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(Bloomberg) — As the Asia-Pacific reporting season takes a breather, a look at how investors have received earnings shows they’ve clearly been favoring Japanese companies’ stocks, while shunning those in Hong Kong, China and India.

Next week’s earnings highlights include South Korean giant Samsung Electronics Co., Chinese spirits maker Kweichow Moutai Co. and Yaskawa Electric Corp., the Japanese manufacturer of industrial robots.

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Japan’s Topix 500 has rallied 17% year to date as the weak yen supported earnings, especially for exporters. Shares of Toyota Motor Corp., for example, have surged 47% this year. Net income for all the firms in the index jumped 46% in the quarter ended in December from a year earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. 

With earnings still trickling out in greater China, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is down 2.9% so far this year, while China’s CSI 300 has eked out a 2.6% gain, as property woes and trade frictions with the US acted as a drag. Eleven out of 29 major companies in the Hang Seng trailed expectations, the data shows. 

Fourth-quarter earnings for MSCI China members have fallen short of consensus, though were largely better than the previous quarter, said Laura Wang, a strategist at Morgan Stanley. Only consumer discretionary and energy companies posted net income beats, while select internet players including Meituan and PDD Holdings Inc. were bright spots from an earnings surprise perspective so far, she added.

Some firms are boosting buybacks and dividends to appease investors, like Tencent Holdings Ltd., which posted disappointing earnings. 

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Indian earnings have also been lackluster, which has translated to a 3% gain for the Nifty 50. Almost half the companies in the benchmark index have missed estimates and several blue-chips saw rating cuts, according to Bloomberg-compiled data.

Investors are setting their sights on the next earnings season in India to find out how banking system liquidity fared after top lender HDFC Bank Ltd. warned that loan growth would depend more heavily on deposit growth. As for the IT services sector, an earnings-fueled rally in January and early February has faded away. A dim forecast from US-listed peer Accenture Plc has reignited worries that an earnings recovery may be further ahead that what was priced in.

Highlights to look out for:

Tuesday: Kweichow Moutai (600519 CH) is expected to outperform China’s consumer staple sector, as demand remains robust despite weak consumer sentiment and deflationary pressures. The liquor giant’s full-year net income probably rose 18%, estimates show. Revenue is also expected to beat the company’s sales targets, supported by rising sales in the Moutai core brand, Bloomberg Intelligence said.

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Friday: Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) may have returned its semiconductor business to profitability, BI said. Artificial intelligence demand could continue to expand rapidly, which will benefit Samsung and its two major DRAM and NAND rivals in 2024, BI added. South Korea’s strong memory chip exports also suggests a brisk sales recovery at the firm, along with its rival SK Hynix Inc., in the first quarter of 2024.

• Yaskawa Electric’s (6506 JP) fiscal-year operating income is expected to have fallen slightly, based on consensus. A gradual recovery in earnings is seen in the year through February 2025, supported by profit generation at system engineering business and inverter order backlog, BI said. Chip industry demand should pick up in the second half of the year. Automation equipment demand will remain stable, thanks to labor shortages in Japan and China, the firm’s core markets. The energy efficiency of its products will also support demand for inverters and advanced automation equipment, BI added.

—With assistance from Jackie Edwards, Hideyuki Sano, Alex Gabriel Simon and Chiranjivi Chakraborty.

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