Monday 19 October
– Trading update from miner BHP Group
– Chinese industrial production, retail sales and tangible fixed asset investment growth numbers
– US National Association of House Builders NAHB confidence index
– In Europe, quarterly results from Philips
– In the US, quarterly results from IBM and Halliburton
Tuesday 20 October
– Netflix Q3 results
AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said the online TV streaming service “blew away second-quarter estimates and then guided cautiously for the next quarter back in July”, although the stock since moved to the $550 level for the third time in its life, some 90% above where it was a year ago.
“Helped by lockdowns and the dearth of new films in cinemas (even those that are open) Netflix looks as well positioned as most firms could be for the current environment, barring perhaps its $8.1bn net debt position and further $19.1bn in guaranteed content development liabilities, which bears argue could yet catch up with the company should subscriber, sales, profits and cash flow progress ever start to really disappoint.
“That said, cash flow did improve in Q2, albeit helped by some retrenchment and technology development and marketing spend and debt has come down for two quarters in a row.”
– Full-year results from house builder Bellway
– Quarterly results from Reckitt Benckiser
The Share Centre is maintaining its hold stance on the household goods company, which it noted has done particularly well during the crisis environment, with more people at home, resulting in increased spending for cleaning and hygiene products.
“Investors are expecting this trend to have continued into the quarter just gone. No surprise, then, that Reckitt Benckiser is among the few to continue with a dividend pay-out. Investors will also be expecting management to maintain their full year like-for-like revenues growth of around 12%.”
– Trading statement from Gamesys
– US new housing permits and new housing starts data
– In Europe, quarterly results from UBS
– In the US, quarterly results from Procter & Gamble, Texas Instruments, Philip Morris, Snap and Paccar
Wednesday 21 October
– Trading statements from Avast, SEGRO, Fresnillo and Anglo American
The Share Centre said with many commercial property developers struggling in the current climate, SEGRO has actually benefitted thanks to the rise in online consumer retail activity.
“The group’s increased demand for their warehouses was evident in interims back in August, where the group reported a 6.5% rise in pre-tax profits. Of course, this online trend has been sustained throughout the pandemic period. Investors will therefore be hopeful for some more smooth results next week.”
– UK inflation figures
– US oil inventory data
– Latest ‘Beige Book’ from the US Federal Reserve
– In Europe, quarterly results from Ericsson, Akzo Nobel and Randstad
– In the US, quarterly results from Tesla, Verizon Communications, Abbot Labs, CSX, LAM Research, Xilinx, Baker Hughes and GrubHub
Thursday 22 October
– Unilever Q3 results
Mould said Unilever’s Q2 sales significantly exceeded expectations, with a tiny underlying drop of 0.3%, compared to analysts’ forecasts of a slide in excess of 7%, and shareholders will be hoping for more of the same in Q3.
“The consensus forecast is looking for underlying sales growth of 1.3% year-on-year. This would still represent a rate below the company’s long run goal of 2% to 4% but given the current economic outlook that seems entirely understandable.”
– Trading updates from RELX, Polymetal, Travis Perkins, precision instrument makers Spectris and Renishaw and cybersecurity expert GB Group
The Share Centre lists RELX as a buy following the restructuring programme which saw the group move away from its core trade journals base.
“The group’s priority is the organic development of increasingly sophisticated information-based analytics and decision tools for its customers. The group has some defensive characteristics but pressure is set to remain around Exhibitions as a result of events being cancelled due to the virus.”
– US weekly unemployment claims
– US existing homes sales
– In Europe, quarterly results from Kone and STMicroelectronics
– In the US, quarterly results from Amazon, Microsoft, Intel, Coca-Cola, AT&T, Kimberly-Clark, Freeport-McMoRan, Southwest Airlines and American Airlines
Friday 23 October
– Barclays Q3 results
The first of the big five FTSE 100 banks to deliver Q3 results, Barclays’ update will follow a mixed Q3 results season for the US banking giants, said Mould. In the US, a lower loan loss provisions and strong performances from investment banking operations helped profits and falling net interest margins on loan books held them back, he added.
“At least the bar of expectations is already low at Barclays since the shares trade no higher than they did in 1991, when the UK was smack in the middle of a recession,” said Mould.
“In this context it may be a surprise that analysts actually expect Barclays’ Q3 pre-tax profit to grow year-on-year, to £507m against £246m a year ago, but that was when the final slug of Payment Protection Insurance claims went through the books at a cost of £1.6bn. For the first nine months of the year, Barclays is expected to record a pre-tax income of £1.8bn, down from £3.3bn at the same stage in 2019.”
– Trading statements from London Stock Exchange Group and InterContinental Hotels
The Share Centre noted InterContinental Hotels has unsurprisingly been hit hard by the pandemic due to the lack of travel during lockdowns. It said interim results in August highlighted this struggle, showing revenue per available room, a key performance measure, had fallen by more than half in H1.
“Despite this, a rise in staycations has helped provide some support for the group, with travellers opting for the more budget-friendly hotels owned by the group such as Holiday Inn. Nevertheless, the environment is likely to remain tough and investors will be interested to hear management’s outlook heading into the next calendar year.”
– GfK UK consumer confidence ‘flash’ reading
– Manufacturing PMI flash readings in Asia, UK and Europe
– German Ifo business confidence survey
– Belgian Courbe Synthetique business confidence survey
– In Europe, quarterly results from ABB, Schindler and Daimler
– In the US, quarterly results from American Express and cruise ship operator Royal Caribbean
