Justin Emerson

Bytes adjusts to harder code

Bytes Technology has not gone off course, but its latest results show a business losing some of its former glide. The software reseller still converts profit into cash with enviable efficiency, yet growth in gross profit was modest and operating profit fell. Investors must decide whether this is a temporary adjustment to Microsoft's new incentives and Bytes's sales reshuffle, or evidence that a once-smooth compounder is becoming more ordinary.

May 12, 2026 at 04:35 am

Sage's agent wager

Sage has just announced a deepened agreement with Amazon Web Services, and the expanded pact is a sign of where business software is heading. The promise is that small firms will get AI agents inside their ledgers. The risk is that another layer of corporate life becomes dependent on a few giant cloud platforms.

April 29, 2026 at 04:31 am

Analyst recommendations: IBM, Booking, Chevron, Etsy, Murphy OIl…

Every morning, find a selection of analysts' recommendations covering North America. The list only includes companies that have been the subject of a change of opinion or price target, or of a new coverage. It may be updated during the session. This information can be used to shed light on movements in certain stocks or on market sentiment towards a company.

April 28, 2026 at 05:22 am

BP's war-time windfall

BP has delivered the sort of quarter that oil companies enjoy: profits jumped, the share price rallied and traders cheered. But the result says as much about a turbulent oil market as it does about BP itself.

April 28, 2026 at 05:01 am

Financial Literacy: Why is French Debt Rated Lower Than That of the US?

US debt exceeds that of France. However, the United States enjoys better credit ratings. In reality, markets do not judge based solely on debt levels, but rather on a country's capacity to sustain it, finance it and maintain credibility.

April 27, 2026 at 06:00 am

A patchy quarter for Reckitt

Reckitt's latest quarter offers a familiar picture of large consumer-goods firms in 2026: solid brands, uneven demand and a management team asking investors to look past short-term noise. The company's first-quarter update was not bad, but neither was it especially reassuring. Growth came through, though only modestly. Much of it relied on emerging markets and hygiene products, while Europe and seasonal cold-and-flu lines remained soft.

April 22, 2026 at 04:50 am

A quiet quarter for Rentokil

Britain's pest-control leader showed steady growth and a little operational progress.

April 16, 2026 at 04:25 am

PageGroup's uneven spring

PageGroup's first-quarter update reads like a report from a world economy with two speeds. America and Asia are still moving forward, but Britain and continental Europe remain stuck in mud.

April 14, 2026 at 04:46 am

AO's steady climb

AO began in 2000 and came to the stockmarket in 2014 with the air of an insurgent: an online specialist trying to do for bulky household goods what others had done for books or fashion. The journey since then has been less smooth than the early story implied. The group pulled back from continental Europe, refocused on Britain and spent recent years trying to prove that scale in appliances could produce reliable profits, not just revenue. FY25 suggested that this repair job was working: revenue reached £1.21bn, adjusted profit before tax and free cash flow rose, with the group ending the year with net funds and an undrawn £120m revolving credit facility. Let's take a look at the company's latest trading update to see whether the momentum is still holding up.

April 10, 2026 at 04:53 am

JTC grows as takeover nears

JTC reported higher revenue, stronger profits and record new business wins in 2025, as the professional services group moved closer to its planned £2.7 billion takeover by Permira. The company said it delivered resilient results despite difficult market conditions, while also completing two major acquisitions and preparing for a shift from public to private ownership.

April 07, 2026 at 04:56 am

Unilever and McCormick redraw the pantry

Unilever said on Tuesday that it had agreed to separate its food brands and merge the unit with McCormick in a cash-and-stock deal valuing the British firm's food business at about $44.8 billion, the companies said. At the end of the operation, Unilever and its shareholders would own 65% of the new entity.

March 31, 2026 at 04:18 am

Next plc: The relentless retail machine

A year of strong growth, disciplined capital allocation and expanding global reach suggests that the British retailer is quietly compounding value - though not without looming questions on sustainability.

March 26, 2026 at 10:53 am

Atalaya's copper moment

Miner Atalaya's revenue, earnings and cash all rose sharply in 2025, helped by higher copper prices, better sales and a leaner cost base. Yet the figures also show how mining fortunes remain hostage to geology and weather..

March 20, 2026 at 05:14 am

Qatar's Gas Shock

In an interview with Reuters, QatarEnergy's chief executive said the company may have to declare force majeure on long-term liquefied natural gas contracts for as long as five years, potentially disrupting supplies to Italy, Belgium, South Korea and China.

March 19, 2026 at 10:49 am

Unilever - Kraft Heinz: Food, Meet Food

Reports that Unilever and Kraft Heinz explored combining parts of their food portfolios suggest that the old question hanging over Unilever's pantry assets is evolving. The issue is no longer only whether the group should spin food off, but whether those brands might make more sense in someone else's kitchen.

March 19, 2026 at 05:29 am

Close Brothers: Lean banking

Close Brothers has done the easier part of a banking repair job: it has sold assets, shrunk complexity and rebuilt capital. The harder part is still ahead. Its half-year figures show a lender with a resilient core franchise, but one whose profits, dividend policy and market value remain hostage to the unresolved costs of Britain's motor-finance scandal.

March 17, 2026 at 05:17 am

IEA Announces Record Release of Strategic Oil Reserves to Calm Markets

In an extraordinary effort to stabilize global energy markets, the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday that its 32 member countries had unanimously agreed to make 400 million barrels of oil from emergency reserves available to the market, a move the agency described as the largest proposed release of strategic stockpiles in its history.

March 11, 2026 at 10:23 am

Balfour Beatty finds power in power

Balfour Beatty's latest results show a company that looks sturdier than the one investors knew a decade ago. Revenue rose, profits improved, cash piled up and the order book hit a record. Yet this is still construction: a business where margins are thin, surprises are costly and even good years need reading with care.

March 11, 2026 at 05:18 am

Persimmon: Bricks and caution

Persimmon has put in a solid year, and the market liked it. Yet the results say less about a boom in British housing than about a builder using a quiet market to prepare for the next turn in the cycle.

March 10, 2026 at 05:52 am

IMI keeps the cash flowing

British engineering firms rarely excite investors. IMI, a Birmingham based maker of valves and motion control systems, is trying to prove that steady industrial businesses can still deliver attractive returns.

March 06, 2026 at 04:09 am

Beazley's profits fall as insurance cycle cools

Specialist insurer Beazley has spent the past few years enjoying one of the most profitable periods in its history. But its latest annual results suggest that the favourable conditions which lifted insurers' earnings may be fading.

March 04, 2026 at 04:53 am