Source: Sharecast
STOCKS TO WATCH
Travis Perkins warned of subdued market conditions on Tuesday, as it swung to an annual loss. The building materials distributor saw revenues fall 0.9% in the year ended 31 December, or by 0.3% on a like-for-like basis, to £4.6bn, while adjusted operating profits slid 12.5% to £133m. The operating loss was £97m, compared to a £2m profit a year previously. Looking to the current year, the FTSE 250 firm – which has been hit by weakness in the construction sector as well as operational challenges – said the trading environment remained "subdued".
DIY and trade retailer Wickes reported a jump in annual profits and announced a £10m share buyback on Tuesday, adding that its was "comfortable" with progress towards current-year forecasts despite the wet English winter hampering outdoor projects. Adjusted pre-tax profit for the 52 weeks ended 27 December rose 14.4% to £49.9m, compared with £43.6m a year earlier. Consensus adjusted pre-tax profits for FY26 was £57.6m with a range of £52m to £59.8m. Wickes also said it would accelerate its plans to reach 300 stores over the long term from the current 230.
Customer feedback platform operator Trustpilot said on Tuesday that operating profits had surged in 2025, as both bookings and revenue grew and margins expanded. Trustpilot said operating profits had skyrocketed 320% to $16m in FY25, while pre-tax profits grew 172% to $14.1m. Bookings were up 22% at $291.4m, with momentum accelerating in the second half, and revenues rose 24% to $261.1m, driven by strong retention and bookings growth. Adjusted underlying earnings were up 69% at $40.7m, while adjusted EBITDA margins expanded 4.2 percentage points to 15.6%.
NEWSPAPER ROUND-UP
The world's energy watchdog will consider releasing further emergency crude stocks into the global market to cool rising oil prices after warning that it will take time for markets to recover from the ongoing crisis in the Strait of Hormuz. Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency, said its members continued to hold large reserves of emergency oil stocks even after agreeing to the biggest release of government crude in the history of the market, meaning more emergency oil reserves could still be released "as and if needed". – Guardian
Rail passengers will be able to claim compensation for delayed trains directly from the website where they bought their ticket, the government has said, as part of a shake-up to make rail travel simpler. Passengers who use third-party retailers such as Trainline to buy tickets currently, have to submit applications for refunds to the relevant train operator for processing. – Guardian
Rachel Reeves will bank almost £3bn in extra tax revenues if the war in the Middle East leads to a sustained increase in oil and gas prices, new analysis shows. Soaring energy costs are likely to increase the corporation tax paid by North Sea firms by £1.5bn alone, according to Granville Park Partners. – Telegraph
Britain's biggest car park operator has collapsed into administration, blaming a downturn in commuting and inner city shopping since the pandemic. National Car Parks, which runs 340 car parks across the UK, said 682 jobs were at risk after PwC was called in to try and save the business. It will keep sites open while the administrators assess its options for the future, including a potential sale or site closures. – Telegraph
Nvidia has said the revenue opportunity for its artificial intelligence chips could reach at least $1trn through 2027, as the company outlined a strategy to compete more aggressively in the fast-growing market for running AI systems in real time. Jensen Huang, co-founder and chief executive, unveiled a new central processor and an AI system built on technology from Groq — a chip start-up from which Nvidia licensed technology for $17bn in December at its annual GTC developer conference in San Jose, California. – The Times
Companies House has apologised after admitting a security flaw that exposed the personal details of millions of directors and risked allowing unauthorised third parties to make bogus company filings began five months ago. The UK's corporate registry said the issue with its online filing system meant people's dates of birth, residential addresses and company email addresses "may have been" visible to third-party users. It admitted it may also have been possible that "unauthorised filings — such as accounts or changes of director — to have been made on another company's record". – The Times
US CLOSE
Major indices snapped a four-day losing streak on Monday, posting solid gains after hitting a four-month low the previous session, as the recent rally in oil prices came to a halt.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.83% at 46,946.41, while the S&P 500 shed 1.01% to 6,699.38 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.22% weaker at 22,374.18.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com