WEBVTT - Next Xmas, Ocado Gains, Infineon Rises

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news, The.

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<v Speaker 2>Stock Movers Report, your roundup of companies making moves in

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<v Speaker 2>the stock market, harnessing the power of Bloomberg Data.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, let's take a look at some of the stocks

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<v Speaker 1>on the mode today in Europe. I'm Stephen Carroll and

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<v Speaker 1>I'm joined by Bloomberg's Chloe Melee for more. Chloe, good morning.

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<v Speaker 1>Let's start in the UK and the retailer Next has

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<v Speaker 1>some thank you letters to be writing.

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<v Speaker 3>Why yeah, absolutely well to Santa in particular. So Next

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<v Speaker 3>boosted its profit target for a fifth time this financial year,

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<v Speaker 3>and that was thanks to really strong sales over the

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<v Speaker 3>Christmas period. So the sales were super strong in international

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<v Speaker 3>markets in particular, but even in the UK, where expectations

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<v Speaker 3>were a little bit more muted, growth was actually ahead

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<v Speaker 3>of those estimates as well. But it's not because the

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<v Speaker 3>Christmas spirit was strong that twenty twenty six will necessarily

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<v Speaker 3>be golden either. So Next did warn that profit in

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<v Speaker 3>sales would grow slower pace in the year ahead. It

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<v Speaker 3>blamed rising unemployment and slowing wage growth, which means of

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<v Speaker 3>course that there will be more constrained consumer spending, more uncertainty,

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<v Speaker 3>less money to just spludge on nice clothes. And you know,

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<v Speaker 3>Next is usually quite cautious with its guidance and so

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<v Speaker 3>the fact that it had this world of caution isn't

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<v Speaker 3>wasn't necessarily taken like a real warning from the market,

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<v Speaker 3>and the chase did still rise. But it's worth keeping

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<v Speaker 3>in mind that they are still challenges for Next and

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<v Speaker 3>for other peers within that British retail sector. And there

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<v Speaker 3>will be more details on that when we get some

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<v Speaker 3>of the food retailers reporting some Christmas trading updates as

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<v Speaker 3>well later this week. We've got Tesco and Sainsbury's as

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<v Speaker 3>well as em and s keeping US updated later this week,

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<v Speaker 3>so we'll see what's happened there as well.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, so more to watch for on the UK consumer front.

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<v Speaker 1>Accado meanwhile delivering fresh gains. This is after the latest

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<v Speaker 1>report by analysts JP Morgan. What have they said.

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah, it's a good day for Ricado.

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<v Speaker 3>They were placed on a positive catalyst watch by JP Morgan.

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<v Speaker 3>There was also a monthly report from an industry researcher

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<v Speaker 3>that showed that Ocado would once again the UK's fastest

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<v Speaker 3>growing grosser in December, so there's kind of two positive

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<v Speaker 3>things there for Ocado. If we go back to the

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<v Speaker 3>positive catalyst watch from JP Morgan, they said that there

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<v Speaker 3>is now greater operational stability at the company after some

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<v Speaker 3>recent setbacks. Of course, we remember the biggest one was

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<v Speaker 3>when Ocado's biggest customer, Kroger, announced it would close three

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<v Speaker 3>automated warehouses that were operated by Ocado, and that had

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<v Speaker 3>sent the shas plunging and really hurt investor confidence in

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<v Speaker 3>the company. But now there is a lot more clarity

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<v Speaker 3>on that partnership with Kroger.

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<v Speaker 4>There is also Acado going.

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<v Speaker 3>To be pursuing more deals in more markets after ending

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<v Speaker 3>some exclusivity agreements, and JP Morgan analysts also said that

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<v Speaker 3>the balance sheet looks much sturdier, much stronger. So all

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<v Speaker 3>of that means that perhaps a card we'll be back

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<v Speaker 3>on track in twenty twenty six, so we'll be looking

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<v Speaker 3>for that as well going forward.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, let's turn next to Microchip. Got some traders watching

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<v Speaker 1>europe tech firms for non micro gains.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, so Microchip over in the US has said that

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<v Speaker 3>it expects higher sales than previously thought, So that's taken

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<v Speaker 3>by the market as a sign of recovery for industrial

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<v Speaker 3>and automotive end markets. So This is a good day

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<v Speaker 3>then for semiconductor companies in Europe that are exposed in

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<v Speaker 3>particular to those end markets. So we're talking about Infinian

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<v Speaker 3>and st Micro. We've have course talked a lot about

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<v Speaker 3>semiconductor companies and their exposure to AI and how much

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<v Speaker 3>they benefit from that, but there's a lot of other

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<v Speaker 3>sectors that need chips, including cars and factories for a

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<v Speaker 3>lot of other things, and there's been a lot of

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<v Speaker 3>weakness recently in those end markets and really a lot

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<v Speaker 3>of uncertainty about when that would lift. So the fact

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<v Speaker 3>that Microchip has signaled rebound there is really reassuring for

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<v Speaker 3>Infinian and st Micro, especially given that those two actually

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<v Speaker 3>had said previously that the quarter that is that ended

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<v Speaker 3>in December would be below seasonal trend, so they might

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<v Speaker 3>actually be doing.

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<v Speaker 4>Better than they expected.

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<v Speaker 3>There's still a gap in stock performance between those names

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<v Speaker 3>and then the names that are a little bit more

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<v Speaker 3>exposed to AI in that semiconductor sector. So let's see

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<v Speaker 3>if that recovery in those end markets brings that gap, well,

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<v Speaker 3>you know, closes that gap a little bit more.

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