stanley inquired about the data center business, specifically asking if order activity from a large, paused hyperscaler customer has normalized and whether double-digit growth for the segment is a reasonable expectation for the rest of the year.

    Answer

    CEO Morten Wierod confirmed that excluding the one hyperscaler, data center orders grew at a mid-teen rate. While expressing long-term confidence in the segment due to AI trends, he declined to speculate on the future plans of a single customer, suggesting that information would come from the customer's own news flow.

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    Max Yates's questions to ABB (ABLZF) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Max Yates from Morgan Stanley asked about the drivers behind the strong growth in the Electrification business, noting that its performance in the construction vertical appears to be outpacing the underlying market.

    Answer

    Executive Morten Wierod attributed the outperformance to the broad 'electrification of everything' trend, which drives demand for switchgear and electrical devices across all industries undergoing decarbonization. He described this as a foundational growth driver, with the data center segment acting as an additional 'turbocharger' for the division.

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    Max Yates's questions to ABB (ABLZF) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Max Yates from Morgan Stanley questioned the drivers behind the strong growth in the Electrification business, noting that its performance, especially in construction, appears to be outpacing underlying market trends.

    Answer

    Executive Morten Wierod attributed the outperformance to the broad 'electrification of everything' trend, which acts as a 'kicker' independent of general GDP growth. He explained that industrial decarbonization requires new electrical infrastructure, fundamentally benefiting the Electrification business, with the data center segment acting as an additional 'turbocharger'.

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    Max Yates's questions to ABB (ABLZF) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Max Yates from Morgan Stanley asked about the drivers behind the strong Electrification growth, particularly in construction, which appears to be outpacing the underlying market, and whether this is due to market share gains.

    Answer

    CEO Morten Wierod attributed the robust performance to the broad 'electrification of everything' trend, driven by industrial decarbonization efforts that require new electrical infrastructure. He described this as a foundational growth driver independent of general GDP, with the data center segment acting as a 'turbocharger' on top of this underlying trend.

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    Max Yates's questions to ABBN.SW leadership

    Max Yates's questions to ABBN.SW leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Max Yates from Morgan Stanley inquired about the data center business, specifically asking if a major customer's temporary pause in ordering has ended and whether double-digit order growth should be expected for the rest of the year.

    Answer

    CEO Morten Wierod confirmed that excluding one hyperscaler, data center orders grew at a mid-teen pace. While expressing long-term confidence in the segment due to AI trends, he declined to comment on a single customer's future plans, referring to public news flow for such information.

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    Max Yates's questions to Outotec (OUKPY) leadership

    Max Yates's questions to Outotec (OUKPY) leadership • Q1 2024

    Question

    Max Yates inquired if Minerals margins could be sustained or improved with flattish sales for the year and asked for quantification of the 'self-help' initiatives contributing to margin resilience.

    Answer

    CFO Eeva Sipilä expressed confidence in driving margin improvement in the Minerals segment, supported by a strong aftermarket mix and better project execution. While declining to quantify savings, she highlighted concrete actions like footprint optimization and procurement savings as key drivers.

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    Max Yates's questions to Outotec (OUKPY) leadership • Q1 2024

    Question

    Max Yates of Morgan Stanley inquired if Minerals margins could remain flat or improve if full-year sales are flat, asked about any margin impact from inventory reduction, and requested details on the 'self-help' initiatives driving margin improvement.

    Answer

    CFO Eeva Sipilä expressed confidence in driving for improved Minerals margins, supported by an aftermarket-heavy mix and better project execution. She detailed self-help initiatives including footprint optimization like factory closures in the Czech Republic and Sweden, service network expansion in Australia, and a focus on procurement savings and gross margin improvement on the equipment side.

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    Max Yates's questions to Outotec (OUKPY) leadership • Q3 2023

    Question

    Inquired about the new >17% margin target, its divisional breakdown, and whether it's a peak or through-cycle goal. Also asked for the outlook on working capital levels for 2024.

    Answer

    The >17% margin target is a through-cycle ambition, with Minerals still targeting ~20% and Aggregates in the teens. Working capital as a percentage of sales is expected to decrease from the current 14% towards a more normal 10-11% level as they focus on inventory management.

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