Goldman Sachs has refreshed its lists of top global stock picks for December by adding some and removing others. These stocks are featured in the investment bank’s “Conviction List – Directors’ Cut,” a “curated and active” list of its buy-rated stocks. They are selected by a subcommittee in each region which “collaborate with each sector analyst to identify top ideas that offer a combination of conviction, a differentiated view and high risk-adjusted returns,” according to Goldman Sachs. Companies removed from this month’s list include New Zealand-headquartered software player Xero and device manufacturer Lenovo in Asia-Pacific, as well as French industrial gas supplier Air Liquide and outdoor advertiser JCDecaux in Europe. Several additions were also made to the Directors’ Cut, including the following three stocks which Goldman gives over 40% upside potential over the next 12 months. Novonesis Novonesis, a Danish biotechnology company known for industrial enzymes, microorganisms and biopharmaceutical ingredients, is one such stock. “Several structural demand tailwinds (e.g. focus on sustainability, health & wellness), which, together with Novonesis’ leading market share in enzymes and cultures, portfolio breadth and R & D spend significantly above peers, support a superior fundamental outlook,” the investment bank said in a Dec. 2 note on its Europe list. Goldman Sachs Analyst Georgina Fraser said the company, which also goes by the name Novozymes, is trading at a 2026 forward price-to-earnings at 24 times — a discount compared to its peers’ 25 times. Looking ahead, she expects its “organic sales growth” to double and lead to 25% earnings per share growth, thanks to levers such as the “substitution of traditional petrochemicals with bio-based alternatives,” market expansions and “applications in high growth areas.” Shares in Novonesis are listed on Denmark’s Nasdaq Copenhagen and trade as an American Depositary Receipt (ADR) in the U.S under the ticker NVZMY . Goldman has a target price of 586 Danish krone ($82) on the stock, implying around 42% upside. Kawasaki Heavy Industries In Asia, Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries – which manufactures motorcycles and aerospace and defense equipment, made Goldman’s list. “KHI is one of Japan’s top three heavy industry companies by revenue, and the contribution to profit growth from its aerospace/defense business is comparable to peers Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and IHI Corporation,” the investment bank wrote in a Dec 2 note on its Asia list. KHI’s share price has underperformed these two peers by 80% to 100% year-to-date, analyst Yuichiro Isayama noted. He “believes the company’s considerably lower valuation is a compelling opportunity given its high exposure to the aerospace/defense sector.” Going forward, Isayama foresees “strong prospects for steady growth in absolute profits and wider margins in both the aerospace systems and defense business, which includes the energy solution and marine engineering operations, in light of the Japanese government’s renewed defense guidelines.” Shares in KHI are listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and as an ADR in the U.S under the ticker KWHIY . Goldman has a target price of 8,000 Japanese yen ($53) on the stock, implying around 43.2% upside. PetroChina Goldman is also bullish on Chinese oil and gas giant PetroChina . It has a target price of 8.1 Hong Kong dollars ($1.04) on the stock, giving it around 47% upside potential. Calling it an “underappreciated gas story,” the investment bank’s analyst Nikhil Bhandari believes it is “poised to benefit from another year of strong cash flow given its significant exposure to upstream gas production.” “Together with an increase in gas volumes (gas could reach c.50% of PetroChina’s 2025E upstream production volume mix), upstream gas earnings could account for a higher share than oil in the 2025 E & P (exploration & production) segment income, enhancing PetroChina’s earnings resilience against global oil price changes,” he added. Looking ahead, Bhandari expects a free cash flow yield of around 15% and dividend yield of 8% for PetroChina in 2025. Shares in PetroChina are listed on the Hong Kong and Shanghai Stock Exchanges. It is also traded on the KraneShares S & P Pan Asia Dividend Aristocrats Index ETF (6.4% weight) and Matthews China Active ETF (3.3%). — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
