BT

The telecoms group needs to start providing some answers if it is to keep shareholders on side

Telecoms group BT (BT.A) has a mountain to climb if it is going to keep shareholders satisfied with its third quarter update on 2 February and its promised price hike.

The firm’s Q2 results raised more questions than they answered, according to analysts at Berenberg, such as whether the growth in average revenue per consumer customer is sustainable, has weakness in the Enterprise business bottomed and does the decline in Openreach’s broadband base represent ‘a new normal’?

As well as providers answers to these questions, the company needs to assure the market it will stick with a plan to raise prices in March by 14% or CPI plus 3.9%, as permitted by the regulator, in the face of an all-too-likely political storm. [IC]

Shell

Higher gas prices a boon but windfall taxes may bite

Energy giant Shell (SHEL) has already published a raft of forecasts for production and costs across its business ahead of its fourth quarter results on 2 February, which suggest a decent lift to earnings from its LNG (liquefied natural gas) division while lower oil prices will impact refined products.

It has indicated windfall taxes in the UK and Europe could be as much as $2 billion, which will no doubt feature in any commentary on its previously communicated plan to invest £25 billion in the UK. [IC]

Amazon

Fourth quarter earnings expectations were significantly downgraded last October

Investors will be keen to see if e-commerce giant Amazon (AMZN:NASDAQ) lowered expectations enough after significantly downgrading its fourth quarter earnings outlook in October. The results will be published on 2 February.

Revenues are expected to be between $140 billion to $148 billion with operating income ranging from zero to $4 billion.

Consensus full year earnings estimates have tumbled from a profit of $1.34 billion to a loss of around $1.2 billion according to Refinitiv data. Earnings for 2023 are forecast to bounce back to almost $17 billion.

Amazon has been forced to retrench following overexpansion during the pandemic which saw its workforce more than double to 1.6 million. In January the company announced 18,000 job cuts and a hiring freeze as it prioritises cost control and profitability. [MG]

Meta Platforms

Why Mark Zuckerberg’s unloved Meta must start to deliver

Meta Platforms’ (META:NASDAQ) fourth quarter results update on 1 February will be scrutinised by investors to see if the company achieved guidance for quarterly revenue in the $30 billion to $32.5 billion range. That will depend on whether weaker advertising spend has impacted its Facebook and Instagram social media platform earnings.

Revenue softened 4% year-on-year to $27.2 billion in the third quarter of 2022 and Meta is coming under increased investor scepticism surrounding its metaverse strategy, as well as concerns over governance and privacy regulation. [JC]

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