Equities Focus

Travel stocks, including TripAdvisor, have particularly been hit hard by the outbreak of coronavirus and the subsequent ban on travel to China by various airlines and governments across the world. TripAdvisor are also likely to carry out restructuring across its Experiences and non-hotel segments in order to stay ahead of industry headwinds. Share price fell 7.7% in the past 30 days and is down 52% over the past 52 weeks.

Despite concerns over the launch of Disney+, forcing Netflix to lower its prices, the video-streaming giant have performed well recently. A large amount of this is due to overarching industry trends leaning further towards streaming and away from cable. Sources estimate that internet media consumption is rising at a CAGR of 55%, so market share at this point is not a zero-sum game. Share price rose 5.9% in the past 30 days and is up 1.5% over the past 52 weeks.

Vodafone recently announced that it had agreed to sell its 55% stake in Vodafone Egypt to the Saudi Telecom Company for $2.4bn. However, Egypt was one of the fastest-growing markets for Vodafone in comparison to core Western Europe markets (14.7% revenue growth vs 2.4% revenue fall). Share price rose 1.6% in the past 30 days and is up 8.3% over the past 52 weeks.

TalkTalk’s focus on upgrading their customers to faster and more reliable fiber-based connections is lowering customer-service costs and keeping customers happy. The completed HQ move to Salford has also helped with cost savings. Share price rose 2.4% in the past 30 days and is up 13% over the past 52 weeks.

WPP have felt the full effect of an overhaul in traditional agency-business models in recent years. With clients opting for in-house options in a bid for cost savings, WPP are pursuing a radical evolution plan to make the company faster, simpler and more collaborative according to CEO Mark Read. Share price fell 11% in the past 30 days but is up 9.2% over the past 52 weeks.