Some companies, it seems, receive the benefit of the doubt even if their performance is a little ho-hum. They can, for example, highlight weak Chinese demand and get away with a mere share price ripple. Other stocks take a razor-sharp cut on every lump and bump. 

Philips is a case in point. Investors in the Dutch healthcare conglomerate, which makes everything from diagnostic machines to electric shavers, had until this week been enjoying a restorative patch. Legal woes over malfunctioning sleep apnoea machines had been resolved faster and more cheaply than feared, and sales seemed to be heading in the right direction.

But a stumble has undone much of the progress. Philips’ stock has fallen 15 per cent since it released soft third-quarter results on Monday. While Italy’s Agnelli family — who made a big investment in the stock in August 2023 through their public vehicle Exor — is still in the money, this week marks a blow for those who had more recently got behind Philips’ turnaround story.