Yahoo Finance Trending tickers: Target | JD | SSE | Fuller, Smith & Turner
The latest investor updates on stocks that are trending on Wednesday
Target (TGT)
Retail giant Target, which saw its shares soar by as much as 18%, having its best day since 2019 after it reported strong results.
Its third quarter earnings beat estimates and revenue expectations as purchases in high-frequency categories like food and beauty helped prop up weaker customer spending.
Target’s total revenue fell from $26.52bn (£21.34bn) compared to the year before, however for the second straight quarter its comparable sales declined.
Comparable sales dropped nearly 5% year-on-year as customers bought fewer discretionary items. Digital sales declined by 6% compared with the year-ago period.
The industry metric, also called same-store sales, takes out the impact of store openings, closures and renovations.
The company said it expects the holiday quarter to look roughly the same, with comparable sales in a range of around a mid-single-digit decline and adjusted earnings per share of $1.90 to $2.60.
JD (JD)
JD shares surged 9% after it posted better-than-expected third-quarter revenues, up 1.7%, aided by China's Singles' Day sales and efficiency gains.
Revenue came to 247.7 billion yuan ($34.2bn, £27.5bn) in the September quarter, versus the 246.6 billion yuan average analyst estimate.
We reported steady top-line performance for the quarter with record profitability driven by our proactive efforts on enhancing price competitiveness and platform ecosystem, as well as our supply chain advantages,” Sandy Xu, chief executive officer of JD.com, said in a statement.
The company said operating margin of JD Retail remained flat at 5.2%.
It comes after the company unveiled its biggest flagship store opening of the year at Birmingham’s Bullring & Grand Central on Saturday.
SSE (SSE.L)
SSE shares were 2% higher on the day after it reported a jump in profits thanks to two new gas-fired power stations.
The group made adjusted operating profits of £312m from its thermal power division, compared with £100m for the same period last year. The thermal division covers its operations that generate power by burning fossil fuels.
In the six months to the end of September, gas-fired generation accounted for 45% of the company’s overall operating profits of £693m.
SSE cited the significant increase in earnings to “additional capacity from Triton Power, acquired in September 2022, and Keadby 2 power station, in Lincolnshire, which entered commercial operation in March”.
Read more: UK inflation falls to 4.6% as cost of living squeeze eases
SSE said: “Developing decarbonised alternatives to the existing gas-fired fleet will be vital to deliver SSE’s goal to cut carbon intensity by 80pc by 2030… SSE Thermal is developing options to progressively decarbonise its portfolio, most notably in carbon capture and storage and hydrogen technologies.”
Between them, the two contributed £103m towards earnings.
SSE now plans to grow its investment in clean energy by 14% to £20.5bn for its current budget.
Fuller, Smith & Turner (FSTA.L)
Fuller, Smith & Turner found favour with investors on Wednesday after it reported a jump in sales and profits.
Shares rose 8.8% on the day after it reported that like-for-like sales in the last 32 weeks climbed 11.7%, and that bookings for Christmas are 11% higher than a year ago.
Pre-tax profits at the firm rose to £14.9m in the six months to the end of September, up from £10.7m the previous year. Food sales grew 15.5%, while drink sales are up 10.9%.
“We have had a strong start to the year – delivering excellent financial results and building a superb platform for future growth," Simon Emeny, chief executive, said.
"While there are still a number of macro-economic elements to navigate, certain external factors are moving in our favour with office workers continuing to return to their desks and the City becoming a seven day operation with increased leisure spend at the weekend.
“There has been a welcome return of major events. Customers are increasingly seeking premium experiences when they are spending their money, and we have the benefit of the lucrative international tourist trade to come with inbound tourism still below pre-COVID levels."
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