Important information – the value of investments and the income from them can go down as well as up, so you may get back less than you invest.
As October draws to a close, the FTSE 100 has hit a fresh high. November is likely to be another eventful month, as some of the UK’s biggest companies prepare to publish interim figures - and a handful of full-year reports.
We have cherry-picked some key names for you below. However, this list is far from exhaustive. Also due to report are utilities giants such as SSE, Vodafone and National Grid; retailers such as Sainsbury’s and Burberry; and the popular investment trust Scottish Mortgage.
This article is not a recommendation to buy or sell an investment; it is purely insight into some of the companies that announce results over the next month.
Marks & Spencer
Marks & Spencer has been living in the shadow of its April cyber-attack. Up until then, the high street stalwart had been riding high. It had returned to the FTSE 100, it had reinstated its dividend, and sales and profits were on the up. Overnight, however, it was forced to suspend online orders and leave some of its shelves bare.
Shareholders will be able to survey the financial damage when M&S publishes its half-year numbers on Wednesday 5 November.
M&S had made some excellent impressive progress before the hack. A new management team took the reins in 2022, and it streamlined the chain’s ageing store portfolio, freshened up the clothing division, strengthened the supply chain and improved the online offering. The company’s share price perked up accordingly.
The cyber attack is expected to have hit the company hard, however. In May, M&S warned it would reduce profits by £300m in financial year 2026, and analysts at Shore Capital are predicting low adjusted profits, statutory losses, and notable cash burn for the first half.
The question for investors is whether M&S can bounce back from this incident and get back on the path to recovery. Many think it can, but it’s not an easy environment.
‘M&S faces competitive risks, against both traditional and online retailers in both segments,’ analysts at Morningstar warn. ‘Within food, price-led and more efficient competitors are aggressively taking share in the UK and can offer similar products at deep discounts.’
M&S trades on a forward price/earnings ratio of roughly 14 times. This puts it roughly in line with supermarket rival Sainsbury’s but makes it cheaper than Next.
M&S plans to publish its interim numbers on Wednesday 5 November.
- More on Marks & Spencer
BT
BT Group is the world’s oldest communications company and can trace its roots all the way back to the Victorian era. It has also been a familiar face on the FTSE 100 since the index’s conception, prized for its reliable dividends.
The telecoms giant has reached an interesting point in its life, however. For years, it has been building fibre optic internet connections for millions of homes, which has involved a huge amount of investment. Progress hasn’t always been smooth, but the project is finally drawing to a close. This means BT’s cash flow is expected to improve in the coming years, which could spell good things for its dividend.
This - combined with some aggressive cost cutting - has contributed to a share price surge in 2025.
It is not an easy time to be a telco, however. Analysts at Morningstar warn that the industry is ‘in constant fight with regulatory challenges and excess competition’. Competition comes in the form of ‘altnets’ - alternative network providers that lay their own fibre optic cables and offer broadband services. These providers have been poaching customers from the big players and risk undermining BT’s mammoth investment push.
BT’s first quarter results were fairly mixed, with revenue falling short of forecasts but profits coming in slightly better than expected. The company’s half-year results should tell us more.
BT will publish its interim results on Thursday 6 November.
- More on BT
Babcock International
‘This is a new era for defence.’ Thus spoke Babcock International’s chief executive - and plenty of investors agree with him. Arms companies have pulled ahead of the crowd this year, fuelled by geopolitical tension. Nations around the world are increasing investment in military capabilities and energy security, with the UK pledging to increase defence spending to 2.6% of GDP by 2027.
Over the past 12 months, Babcock has been the second best-performing stock on the FTSE 100 (behind gold miner Fresnillo). In June, it launched its first ever share buyback scheme and upgraded its medium-term guidance. It now expects to deliver an underlying operating margin of 9%, up from an earlier estimate of 8%, and is aiming for mid-single digit revenue growth1.
Babcock makes about 70% of its revenue in the UK, so government spending commitments are key. It also focuses heavily on nuclear power, which could work to its advantage. ‘In our view, Babcock is the only company with the capability and critical assets to support the UK’s nuclear-powered submarine fleet,’ analysts at Peel Hunt conclude.
It is worth paying attention to valuation metrics. Babcock’s price/earnings ratio has doubled this year from 10 times to 20 times. However, it is still cheaper than many of its UK rivals. According to FactSet data, the FTSE 350 defence index trades on a forward price/earnings ratio of 28 times.
Half-year results from Babcock are expected on Tuesday 21 November.
- More on Babcock
easyJet
When you book an easyJet flight, you can go virtually anywhere in Europe. When you buy easyJet shares, however, you might find yourself stuck. Since early 2023, the airline’s share price has moved up and down, only to end up back where it started. Investors will be hoping for more progress when easyJet publishes its full-year results on 25 November.
Airlines can make tricky investments. They are very cyclical, as they rely on people having enough money to splash out on holidays. They also have some big costs, and a lot of them are fixed. This means operational gearing is high. In other words, when sales increase, profits increase even faster - but when revenues fall, profits drop sharply.
The travel industry has benefited from pent-up demand since the pandemic and easyJet chief executive Kenton Jarvis was eyeing a ‘record summer’ in May. Profits have been strong and forward bookings have also been encouraging.
However, the business encountered some turbulence in July when it reported a £25m hit from higher fuel costs and air traffic control strikes in France.
Going forwards, there is also some uncertainty around demand. Holiday rival Jet2 issued a profit warning last month on the back of a ‘less certain consumer environment’2. easyJet has reassured investors that demand remains ‘strong’ and said customer satisfaction has improved. However, people are booking holidays later than they used to, which leaves more room for surprises.
On the flip side, easyJet’s package holiday division is still going from strength to strength and expects to deliver profit before tax of more than £235m for 20253. Analysts at Morningstar have also flagged easyJet’s plans to modernise its fleet, ‘which could see it emerge with a leaner cost structure’.
easyJet will publish its full-year results on Tuesday 25 November.
- More on easyJet
Imperial Brands
People have been sounding the death knell for tobacco for years. And yet, Imperial Brands - which makes Gauloises and Davidoff cigarettes, among others - has managed to outperform the likes of Microsoft, Apple and Meta over the past year.
Shareholders will be hoping for more good news when Imperial Brands publishes its full-year results on Tuesday 18 November.
Much has been made of the tobacco sector’s development of vapes, nicotine pouches and heated tobacco. However, these ‘next generation products’ are not proving particularly lucrative yet. At Imperial Brands, they represent less than 10% of revenue and are still loss-making4.
In reality, traditional cigarettes are still the key driver of the industry’s performance. Although the volumes being sold is falling, the price of cigarettes is rising, which has allowed Imperial Brands to keep growing.
Analysts at Panmure Liberum say this vindicates the tobacco model. ‘Pricing offsets volume declines to deliver revenue growth; costs are controlled to deliver modest profit growth; new products are not given an open cheque book to subsidise revenue growth; cash is generated and returned to shareholders through dividends and buybacks.’
Other investors remain concerned about the long-term outlook for the sector, however.
Imperial Brands is due to publish its full-year results on Tuesday 18 November.
- More on Imperial Brands
Source:
1Investegate.co.uk. Babcock preliminary results for the year ended 31.03.2025
2Jet2plc Annual General Meeting Statement
3Investegate.co.uk. Trading Update for the third quarter ended 30.06.25
4Imperialbrandsplc.com. Report for the tar ended 30.09.25
Read: ISA fund ideas: investing in Asia for income
Important information - investors should note that the views expressed may no longer be current and may have already been acted upon. When you are thinking about investing in shares, it’s generally a good idea to consider holding them alongside other investments in a diversified portfolio of assets. Reference to specific securities should not be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell these securities and is included for the purposes of illustration only. This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice.
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