For many investors, the topic of diversification plays an important role when selecting securities for their own portfolio. In addition to differentiation by industry and business model, geographical diversification is a useful tool for spreading risk. At first glance, Brazilian stocks are certainly considered an exotic investment opportunity for many investors in this country. However, as the largest South American country, Brazil offers numerous interesting opportunities and many stocks are listed on the NYSE and Nasdaq or are tradable as American Depository Receipt (ADR) shares. We present a small selection of Brazilian stocks in this article.
Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras
- Company: Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras
- Symbol (TWS): PETR3 / PBR
- ISIN: BRPETRACNOR9 / US71654V4086
- Stock Exchange: São Paulo Stock Exchange
- Country: Brazil
- Currency: Brazilian Real (BRL) / US Dollar (USD)
- Market capitalization: BRL 374.39 billion / USD 69.23 billion
- Sales (TTM) in USD: 508.14 billion
Petróleo Brasileiro - or Petrobras for short - is an oil and gas company headquartered in Rio de Janeiro. Petrobras' business is divided into the areas of exploration and production, refinery, transportation and marketing, gas and electricity. The company also operates a network of filling stations in Latin America. The Gas and Electricity segment is active in the logistics and trading of natural gas and electricity as well as the transportation and trading of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Petróleo Brasileiro is a semi-state-owned company and has recently made headlines due to the fact that the CEO has been replaced several times in a short space of time.
Ambev
- Company: Ambev S.A
- Symbol (TWS): ABEV3 / ABEV
- ISIN: BRABEVACNOR1 / US02319V1035
- Stock Exchange: São Paulo Stock Exchange
- Country: Brazil
- Currency: Brazilian Real (BRL) / US Dollar (USD)
- Market capitalization: BRL 231.68 billion / USD 42.84 billion
- Sales (TTM) in USD: 74.65 billion
Ambev - short for: American Beverage Company - is the largest beverage company in Latin America and is mainly known as a seller of beer and soft drinks. The company also owns the distribution rights for many PepsiCo brands in Brazil. In addition to Brazil, Ambev is active in Central America and the Caribbean, South Latin America and Canada. Ambev's market positioning could benefit from the reopening of restaurants, bars and stadiums this year. Most recently, the company has been working to reduce costs and modernize its facilities.
Itaú Unibanco
- Company: Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A
- Symbol (TWS): ITUB4 / ITUB
- ISIN: BRITUBACNPR1 / US4655621062
- Stock Exchange: São Paulo Stock Exchange
- Country: Brazil
- Currency: Brazilian Real (BRL) / US Dollar (USD)
- Market capitalization: BRL 207.58 billion / USD 38.39 billion
- Sales (TTM) in USD: 114.1 billion
Itaú Unibanco is a Brazilian Bank headquartered in São Paulo and was formed in 2008 from a merger of the two banks Itaú and Unibanco. The company is a heavyweight in the Brazilian benchmark index Bovespa and is one of Brazil's largest banks. Itaú Unibanco offers financial products and services to both retail and corporate customers. In addition to Brazil, the company is also focusing on growth in other international markets, particularly in the area of asset management for Latin American customers.
Vale
- Company: Vale S.A
- Symbol (TWS): VALE3 / VALE
- ISIN: BRVALEACNOR0 / US91912E1055
- Stock Exchange: São Paulo Stock Exchange
- Country: Brazil
- Currency: Brazilian Real (BRL) / US Dollar (USD)
- Market capitalization: BRL 322.11 billion / USD 59.56 billion
- Sales (TTM) in USD: 281.45 billion
Vale - formerly known as Companhia Vale do Rio Doce - is one of the largest mining companies in the world and is mainly active in the steel industry. The company produces and sells iron ore and iron ore pellets for use as a raw material in steel production in Brazil and other countries. Vale's business is divided into the Iron Minerals and Base Metals divisions. The Ferrous Minerals segment produces and extracts iron ore and pellets, manganese, ferroalloys and other ferrous products and provides related logistics services. The Base Metals segment produces and extracts nickel, gold, silver, cobalt, other precious metals and copper.
BRF (Brasil Foods)
- Company: BRF S.A
- Symbol (TWS): BRFS3 / BRFS
- ISIN: BRBRFSACNOR8 / US10552T1079
- Stock Exchange: São Paulo Stock Exchange
- Country: Brazil
- Currency: Brazilian Real (BRL) / US Dollar (USD)
- Market capitalization: BRL 17.51 billion / USD 3.24 billion
- Sales (TTM) in USD: 49.79 billion
BRF - formerly BRF-Brasil Foods S.A - is one of the largest beef and poultry producers in the world. The company also produces pork, dairy products and processed foods. BRF is involved in the breeding, rearing and slaughtering of animals and exports its products to more than 120 countries. In addition to numerous different meat products, the company produces and sells frozen ready meals such as pasta and pizzas, lasagna, macaroni, sandwiches, cheese sandwiches and other ready-to-eat meals, sauces, desserts, hamburgers, soy flour, fries, animal feed and a range of other products.