Latin America Corporates: 2Q26 Presentation Review: The Second Half Playbook—Playing to Win in a Market of Tight Spreads and High Stakes

Research evidence excerpt

Latin America Corporates: 2Q26 Presentation Review: The Second Half Playbook—Playing to Win in a Market of Tight Spreads and High Stakes

Executive Summary

Latin America Corporate Strategy

Latin American corporates delivered strong positive returns in 2Q26 (+3.3%), outperforming the CEMBI Broad (+2.4%), with HY leading the rally and driving most of the

relative outperformance as geopolitical tensions eased and a regime shift materialized in Colombia—though residual macro uncertainty and historically tight spreads remain

key constraints, leaving limited cushion and reinforcing the need for disciplined credit selection and issuer-level differentiation. Looking ahead, the key themes are the

durability of the improved geopolitical tone and the path of global rates and financing conditions. In this environment, our approach remains selective: we are OW Financials

and Oil & Gas (with increased exposure to Utilities) and remain cautious/UW in Consumer and Pulp & Paper. By country, OWs are broadly diversified with reduced Colombia

exposure post-election, while UWs are concentrated in Chile and Brazil. We also continue to avoid reaching for yield in optically wider names (Neutral on FSBio) and to steer

clear of deteriorating credit stories (Adecoagro, Natura, CMPC, Amaggi).

Latin America corporates posted positive returns in 2Q26 (+3.3%) outperforming the CEMBI Broad (+2.4%). Similarly, the asset class (+2.8%) outperformed the

CEMBI Broad (+2.0%) in 1H26.

Latam HY outperformed Latam IG in 2Q26 and 1H26. During the quarter, Latam HY (+4.1%) reported the second highest returns within EM HY corporates, only

behind ME HY (+5.0%), while Latam IG (+2.1%) reported the second lowest returns within EM IG corporates, only ahead of Asia IG (+1.0%). In 1H26, Latam HY