Nvidia saw revenue increase 34% from the prior quarter, and 206% from year ago, highlighting how increased demand for artificial intelligence has boosted the company's sales. Photo: AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Nvidia (NVDA)

Nvidia beat earnings expectations on Tuesday night, reporting adjusted earnings per share of $4.02(£3.21) on revenue of $18.12bn for its third quarter.

Analysts had expected adjusted earnings per share to come in at $3.36 on revenue of $16.1bn, according to data from Bloomberg.

The chipmaker saw revenue increase 34% from the prior quarter, and 206% from year ago, highlighting how increased demand for artificial intelligence has boosted the company's sales.

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Shares slipped 0.9% as it warned on China sales due to export restrictions, and are down 1% in pre-market trading. However, its stock is up 250% year-to-date, vastly outperforming the S&P 500 index.

“We expect that our sales to these destinations will decline significantly in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, though we believe the decline will be more than offset by strong growth in other regions,” finance chief Colette Kress wrote in a letter to shareholders.

Demand for its graphics processing units have been exceeding supply. The gaming segment contributed $2.86bn, up 81% and higher than the $2.68bn consensus.

Nvidia is still working on its plan to grow supply throughout next year, Kress said on a press call.

Britvic (BVIC.L)

Britvic shares are marginally lower in London as sales fell 2.3% amid wetter and windier weather in July and August.

The company, which owns brands such as Tango, J2O and Robinson's, said the average price for a litre of its drinks rose 10.6% to 67.9p in the UK. It sold 1.75 billion litres of drinks in Great Britain in the year to the end of September.

Revenue rose 6.6% from £1.62bn to £1.75bn during the period, with adjusted earnings before interest and tax up 5.9% to £218.4m. Meanwhile pre-tax profit fell from £175.1m to £156.8m.

The company hailed "standout" performances from Tango and Pepsi MAX.

“We have demonstrated that our portfolio of trusted brands has been able to take and hold significant price, with very limited volume impact,” the business said.



"Our portfolio of family-favourite brands and focus on great tasting, healthier drinks offer both quality and value at affordable prices,”

It added that the soft drinks category was "strong, resilient and growing", and continues to outperform broader consumer goods.

Kingfisher (KGF.L)

Another company blaming the weather in their trading update this morning is Kingfisher. The owner of Screwfix and B&Q said lowered its outlook for the second time in three months and also said that French insulation, plumbing and heating sales were down due to unusually warm weather.

Like-for-like sales fell 3.9% in the three months to 31 October, and were 3.4% lower in the first three weeks of its fourth quarter.

Third quarter like-for-like sales in the UK and Ireland rose 1.1%, as the region "showed resilience" and was "winning market share", but in France they fell 8.6%.

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Looking to 2024, Thierry Garnier, chief executive, said: "We expect to see some product cost price inflation, albeit at a significantly lower level."

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: “A second successive profit downgrade has scotched any hopes of recovery at Kingfisher, with the French operation being the latest culprit for further weakness.”

“The combined Castorama and Brico Depot business account for 32% of overall group sales, and the latest update makes for sorry reading,” he said.

Shares were more than 6% lower in London on the back of the news.

HSBC (HSBA.L)

Shares in HSBC slid 1.8% on Wednesday after RBC Capital Markets downgraded the bank to sector perform from outperform.

It said that the Asia-focused lender has outperformed UK bank peers by 31% year-to-date and thinks now is a good time to take profits. RBC predicted a $5bn headwind from lower rates although this will be partially offset by balance sheet growth, it said.

"However, that growth is unlikely to be anything remarkable about over the next two years," RBC said, noting HSBC's largest five geographies, which account for around 80% of revenues, are only due to experience around 1.9% average GDP growth in 2024 & 2025.

“Therefore, with the shares looking more fair value, we downgrade our rating to sector perform and reduce our price target to 775p,” the broker said – the target was 825p before.

It the short term, it recommends a pair of long-NatWest; short-Lloyds highlighting a valuation gap at present.

"Over the medium-term, we retain a preference for Lloyds, given that strategic investments should continue to benefit other income and cost control, and we feel more confident on asset quality," it said.

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