Next week on the stock market

We’re expecting to hear Berkeley’s had a solid start to the year, with operating margins eclipsing the group’s long-term 17.5-19.5% range as performance looks set to be first-half weighted. The new government’s proposed changes to the planning system should ease some of the struggles that housebuilders like Berkeley are having, helping the group deliver the new homes the country sorely needs.

There’s little debate that the chancellor’s recent decision to hike employer national insurance contributions will hurt companies’ profits. But by just how much is something we’re hoping Berkeley can put a rough figure on next week. There are also fears that it could have inflationary impacts in the long run. That could see interest rates remain higher for longer and keep buyers’ hands tied by affordability pressures, so we’re keen to see if Berkeley tweaks its full-year outlook as a result, which had been pencilling in underlying pre-tax profits of £525mn.

Frasers has been involved in a war of words lately with Boohoo as it looks to secure two seats on the rival fashion company’s board. As of late October, Frasers owned a 27% stake in Boohoo, and it’s clear that it’s grown weary of the current management team. It’s an interesting dynamic, and one we’ll be watching evolve over the coming weeks.

Back to the main story, increased automation at warehouses has reduced inventory levels impressively. With more to come, this should free up more cash to funnel into growing other areas of the business or fund more acquisitions. The Sports Direct owner is aiming to grow pre-tax profits to a range of £575-625mn over the full year, up around 10% at the midpoint. We’re keen to see if this remains on track at the halfway mark.

We’re also hoping to get an early insight into how trading’s fared in the run-up to the important Christmas period. Frasers, with its high brick-and-mortar exposure, relies heavily on shoppers heading to the high street, so it’s more vulnerable than most if there’s any pullback in footfall.

After a poor start to the year and a reset of expectations, Salesforce looks back on the right track. But it’s still a tough market to be a major software player, businesses are taking longer to commit to big deals, and some are still simply kicking the can down the road altogether. The 7% top-line growth expected in the third quarter is a far cry from the mid-twenties of years gone by.

But despite the tough macro conditions, there’s a renewed sense of optimism with AI now a major part of the growth story. We’ll be watching closely for updates on how clients are using Salesforce’s latest innovation, Agentforce. Going beyond chatbots, this platform allows companies to build autonomous agents that can both make decisions and take actions. The real question is how useful they are in real life, and how long it’ll take Salesforce to monetise this new product – we hope to get answers next week.