Trending tickers: TSMC, Wetherspoon, Barratt, SSP Group

The latest investor updates on stocks that are trending on Wednesday

Lucy Harley-McKeown
·3-min read

The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) saw its sales buoyed by the AI boom in its last quarter, with 40% growth in the three months to the end of June bringing in revenue of NT$673.5bn ($206.4bn, £161.3bn).

Results beat estimates of a 35.5% jump.

TSMC supplies both Apple (AAPL) and Nvidia (NVDA) with their most advanced chips. Demand for its wares pushed it briefly to a $1tn market cap in recent weeks, as Wall Street brokerages upped their estimates for its potential.

Bets are on that the company could look to boost earnings further, charging more as demand intensifies for AI data centres and products.

Despite the positive report, stock was down in Wednesday's session.

Pub chain Wetherspoons said in quarterly results on Wednesday it would look to sell off more properties despite growing sales, as it adjusts its strategy towards larger, newer pubs.

It saw a bump in sales of 5.8% in the 10 weeks to 7 July 2024, compared to the same period last year. In the year-to-date, it said like-for-like sales increased by 7.7%.

It will look to sell 10 more pubs, on top of the 26 already sold from the estate.

"The gradual recovery in sales and profits, following the pandemic, has continued in the current financial year. Total sales are, again, at record levels, with fewer pubs," said CEO Tim Martin. "Sales per pub are approximately 21% higher than pre-pandemic levels, which has helped to compensate for the very substantial increase in costs.”

UK train station caterer SSP Group, which operates brands such as Starbucks (SBUX) and M&S (MKS.L), surged more than 11% in early trade in London on Wednesday, as the company reported a positive third-quarter trading update.

Group sales were up 16% on last year, with like-for-like sales growth of 6%, net contract gains of 5% and a contribution from acquisitions of 5%.

The sales bump was led by an increasing demand for leisure travel, and its full-year expectations remain unchanged.

The UK housebuilder saw its stock drop in early trade on Wednesday, down 3% after the opening bell as it said it will set aside almost £130m to deal with legacy building issues. The work relates to two developments in Croydon.

An extra £62m was retained to address fire safety issues, to comply with the government's Building Safety Fund.

Its full-year guidance published on Wednesday was 7% below consensus. It completed 14,004 houses, down from 17,206 the year before, leading it to being the top faller in the FTSE 100 (^FTSE).

Barratt's performance this year is testament to its efficient operations," said Anthony Codling, managing director of equity research at RBC Capital Markets.

"It is a very well-oiled machine that is able to make the most out of challenging markets. That said, in our view its short landbank strategy can hold it back, and whilst we see improving market conditions in the year ahead Barratt expects its volumes to be lower."

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