14-18 Feb | 3 Stocks to Watch This Week: Airbnb, Renault, NVIDIA
NewsWelcome to the second half of February, which is a month that hasn’t always been kind to investors! In fact, over the last five years, the S&P 500 has fallen by an average of 0.6% during February. After a rocky start to the year, can we buck the trend this month? Let’s look at the positives: opportunities are plentiful and corporate earnings are still in line with expectations. This week, we take a look at three companies that could make some positive headlines.
Digital nomads and the rise of an Airbnb lifestyle
“I think [Airbnb] is one of those infants that’s been thrown out with the growth-stock bathwater,” Jim Cramer, host of CNBC’s Investing Club, recently said. And despite the group’s difficulties with the slump in tourism, Airbnb remains a long-term investment success, according to Cramer. The platform continues to benefit from a boom in bookings from remote workers. The group’s CEO has even gone 100% digital nomad, announcing in January that he’d be “living on Airbnb.” and “staying in a different town or city every couple weeks.” Talk about leading by example!
This Tuesday, February 15th, the California-based group will present its quarterly figures. Airbnb’s last earnings report showed a continued rebound from the lows of the pandemic, as revenue climbed 67% year-on-year and 36% over 2019 levels. Earnings are expected to reach $0.05 per share. And the big surprise is the group’s profitability, with an earnings before interest and taxes margin of almost 50%.
Airbnb will publish its quarterly results at the same time as the hotel chain Marriott, a major player in tourist and business accommodation. It looks like Airbnb now has a market capitalisation of $94 billion compared to Marriott’s $53 billion.
NVIDIA continues its virtual conquest
Computing and artificial intelligence leader NVIDIA will report on Wednesday, February 16th. Wall Street analysts expect revenue to rise 48% in the fourth quarter, compared to the same period last year. Earnings-per-share is predicted to rise 58%. NVIDIA shares have returned 69.6% in the year to January 26th, easily outperforming the S&P 500’s 14.5% return over the same period.
Renault resists the crisis in the automotive sector
The French carmaker’s share price has had a very positive start to the year! The stock is up 11% since January 1st and a handful of analysts have updated their ratings to “buy” and “overweight”, which means that the share could have a strong potential for the coming year. Investors are optimistic as Renault is working towards a brand new strategy, called Renaulution. The company “aims to move from volumes to value” with the launch of 24 electric and hybrid products by 2024.
On Thursday, February 17th, Renault will publish its quarterly results. According to analysts at JPMorgan, the group could benefit from an improvement in the automotive sector and overall debt reduction.
In fact, the automotive sector will be in the spotlight more generally this week, as new car registration figures will be released in Germany on Tuesday, February 15th, as well as across the eurozone on Thursday, February 17th. After a record decline in new car sales in 2021, the industry may finally be showing signs of recovery.
Economic and earnings calendar
Monday – Expectation on US consumer inflation (January). Quarterly figures from Capgemini, Michelin.
Tuesday – Spanish inflation rate (January). US unemployment and growth rates (Q4 estimate). ZEW economic sentiment index in Germany and the euro area (February). New car registrations in Germany (January). Trade balance in Ireland (December). Quarterly figures for Airbnb, Engie, Marriott, Randstad.
Wednesday – UK inflation rate (January). ECB non-monetary policy meeting. US Industrial Production (January). FOMC minutes. Quarterly figures from NVIDIA, Cisco, Shopify, Heineken, Kraft Heinz, Ahold Delhaize , Carrefour.
Thursday -New car registrations in the euro area (January). Trade balance in Spain and Italy (December). Inflation rate in Ireland (January). Quarterly figures from Airbus, Walmart, Kering, Orange, Palantir, Ubisoft.
Friday – French unemployment rate (Q4) and inflation rate (January). Consumer confidence in the eurozone (February). Quarterly figures for Hermès, Renault.
For a full list of company earnings, check our financial calendar directly in the app.
We’ll be back next week with another edition of the BUX Breakdown. In the meantime, have a great week on the markets!
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The BUX Breakdown was written by Clémentine Pougnet.
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All views, opinions, and analyses in this article should not be read as personal investment advice and individual investors should make their own decisions or seek independent advice. This article has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and is considered a marketing communication.
