Food delivery disruptor Deliveroo PLC (LSE:ROO) (Deliveroo PLC (LSE:ROO)) remains something of a mystery to investors in the leading up to its third-quarter earnings call on Friday, with its shares hitting a new low recently (read the full Deliveroo preview here).
Elsewhere the London Stock Exchange Group PLC (LSE:LSEG) (London Stock Exchange Group PLC (LSE:LSEG)) is expected to deliver equity trading income similar to a year-ago, but the slow-down in corporate deal-making could be impacting its capital markets revenues, said fund manager Steve Clayton at Hargreaves Lansdown.
“The exposure to the US market through the Russell Indices business will be a drag, given Wall Street weakness, but the drop in sterling could well save the day for the division. With the group able to access significant degrees of self-help as it unlocks the benefits from its earlier acquisition of Refinitiv, the LSEG should be one of the more reliable reporters in the current results season,” Clayton said.
Holiday Inn owner Intercontinental Hotels Group PLC (LSE:IHG) (Intercontinental Hotels Group PLC (LSE:IHG)) back in August reported that business in the US was leading its recovery from the pandemic disruption, leading to the board deciding to reinstate the dividend and announcing a US$500m share buyback.
"The darkening economic outlook has inevitably weighed on the entire sector here, although a data hack which came to light in September brought the company some unwelcome publicity about how it handles customer data, and caused disruption to booking systems," said Michael Hewson at CMC Markets.
Macro matters
UK borrowing and retail sales data will be released for September, plus the GfK Consumer Confidence index and ‘flash’ PMI services numbers for October.
The consumer confidence index decreased five points in September to -49, plunging to the lowest since records began in 1974.
PM Liz Truss and then-chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng's mini-budget are only likely to have added to the woes from when the survey was taken, meaning a new low is quite possible.
Government borrowing, meanwhile, soared to £11.8bn in August, almost twice as much as the Treasury’s independent forecaster had expected, amid high inflation that pushed interest payments to a record for that particular month.
UK retail sales tanked 1.6% in August and the decline is expected to not be quite as bad in September as the weather cooled and new autumnal clothing ranges were possible snapped up.
Significant announcements expected on Friday
Trading updates: Deliveroo PLC (Deliveroo PLC (LSE:ROO)), Intercontinental Hotels Group PLC (Intercontinental Hotels Group PLC (LSE:IHG)), London Stock Exchange Group PLC (London Stock Exchange Group PLC (LSE:LSEG))
AGMs: Trafalgar Property Group PLC (AIM:TRAF) (Trafalgar Property Group PLC (AIM:TRAF))
Economic announcements: GFK Consumer Confidence (UK), Public Sector Net Borrowing (UK), Retail Sales (UK), Flash PMI Services (UK)
US earnings: American Express, Schlumberger Ltd, Verizon Communications, Seagate