Rightmove, ITV, On The Beach

“The FTSE 100 is only five points away from hitting a 12-month high as investors flock to stocks with international earnings,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.

In a market where everyone is panicking about real estate funds and house prices, property website Rightmove remains a source of tranquillity. The continuation of strong monthly revenue trends in the first half of the year into July highlights the resilience of its business model. Estate agents struggling to shift homes following the Brexit vote will no doubt spend more on marketing to get a sale over the line. This plays straight into Rightmove’s hands as the market leader for property advertisements.

Better than expected half year results from ITV could help to reverse the 15% share price decline since the EU referendum vote. The big question is whether this is just a quick bounce or a more sustained recovery. It has guided for a 3% decline in net advertising revenue in its third quarter and earnings visibility has to be low in the near term. Deterioration in the UK economy can’t be good for the broadcaster as a drop in consumer confidence has historically been accompanied by reduced TV advertising spend.

Holiday seller On The Beach has faced significant headwinds this year as terrorist activity in many parts of the world has put people off travelling. The business has outperformed the market by having a clear focus on profit rather than revenue. Many other holiday sellers have been slashing prices, sometimes selling at a loss, just to shift stock. On The Beach hasn’t gone down this route. Revenue has declined due to reduced marketing spend but profit is still in line with expectations. That is the right strategy to adopt as heavy discounting tends to only lead to short term gains and it can be hard to put prices back up.

These articles are for information purposes only and are not a personal recommendation or advice.