Tuesday preview: BP, AstraZeneca and Barclays in the spotlight

(Sharecast News) - Tuesday will see the release of results from BP, AstraZeneca, Barclays and Dunelm. As far as BP is concerned, UBS noted that the oil giant's Q4 statement on 14 January pointed towards an operating performance below consensus, albeit one that was largely in line with the bank's estimates.

"The main surprise came from indications of $4-5bn of impairments across the transition businesses, which suggests a slightly higher gearing level despite closing circa $3.5bn of asset sales in the quarter," UBS said. "Our updated 4Q net income estimate of $4.5bn is 2% above consensus, and our CFFO ex-WC estimate of $6.0bn is 3% above consensus.

"We expect the company to maintain buybacks at $750m, although we see risk as skewed to the downside given the change of management, and a distribution breakeven oil price of circa $70/bl."

Derren Nathan, head of equity analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown, said AstraZeneca is heading into its final quarter with strong momentum, and while there was no upgrade following third-quarter results, there's still potential for results to land a little stronger than expected.

"While there can be no guarantee, the market forecasts to beat are for growth of 8.4% in revenue to $58.6 billion, and 7.7% in operating profit to $18.3 billion," he said.

"When the company's shares were admitted to trading on the New York Stock Exchange this week, Astra reiterated its confidence in reaching its 2030 revenue target of $80 billion. 2025 saw strong clinical progress on drugs whose peak annual revenue potential collectively exceeded $10 billion. But analysts look like they still need some convincing that the 2030 target is achievable. Guidance for 2026 and beyond will be the key metrics to monitor."

In the US, quarterly results are due from Coca-Cola, Spotify, Ford and Harley-Davidson, among others.

On the macroeconomic front, US retail sales figures for December will be released.

Michael Hewson at MCH Market Insights said: "A strong set of retail sales numbers in November saw an increase of 0.5%, as discounting and bargain hunting in the wake of the October and November US government shutdown saw a rebound in consumer sentiment leading into the Christmas period.

"This trend is expected to continue in the lead-up to Christmas, in the delayed December release of retail sales, however with the cold weather hitting the US in January this trend could slow when these numbers come out later this month.

"The recent sharp slowdown in US consumer confidence during January saw a drop to 84.5, from 94.2, the weakest level since 2014. While the December numbers won't reflect this, be prepared for a sharp slowdown when we get the latest January numbers, unless on-line shopping takes up some of the slack with the recent cold weather."

Tuesday February 10

INTERIMS

Dunelm Group

QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE

TBC Bank Group

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Import and Export Price Indices (US) (13:30)

Retail Sales (US) (13:30)

Q4

AstraZeneca, BP

FINALS

AstraZeneca, Barclays, BP, Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI)

EGMS

Air Astana Joint Stock Company Gdr (Each Repr 4 Com Shs) (Reg S)

TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS

Bellway

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

The Sage Group