Market watch: What are Czechia's most popular stocks to invest in?

Investing is a relatively popular activity for people in Czechia, with around one in three adults saying they invest “regularly.” Investment platform eToro has revealed the most popular stocks to invest in for those living in Czechia, which range from tech companies to commerce corporations, as well as current investment trends. The Czech stock market, which recently reached its highest value since mid-2008, is also a pull for Czechia-based investors. 

As of the first quarter of 2024, people in Czechia using eToro – with over 180,000 users based in the country – most frequently invest in automotive firm Tesla. The U.S. company headed by Elon Musk has, however, seen share prices fall in the last six months – from around USD 250 (CZK 5,800) in January to USD 184 today.

For people in Czechia, tech giant Apple is the second most popular company to invest in. Although its share price dropped from USD 185 in early January to USD 165, it has recently recovered to its January level.

Long-term Apple rival Microsoft is the third-most-popular stock for Czechia-based investors. Good news for investors in this tech company – its share price has risen by one-third since this time last year, now standing at around USD 411. This is consistent with the U.S. firm becoming more popular for investors in Czechia; in the first quarter of 2023 it was people’s fifth choice.

Tech company Nvidia has become more popular with people in Czechia – in the last quarter of 2023, it was the seventh-most popular stock, and now it ranks fourth. Impressively, the share price of the firm, which (among other things) supplies graphics processing units, has more than doubled since early January, hovering around USD 918 today. 

On the other hand, U.S. e-commerce firm Amazon has dropped in popularity – going from Czechia’s third-favorite stock to fifth. This is despite its share price rising from USD 150 at the turn of this year to USD 187 now.

Well-known tech firm Meta is Czechia-based investors’ sixth-choice stock. Like Amazon, it has declined in popularity among domestic investors, but increased in value: climbing over 30 percent since early 2024, to USD 461 per share now. 

Tech company Alphabet, which owns the Google search engine, and e-commerce company Alibaba are Czechia’s seventh and eighth most popular stocks respectively. The former’s stock has grown in value since the year-earlier period (by about 60 percent), although the latter has fluctuated substantially in the same period.

Chinese multinational automobile manufacturer Nio and U.S. semiconductor company AMD round off the top 10. Notably, Nio has the cheapest share price of all of Czechia’s favorite stocks, at just USD 5 per share. 

People in Czechia are increasingly investing in stocks relating to artificial intelligence (AI) – and even using the technology to make their investments.

In its Investor Beat survey for the first quarter of 2024, eToro found that one-third of individual investors in the Czech Republic currently hold stocks related to AI in their investment portfolio. This is the highest percentage among all the countries surveyed, followed by the U.S., Germany, and Poland.

The survey also revealed that the youngest age group of investors – 18 to 34 years old – showed the highest interest in AI stocks, with 46 percent holding them in their investment portfolio. Similarly, half of all investors between the ages of 45 and 54 hold shares in AI firms. One-third of all respondents said they plan to continue investing in AI.

eToro analyst Pawel Majtkowski stated: "AI stocks have been the driver of growth in the tech industry and the most important driver of the U.S. bull market over the past year." He also mentioned the launch of ChatGPT and other similar services, showing the potential of generative AI in investments.

The survey also revealed that 17 percent of all Czech investors use AI software as tools in their investment decisions (such as by making automatic trades or using AI to inform an investment), and 28 percent are open to using such methods in the future.

Majtkowski further explained: "Nvidia and Meta topped the S&P 500 [a global stock market index] last year thanks to AI trends, and their stock prices tripled. While 2024 is unlikely to see the same spectacular results, the benefits of the adoption of AI technologies will boost economies and stock markets."

The survey also asked Czech investors about their plans to increase exposure in different sectors and asset classes. Around one-fifth plan to increase their investments in cryptocurrencies, and 14 percent in foreign stocks. In terms of individual sectors, technology (17 percent) and real estate (14 percent) were the most popular among Czech investors.

Late April 2024 saw the Prague Stock Exchange (PSE) reach its strongest value in almost 16 years, with the PX index (PSE’s official price index) reaching 1,564 points. In 2023, it gained around 17 percent in total value.

Progress is driven by the success of Czech stocks: namely, large financial institutions such as Erste Group and Komerční banka (KB), as well as firearms company Colt, which have all seen their values surge in the past 12 months.

According to stockbroker Patria Finance, out of all domestic stocks, Czechia-based investors most often put money into energy conglomerate ČEZ, KB, and Erste Group. Beverage company Kofola, tobacco firm Philip Morris ČR, and design company mmcité also comprise people’s favorite stocks in Czechia, a report from Czech media site Seznam Zprávy underlines.

Notably, only 25 percent of Partria clients choose to invest in domestic stocks, with six in 10 Czechs investing in U.S. companies. 

ČEZ is Czechia’s largest stock by value, with a market capitalization (a company's overall value based on stock price) of around CZK 496 billion, although its share price has sunk from CZK 1,200 this time last year to about CZK 873 now due to lower electricity prices and the aftereffects of Czechia’s relatively new windfall tax. 

KB, Erste Group, and Moneta Money Bank all shot up in value thanks to a successful financial year, which saw all three financial institutions report substantial profits. 

Good times are ahead for most of PSE’s major companies. Analyst at the investment company XTB Jiří Tyleček told Czech media outlet iDnes.cz that he expects ČEZ to bounce back as electricity prices eventually rise back up – though this will not happen soon, he says. 

With higher (and growing) consumer and business borrowing, banks’ profits will continue despite the state windfall tax, Tyleček says. With no sign of the Russia-Ukraine war ending and Europe casting its eyes on military security, arms and ammunition manufacturer Colt should also increase in stock value.