European Stocks Outperform U.S. Peers By Widest Margin On Record

European stocks outperformed their U.S. peers by the widest margin on record in dollar terms during the first half of 2025, marking the most dramatic sign yet of the region’s market comeback after more than a decade in the doldrums.

Even assets in emerging European markets are surging.

The rally isn’t limited to equities: the euro rose 13% against the dollar in the six months through June, Bloomberg News reported.

Meanwhile, the chaotic rollout of U.S. tariffs has dulled the appeal of Treasuries. German bunds have outperformed them since April, even as Berlin prepares to issue more debt.

Assets in emerging European markets, including Poland and Hungary, are also surging.

At the same time, middle management is shrinking across the U.S.—and not just at corporate giants like Amazon and Meta, where cutting bureaucracy has become standard practice.

The management ranks have also been thinned at small and midsize businesses, where supervisors now have twice as many direct reports as they did five years ago—rising from roughly three in 2019 to six in 2024.