Trending tickers: Snap, Barratt Developments, Sainsburys, Uber

Snap, whose shares nearly doubled last year, is now on track to lose roughly $9bn in market value on the back of the news that it missed its quarterly revenue estimates. (Timon Schneider)

Snap Inc (SNAP)

Shares in Snap are down as much as 30% in pre-market trading on Wednesday after the company missed its quarterly revenue estimates.

The report showed revenue rose 5% to $1.36bn (£1.08bn), but still missed estimates of $1.38bn, according to LSEG data.

In addition, the Snapchat owner posted an adjusted first-quarter EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) which also came shy of analysts' expectations.

Snap, whose shares nearly doubled last year, is now on track to lose roughly $9bn in market value on the back of the news.

The company also said earlier this week it would lay off 10% of staff, or 528 employees, in order to "invest incrementally" in the company's growth over time.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Coming so soon after the stellar Meta performance, a nagging worry about the way Snap is being run has turned into a crisis of confidence."

Barratt Developments (BDEV.L)

Housebuilder Barratt is set to merge with rival developer Redrow (RDW.L), creating a combined group which will be renamed as Barratt Redrow.

The deal will offer Redrow shareholders 1.44 of new Barratt shares at a premium of 27.2% of last night's closing price, valuing the developer at £2.5bn.

Barratt shares fell almost 8% on the news while Redrow shares surged 13%.

It comes as the property sector consolidates after the downturn caused by high UK interest rates.

Read more: UK house prices rise for fourth month running

Once the takeover is complete, Redrow shareholders will hold approximately 32.8% of the combined group and Barratt shareholders will hold around 67.2%.

Redrow founder Steve Morgan said that Barratt was a home builder he has “long admired,” while chief executive Matthew Pratt said the combined companies “creates a leading UK homebuilder”

Meanwhile, David Thomas, chief executive of Barratt, added that the deal will lead to more ‘high-quality’ homes being built.

He said: “We have great respect for Redrow, its overall strategy, its leadership and employees, and its high-quality homes and communities. This is an exciting opportunity to bring together two highly complementary companies, creating an exceptional homebuilder in terms of quality, service and sustainability, able to build more of the high-quality homes this country needs.

"The Combined Group would leverage the respective strengths of both Barratt and Redrow, delivering significant benefits to our people, our supply chains, and – most importantly – our customers.”

The tie-up is expected to eventually lead to savings of at least £90m a year, in three year’s time, the companies said.

Watch: How much money do I need to buy a house?

Sainsbury's (SBRY.L)

Sainsbury’s has revealed plans to overhaul its supermarkets with a focus on creating more food space.

In its strategy update, the UK’s second biggest supermarket chain said it would slash its general merchandise and clothing offering across several sites to create more space for food and also ensure it is providing full grocery ranges.

The new plan, dubbed Next Level Sainsbury’s, comes as a bid to slash costs by £1bn over the next three years.

The group added that it will also “tighten the focus” of its non-food ranges such as technology investments to deliver automation and savings., with more changes for its Argos store estate.

Read more: How to save money on your council tax as bills set to rise by at least 5%

Simon Roberts, chief executive said: “We’re going to build on what’s driven our success since 2020. We’re determined to be First Choice for Food, ensuring more customers in more of our stores can enjoy more brilliant Sainsbury’s food.

"That means more space for our food offer, while still delivering the general merchandise products customers want from us. That way, not only will we find more ways to delight new and existing customers, we will also continue growing volume market share."

It will also improve its loyalty card scheme, Nectar, to offer “personalised, rewarding and integrated loyalty and market-leading retail media capabilities”.

Uber (UBER)

Uber has posted its first full-year of operating profits since it floated on the stock market five years ago.

It made income from operations of $1.11bn in 2023, up from a loss of $1.832bn in 2022, beating expectations. Revenue grew 17%, lifted by a 24% jump in trips in Uber vehicles, as well as a rise in bookings in the run-up to Christmas.

Gross bookings, which includes deliver orders, ride hailing and driver earnings, grew 22% to $37.6bn in the final three months of 2023.

The number of trips and monthly active platform consumers grew 24% and 15%, respectively, compared to the same period the previous year.

Chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said: "2023 was an inflection point for Uber, proving that we can continue to generate strong, profitable growth at scale. Our audiences are larger and more engaged than ever, with our platform powering an average of nearly 26 million daily trips last year."

Uber predicts that core profits and gross bookings will be strong in the first quarter of this year.

Thomas Monteiro, senior analyst at Investing.com, said: “It was a fantastic quarter for Uber, which shows that the long-term post-pandemic turnaround in the company is finally beginning to bear fruit.

"As we prepare for a faster-growth environment in the second semester of the year, particularly as financial conditions begin to improve, it is likely that the company will be perfectly positioned to lead the ride-hailing space in its quest for new innovations."

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