Carl Zeiss: Leadership Change Doesn’t Alter Our Favorable Long-Term Outlook; Shares Cheap

Narrow-moat Carl Zeiss announced on May 7 that Chief Executive Officer Markus Weber will step down from his role on May 31 of his own accord. Weber started his Zeiss career in 2002 and served various roles before taking the helm in 2022. In the wake of the covid-19 pandemic, Weber led the firm through a dynamic environment. While shares have suffered since peaking in 2021, we think it is more due to a difficult environment, such as a weak Chinese market, high rates in the US, and the ensuing margin contraction, and not Weber’s leadership. We maintain our fair value estimate of EUR 73 per share.