MoPh Markets

Whitbread, Deliveroo, IHG — 3 Stocks to Watch This Week

As the US earnings season gets underway, the number of London-listed companies reporting also jumps, and this week, that’s where our focus is: earnings updates. 

Whitbread (LON: WTB), Deliveroo (LON: ROO), and IHG (LON: IHG) are all scheduled to release numbers this week, and investors will be keen to see how they have performed in recent months.

Whitbread

  • The Premier Inn owner is due to report its FY24 Interim Results on October 18.
  • Analysts expect WTB’s first-half earnings to come in at £305 million.
  • In the last month, the stock, which has remained resilient this year, has been upgraded twice (by Oddo BHF and Exane BNP Paribas) and downgraded once (by Redburn), according to TheFly.
  • After upgrading WTB to Neutral, Exane BNP said the company is on track to its cost inflation target for the first time since 2021.
  • Peel Hunt said in a note previewing the upcoming release that “the interims should highlight that demand remains strong and inflationary pressures are abating.”

Deliveroo

  • The food delivery company is due to report its Q3 Trading update on October 19.
  • ROO has been another strong performer this year, up 46%.
  • Analysts expect Deliveroo to report Q3 revenue of £488m, up 1% YoY.
  • Orders are seen slipping by 0.5% to 69.7m, with GTV per order at £24.2m, up 3% YoY.
  • ROO narrowed its 2023 GTV growth guidance in its interim release to lower single-digit percentage growth from low to mid-single-digit growth.

IHG

  • London-listed shares of IHG have climbed more than 25% this year.
  • The UK-based hotel company that owns brands such as Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, and InterContinental is due to report its Q3 Trading update on October 20. 
  • In a note Wednesday, Exane BNP downgraded IHG to Underperform, stating it is its least preferred European hotel given its US exposure and “capped upside risk.” 
  • In contrast, BofA reinstated IHG with a Buy rating in late September, stating the company’s system growth concerns are overblown and strong RevPAR should be sustainable due to resilient travel demand.
  • Given the robust travel demand, we see IHG posting a solid update.

By Sam Boughedda