magazine archive
magazine archive
News
Salesforce tries to strike a balance between revenue growth and margins
Thursday 28 Nov 2024A global enterprise applications gorilla, Salesforce (CRM:NYSE) has spent 2024 (and 2023) trying to rebuild profit margins after activist investor StarboardValue started kicking up a stink. Net profit margins had sunk to low single digits during the pandemic, which might be understandable, but why...
Unilever confirms ice cream IPO and productivity programme remain on track
Thursday 28 Nov 2024Consumer goods goliath Unilever (ULVR) is pushing ahead with the IPO (initial public offering) of its ice cream unit and plans to slim down rather than spin off its food division, as CEO Hein Schumacher’s turnaround strategy continues to gain traction. At the FTSE 100 giant’s recent investor event...
Baillie Gifford-managed Edinburgh Worldwide plans up to £130 million capital return
Thursday 28 Nov 2024E dinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust (EWI) surprised the market this week when it announced it had developed ‘a comprehensive action plan to improve execution’ and would return up to £130 million of capital to shareholders next year. ‘Our vision, to identify and manage a carefully selected...
Look out for an update on bookings momentum alongside On The Beach results
Thursday 28 Nov 2024There is quite a lot for investors to look out for when online package holiday provider On The Beach (OTB) reports full-year results on 3 December. First up will be bookings since the end of its financial year on 30 September. Are people still making holidays a priority despite continuing pressure...
Chancellor’s drive for ‘mega-funds’ could create ‘mega-challenges’
Thursday 21 Nov 2024At least week’s inaugural Mansion House speech, new chancellor Rachel Reeves announced what she called ‘the biggest set of reforms to the pensions market in decades’ with the plan to merge local government pension schemes (LPGS) into a series of ‘megafunds’ along the lines of Australia’s ‘supers’...
Walt Disney shares soar after CEO Bob Iger’s fourth-quarter breakthrough
Thursday 21 Nov 2024Media giant Walt Disney (DIS:NYSE) showed investors on 14 November it was capable of a turnaround delivering record fourth-quarter streaming and box office numbers. Disney Pixar’s Inside Out 2 became the highest-grossing animated movie of all time this summer, surpassing Frozen II at the box office...
Nomination of vaccine sceptic Robert F Kennedy Jnr sends healthcare shares into a spin
Thursday 21 Nov 2024The potential appointment of well-known vaccine sceptic Robert F Kennedy Jnr to the Trump cabinet in the role of head of the Department of Health and Human Services sent shivers through pharmaceutical companies on 14 November, with shares falling around 7% on average on both sides of the Atlantic...
Troubled semiconductor outfit IQE considers sale of Taiwan subsidiary
Thursday 21 Nov 2024After nearly 25 years of ups and downs on the stock market, compound semiconductor wafer supplier IQE (IQE:AIM) is at a real low point. The shares are trading at their lowest level in more than 15 years, after the company announced it would look to raise £15 million from its largest shareholder...
Shein IPO in sight as Amazon digs in for the long ‘Haul’
Thursday 21 Nov 2024A year after fast-fashion sensation Shein was first thought to have filed registration papers for a UK IPO, reports suggest the company is targeting the first quarter of 2025 for a London float that could value the business at £50 billion. Shein’s position as a fast-growing retailer expanding...
Retailers and hospitality firms bemoan budget cost burden
Thursday 14 Nov 2024Retail and hospitality companies have slammed the UK government’s Budget as a raid on corporate coffers that will heap extra costs on already hard-pressed sectors, with Labour’s 6.7% increase in the National Living Wage and uplift in employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) forecast to...