The Quiet Enablers: Chemicals, Keyboards, and Car Parts in a Transforming World

by Amy | Sep 17, 2025 | Stock Insight

Written by Robert Swift

In markets, the spotlight often shines brightest on the dazzling names, the tech giants, the disruptive start-ups, the firms that seem to exist in permanent hyper-growth. Yet investors who spend all their time chasing glamour risk overlooking the real enablers of global transformation. These are the companies that may look “boring” on the surface, classified as industrials, or peripherals, or auto parts suppliers, but in reality they sit at the centre of structural shifts reshaping economies.

At Tamim, we often refer to this as the “In Rust We Trust” mindset, a belief that industrial and enabling businesses, though less glamorous, can generate exceptional returns when positioned correctly. This week we highlight three such companies from our Global High Conviction portfolio: Evonik Industries, Logitech International, and Magna International. Each is exposed to powerful global themes, urbanisation and energy renewal, digital adoption and gaming, and the evolution of mobility. Together, they show how conviction in overlooked sectors can generate both resilience and upside.

Evonik: Chemicals, Nutrition, and the European Dilemma

Evonik Industries, listed in Frankfurt, is one of the world’s leading specialty chemical companies. With operations spanning specialty additives, nutrition and care, smart materials, and infrastructure services, it might be pigeonholed as another cyclical European chemical stock. But Evonik is far more than that.

At the heart of its business lies animal nutrition, particularly methionine, a key amino acid supplement used in poultry and livestock farming. This is a structurally growing market, protein consumption continues to rise across Asia, and farmers worldwide are increasingly reliant on high-quality supplements to improve efficiency and sustainability. Evonik is one of the dominant suppliers in this niche, with a product range that includes MetAMINO, the benchmark methionine brand for global animal farming. This business is not cyclical fashion, it is critical infrastructure for the global food chain.

Still, near-term challenges remain. The European economy has slowed, weighing on Evonik’s revenue base. In FY25, total revenue slipped from €16.3 billion to €16.0 billion, with EBITDA down from €2.1 billion to €1.8 billion. Yet net income turned sharply positive at €461 million, thanks to efficiency gains and cost control. Here lies the first key point for investors: Evonik is structurally efficient. Cost-cutting and what one might call “Teutonic discipline” mean that when revenue growth returns, incremental gains will drop through to the bottom line at higher margins than before.

The second point is income resilience. Evonik currently offers a dividend yield above 7%, backed by a stable balance sheet and conservative capital management. In a world where bond yields fluctuate and equity markets remain volatile, that yield provides both downside protection and investor patience.

The third point is strategic optionality. Europe’s energy policy, particularly Germany’s, remains conflicted. The heavy tilt towards renewables without sufficient baseload capacity has exposed industries like chemicals to high and volatile energy costs. But any adjustment, a recognition that nuclear or alternative energy sources must form part of the mix, would disproportionately benefit companies like Evonik. In other words, Evonik provides investors with a kind of “backside coverage” on a European policy U-turn. If policy improves, the company wins. If it does not, larger peers with greater energy exposure will suffer even more, leaving Evonik relatively advantaged.

Finally, Evonik’s local-for-local production strategy is a hidden strength. By producing close to end markets, it minimises exposure to global trade frictions, tariffs, or supply chain disruptions. In an era of fragmentation and reshoring, this model becomes more valuable. Expansion into Asia-Pacific remains on the agenda, promising further diversification away from Europe.

Evonik may never capture headlines in the same way as a software darling, but it remains a case study in why “boring” can be brilliant, a resilient dividend payer, a market leader in animal nutrition, and a call option on Europe’s energy sanity.

Logitech: Picks and Shovels for the Digital Age

If Evonik epitomises industrial resilience, Logitech represents the quiet power of “picks and shovels” in the digital age. Headquartered in Switzerland, Logitech designs and sells peripherals: keyboards, mice, headsets, webcams, speakers, and gaming gear. Hardly the stuff of investor dreams, some might think. After all, how exciting can keyboards really be?

Quite exciting, as it turns out. Logitech sits at the intersection of several powerful trends: the gaming boom, the rise of streaming and digital content, and the hybrid work revolution. When Nvidia sells a graphics card, the gamer who buys it almost always purchases complementary hardware, a high-quality headset, a responsive mouse, a mechanical keyboard. In many ways, Logitech’s business is the necessary add-on to the GPU cycle. You can think of it as a leveraged play on the gaming and AI ecosystem without paying Nvidia multiples.

Financially, the company remains robust. FY25 revenues rose to $4.6 billion, with EBITDA holding at $759 million. Net cash sits at $1.4 billion, providing a fortress balance sheet. Margins have compressed somewhat as competition in peripherals remains intense, but free cash flow remains strong, enabling dividends and share buybacks. Indeed, Logitech has a track record of returning capital to shareholders while maintaining investment in innovation.

Importantly, the company is not just selling “dumb” hardware. Increasingly, Logitech integrates software-enabled features, AI-powered optimisation, and cloud-linked services into its products. For enterprise clients, Logitech’s video conferencing equipment, ConferenceCams, controllers, webcams, has become a key enabler of hybrid work. In the gaming space, its Logitech G line continues to dominate esports and streaming, while acquisitions like Loupedeck add to its ecosystem for creators.

Valuation is not cheap, forward P/E sits around 25x, but for a company with this balance sheet strength, market positioning, and exposure to structural growth, we see it as justified. More importantly, Logitech represents an investment where the product cycle is not a question of “if” but “when.” Hybrid work, digital content creation, and gaming are not fads, they are embedded in the modern economy.

In short, Logitech embodies the Tamim principle of looking past the obvious. Investors who chase Nvidia may win or lose depending on GPU cycles, but those who hold Logitech capture the durable, everyday monetisation of that cycle, the keyboards, cameras, and headsets that make the ecosystem work.

Magna International: The Tech in Car Parts

If Logitech is about digital picks and shovels, Magna International is about rethinking what a “car parts” supplier really is. Based in Canada, Magna is the largest auto supplier in North America and the third largest globally. With over 280,000 employees worldwide and operations spanning body structures, seating, vision systems, and powertrains, it is a behemoth of the automotive industry. Yet calling Magna a simple “parts supplier” misses the point.

The auto industry is in flux. Electric vehicles grab headlines, but adoption is uneven, infrastructure lags, and consumers remain cautious. Internal combustion engines remain dominant in many markets, particularly in developing economies. Hybrids, offering lower emissions and fuel savings without range anxiety, are increasingly emerging as the pragmatic middle ground. This is where Magna shines.

The company’s hybrid drivetrain technology, particularly its six-gear systems and clutch modules, offers automakers a best-in-class solution for hybrid vehicles. Unlike some suppliers betting entirely on EVs, Magna has positioned itself as the bridge technology provider, supporting ICE, hybrid, and EV platforms. This diversified exposure reduces risk while giving it leverage to whichever powertrain dominates the next decade.

Financially, Magna remains solid. FY25 net income rose to $1.2 billion despite a slight dip in revenue to $41.6 billion. EBITDA increased to $3.9 billion, reflecting cost control and operational efficiency. The company pays a dividend yield above 4% and trades on less than 9x forward earnings, compelling for a business with global scale and exposure to growth segments. Recent contract wins, including vehicle assembly partnerships with XPENG, reinforce its relevance in next-generation mobility.

Beyond hybrids, Magna is also active in eDrive systems, battery enclosures, and autonomous vehicle components such as cameras, radar, and interior sensing. In effect, it is a stealth technology company embedded within the auto supply chain. Investors may see “car parts,” but the reality is sensors, drive systems, and assembly expertise at the cutting edge of mobility.

Magna demonstrates why we look for misunderstood exposures. The narrative may focus on Tesla and BYD, but the enablers, the companies that provide the drivetrain, the seats, the chassis, are often better value, more diversified, and just as exposed to mobility’s future.

Conclusion: Conviction in the Overlooked

Taken together, Evonik, Logitech, and Magna reflect a consistent Tamim philosophy: finding value and resilience in companies that are not always obvious market darlings but sit at the heart of structural change. Evonik shows how chemicals and animal nutrition can deliver both yield and upside in an evolving Europe. Logitech highlights how peripherals can be the indispensable tools of gaming, streaming, and hybrid work. Magna illustrates how the largest auto parts supplier can in fact be a stealth technology play on hybrids and mobility transformation.

Each faces headwinds. Evonik grapples with Europe’s energy malaise. Logitech competes in a commoditised peripherals market. Magna contends with auto industry cyclicality and trade tensions. But each also carries strong balance sheets, shareholder returns, and exposure to secular trends.

For investors, the lesson is clear: not all opportunity is found where the headlines shine. Sometimes, conviction means looking at the so-called boring names and realising they are the backbone of transformation.

Tamim Takeaway

The world is changing, and so are the enablers. Whether in the amino acids that feed the food chain, the peripherals that connect us to digital worlds, or the hybrid drivetrains that bridge mobility’s future, opportunity lies in companies that quietly make the system work. At Tamim, we invest with conviction in these overlooked but essential businesses, confident that in time, the market will catch up to the value they deliver.

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Disclaimer: Evonik Industries AG (XTRA: EVK), Logitech International S.A. (SWX: LOGN) and Magna International Inc. (TSX: MG) are held in TAMIM Portfolios as at date of article publication. Holdings can change substantially at any given time.