Next week on the stock market

Among those currently scheduled to release results next week:

Aarin Chiekrie

Equity Analyst

Fresh off the back of a strong year of growth, easyJet will be looking to start 2025 on the right flight path. Short-haul capacity across Europe remains limited and we expect to hear that lower fuel costs are boosting margins in the early months of the year.

Further out, capacity is set to continue growing this year as the group aims to cash in on strong demand from sun-seekers. We’re also keen to see if the package holiday segment can maintain its high double-digit growth rate when first-quarter results are announced next week.

Long-time CEO, Johan Lundgren, has hung up his cap after piloting the group for seven years. Change always brings some level of uncertainty, but with former CFO Kenton Jarvis stepping into the CEO cockpit, any turbulence in the transition is likely to be minimal.

Aarin Chiekrie

Equity Analyst

Next week, all eyes will be on Associated British Foods as it unveils its first-quarter performance. Primark, its star asset, likely enjoyed bustling footfall over the festive season, with Christmas shoppers flocking through its doors. Overseas expansion is another key ingredient expected to keep Primark's tills ringing. We’re particularly eager to see if the new store openings are on track to deliver the anticipated 4-5% boost in sales—a metric that could prove pivotal for the year ahead.

Primark isn’t the only show in town though, with the group being home to an eclectic mix of food and commodity businesses. Recent performance in the sugar division has been bittersweet, and sales are expected to continue falling this year amid pricing pressures due to an oversupply in the market. A turnaround in sugar isn’t likely before 2026, putting pressure on other divisions to pick up the pace and offset the shortfall. Attention turns to how well the rest of the group is rising to the challenge.

Matt Britzman

Senior Equity Analyst

Netflix enters its fourth-quarter earnings on a hot streak, having blown past expectations back in October and raising the stakes for next week. Revenue is expected to climb 17% year-on-year when stripping out currency effects, alongside sequential growth in net new paid subscribers. Notably, this will be the last time Netflix reports subscriber numbers as it shifts focus to its new leading roles: revenue and margins.

All eyes will be on Netflix's latest plot twist - its bold dive into live sports. The streaming giant broadcast two NFL games on Christmas Day, the Tyson boxing match, and has an ongoing WWE show, and more. This marks the most significant pivot in content strategy for some time, and the results will be closely scrutinized. Netflix is clearly looking to score big in the live sports arena, so we’ll be looking out for what else the streaming giant has up its sleeve.

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