The past year (2018) was a relatively rare year where Atlas Copco (OTCPK:ATLKY) underperformed its industrial peers, as worries mounted throughout the year about the company’s semiconductor-exposed Vacuum Technique business. Performance has improved on a relative basis over the last few months, though, as investors start considering whether semiconductor orders may recover in 2019 and whether other industrial markets may not slow as much as feared.
I’m still in the camp that thinks economic growth will slow more noticeably in North America, Europe, and China as 2019 goes on. Atlas Copco may well