LIVEDaily Stock Market Report (Tue 27th Oct 2026) - ALU, SHOE, LUCE, ULTP
Anthropic made its IPO filing yesterday, setting up one of the largest financial transactions in the history of capitalism.
The company generated $16 billion of revenue in H1 2026, fourteen times the revenue it generated in H1 2025.
When it lists, under the ticker ANT, it’s expected to achieve a market cap approaching $2 trillion.
That listing is now rapidly approaching: it could happen by the end of November, in what will be an unprecedented test of market sentiment around AI.
Overnight market movements:
The FTSE is down 0.6% at 10,705
S&P 500 is unchanged at 7,670
Brent crude (December) is up 0.3% at $116.10/bbl
Gold is down 0.4% at $4,000oz
Bitcoin is down 0.3% at $79,500
Roland Head joins me today (welcome back!)
The table is complete. Spreadsheet accompanying this report: link.
Companies Reporting
Name (Mkt Cap) | RNS | Summary | Our view (Author) |
|---|---|---|---|
HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) (£234bn | SR81) | Q3 PBT up 32% to $9.6 billion. Annualised return on average tangible equity 17.7% (Q3 last year: 12.3%). “We remain confident in achieving the targets we set out in February 2026, including a RoTE of 17% or better for 2026, 2027 and 2028, excluding notable items.” | ||
Reckitt Benckiser (LON:RKT) (£35bn | SR62) | “We now expect to deliver Core Reckitt FY 2026 LFL net revenue growth of +3.5% to +4.5%.” (previous guidance +4% to +5%) | REVENUE WARNING (growth range reduced slightly) | |
Informa (LON:INF) (£11.4bn | SR55) | Underlying revenue growth 6.5% in nine months. “..in light of the latest force majeure activity, assuming no further contribution from [Saudi Arabia] in 2026, we continue to track to double-digit growth in underlying earnings… but with Group underlying revenue growth now tracking to 3%±;” | REVENUE WARNING (rescheduling/reformatting of Saudi Arabian events) | |
Severn Trent (LON:SVT) (£9.8bn | SR54) | CFO is leaving to join Vistry. 12-month notice period. | ||
Primary Health Properties (LON:PHP) (£2.39bn | SR61) | Increase in the target size of the existing 20:80 joint venture with Universities Superannuation Scheme to £400 million (from £250 million). | ||
Pantheon International (LON:PIN) (£1.4bn | SR n/a) | NAV per share +2.2% for the month to 546.3p. Net asset value £2 billion. Monthly gain driven by foreign exchange movements (+1.5%) and share buybacks (+0.7%). | ||
Yellow Cake (LON:YCA) (£1.30bn | SR84) | The value of Yellow Cake’s uranium holdings increased by 10.8% over the Quarter, from US$1,969.7 million as at 30 June 2026 to US$2,181.6 million as at 30 September 2026. | ||
Serica Energy (LON:SQZ) (£1.06bn | SR82) | Ordinary shares joining the main market, cancelled from AIM. Their new ticker is SER (formerly SQZ). | ||
Vistry (LON:VTY) (£812m | SR35) | CFO of Severn Trent becoming VTY CFO during 2027. An interim CFO is also appointed with immediate effect. | ||
RWS Holdings (LON:RWS) (£531m | SR92) | FY September 2026: organic constant currency revenue growth was c.3%. Expects to deliver adjusted Profit before Tax in line with market expectations. | ||
Luceco (LON:LUCE) (£336m | SR86) | Q3 revenue up 17%. “The Board remains confident that full-year 2026 Adjusted Operating Profit will be delivered in line with market expectations.” | AMBER/GREEN = (Roland) | |
McBride (LON:MCB) (£311m | SR62) | The CEO intends to retire after 12 years. He has agreed to remain in his role until mid-2027. | ||
NCC (LON:NCC) (£278m | SR79) | FY26 in line with market expectations for revenue and ahead of market expectations for Adjusted EBITDA. “The Board remains confident in the outlook and financial expectations for the full year ending 30 September 2027, which remain unchanged.” New CEO appointed with immediate effect. | ||
Empire Metals (LON:EEE) (£231m | SR15) | Planning to set up, commission and test pilot-scale facilities at metallurgical laboratories in Perth is on schedule. The Scoping Study is on track, and is expected to be finalised in Q1 2027. | ||
S&U (LON:SUS) (£228m | SR75) | Two new securitisation facilities from two Tier 1 UK financial institutions will provide up to £600m over an initial three-year term, replacing in full the existing £330m facilities. £350m for motor finance and £250m for property finance. | ||
Tribal (LON:TRB) (£215m | SR85) | Jenzabar confirms that it does not intend to make a firm offer for Tribal, after resolutions in respect of the proposal by Main Capital Partners were approved. | TAKEOVER | |
Atlantic Lithium (LON:ALL) (£128m | SR17) | Agreed cash offer of USD0.25486 per share (c.18.8p), subject to various approvals. Company made further progress towards the development of its Ewoyaa Lithium mine in Ghana during the quarter. Cash on hand at the end of the quarter was AUD7.7m. | TAKEOVER | |
Mkango Magnetic Materials (LON:MKA) (£104m | SR n/a) | Independent Pre-Feasibility Study supports three new plants with a centralized finishing hub, indicating an estimated incremental post-tax NPV of US$1.85 billion to US$2.06 billion, a post-tax IRR of 31% to 36%, competitive manufacturing costs and higher value, low-carbon finished magnet production. | ||
KEFI Gold and Copper (LON:KEFI) (£91m | SR16) | Gold and Minerals Company Limited ("GMCO"), Kefi’s Saudi Arabian joint venture company, has approved the $87m development of Stage 1 of the Jibal Qutman Gold Project. This is subject to certain outstanding procedural requirements, primarily the grant of a Mining Licence by the relevant government minister. | ||
Redcentric (LON:RCN) (£87m | SR49) | H1 revenue to be -4.6% to c.£63.7m, in line with expectations. H1 adj EBITDA to be £9.1m, “modestly above” management expectations. FY27 outlook: confident of delivering adj EBITDA of £18.4m, in line with expectations. | ||
Alumasc (LON:ALU) (£84m | SR64) | Q1 revenue +9.6%, with growth in all three divisions and improved margins. At the end of September, the order book was 67% higher than 12 months ago. FY27 outlook: the board remains confident of progress in line with expectations. | AMBER/RED ↑ (Roland) | |
IG Design (LON:IGR) (£83m | SR97) | H1 revenue was up by c.12% at c.£109m, with 8% organic growth. Operating profit was c.£5.7m (H1 26: £4.2m). FY27 outlook: expects to deliver results in line with guidance (consensus is for FY27 revenue of £222m and adj op margin of 4.8%). | ||
LBG Media (LON:LBG) (£70m | SR55) | FY26 revenue expected to be +16% to c.£106m, with adj EBITDA -35% to c.£16.5m, in line with expectations. Direct Revenue rose by 69% last year, with Indirect Revenue down 50%. FY27 outlook: confident of delivering growth in FY27. | ||
System1 (LON:SYS1) (£43m | SR72) | The offer from Brave Bison (LON:BBSN) has lapsed and System1 is no longer in an offer period. System1 will publish H1 results in early December 2026. | ||
Ultimate Products (LON:ULTP) (£39m | SR96) | Revenue -3% to £144.9m, with adj pre-tax profit -28% to £6.3m and adj EPS -26% to 5.5p. FY27 outlook: current trading is in line with expectations. | AMBER/GREEN ↑ (Graham) | |
Revolution Beauty (LON:REVB) (£39m | SR41) | H1 revenue -2% to £48.4m with pre-tax loss of -£1.9m (H1 26: -£18.4m). FY27 outlook: H1 momentum has continued into H2, with key festive period ahead - “the Board remains confident that the Group is trading at the top end of the current range of market expectations for the full year” | ||
Shoe Zone (LON:SHOE) (£33m | SR98) | Revenue -4.5% to £142.4m, expect adj pre-tax loss of c.£1.0m, in line with expectations. Store numbers -6.7% to 251 with year-end net cash of c.£15.1m. FY27 outlook: slower start to Autumn/Winter season than expected, with recent rise in container costs. | PROFIT WARNING (RED ↓) (Graham) | |
Coppa Collective (LON:COPC) (£21m | SR44) | FY26 revenue +8% to £56.4m with adj EBITDA expected to double to £2.8m, in line with expectations. Return to LFL sales growth in Q4 FY26. FY27: Q4 momentum has continued, confident in the outlook. | ||
Shearwater (LON:SWG) (£17m | SR77) | FY26 revenue of £42.3m (+34% annualised), with adj pre-tax profit of £1.4m, +186% annualised. Statutory loss before tax reduced to £0.3m. FY27 year-to-date trading is in line with expectations. | ||
Inspiration Healthcare (LON:IHC) (£17m | SR50) | H1 revenue -8% to £22m, with adj EBITDA -8% to £1.2m and operating profit up 200% to £0.6m (including £0.3m non-recurring benefit). FY27 outlook: FY revenue expectation upgraded to “at least £43 million” (previous consensus £40.9m). | ||
Symphony Environmental Technologies (LON:SYM) (£15m | SR21) | Has entered into a strategic Collaboration Agreement with Sirane Central Americana, a Mexico-based producer of specialist food-packaging solutions. The agreement establishes a framework for Symphony and Sirane to market and develop commercial opportunities for each other's respective products. | ||
Chesterfield Special Cylinders Holdings (LON:CSC) (£14m | SR43) | Expects to report FY26 revenue of £15.6m (FY25: £16m) and FY26 adj EBITDA of c.£0.8m (FY25: £0.8m), in line with previous guidance. FY26 net cash is expected to be c.£1.4m. FY27 outlook: cost savings have been implemented to reflect the uncertain hydrogen outlook. CSC starts FY27 with a lower cost vase. | ||
LPA (LON:LPA) (£11m | SR82) | FY26 revenue +30% to £28.1m with order intake of £20.7m and a year-end order book of £25.1m. FY26 adjusted earnings are expected to be in line with recent guidance. |
Analyst notes
- Alumasc (LON:ALU)
Alumasc: solid Q1 trading with order book +67%, we lift our view by one notch pending greater clarity
Today's in-line update provides some reassurance after three cuts to consensus forecasts over the last 15 months. I think Alumasc's valuation could be attractive, but would argue that our contrarian tag remains fair given challenging conditions in the UK (90% of revenue) and the lack of a permanent CEO.
In August, I upgraded our stance on SHOE from fully negative to only moderately negative. In hindsight, that was a mistake. Even if broker forecasts suggest that the company can make a profit in FY27, I don't consider this outcome very likely, given what the company has said today about higher container prices. With ongoing losses for the foreseeable future being the most likely outcome, in my view, I think it's fair for us to go back to a fully negative stance on this share.
- Luceco (LON:LUCE)
Luceco: EV charging boost powers 17% rise in Q3 sales despite sluggish demand for core products
A 220% increase in revenue from EV charging and related services reflects surging EV adoption and suggests to me that Luceco is probably gaining share in this market. Sluggish sales in the group's core business mirror the state of the UK housing market, but I'm happy maintaining a broadly positive view after today's in-line update.
On balance, I'm inclined to raise our stance on this share by one notch today. It's a low-margin business but I believe that its core brands do benefit from consumer familarity and trust. On top of that, the stock is cheap and the balance sheet is only modestly leveraged. As such, let's nudge up our stance on it to AMBER/GREEN.
At the time of publication, Roland had a long position in LUCE.
Disclaimer
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36 comments
I am concerned why Shoe Zone (LON:SHOE) warned today on rising container costs and Ultimate Products (LON:ULTP) did not. I perceive risk that if rates are rising that this may impact ULTP before long also. Perhaps one to keep an eye on?
This is an example where I don't understand Stocko's ranking, rating algo. How on earth has this got rank 98 when its share price has been in decline since March 2024?
prem 14 - please tell us which company you are talking about
which company ?
My guess is Shoe Zone (LON:SHOE) on a SR of 98
Im with prem 14 here - whne fundamentals have materially worsended seems odd that stocks like this and SIG (LON:SHI) have great ratings despite making no money - i would expect them to be marked down more heavily if they are generating didly squat profit. perhaps stock rating computer genuinley can time travel and tell us better time are on the horizon.
A great review about one of
Beauty Tech group (LON:TBTG) LED face masks in the Guardian today. Useful for anyone invested but not quite sure how these things, specifically theirs, work.
https://www.theguardian.com/thefilter/2026/oct/27/currentbody-series-3-review-tested-uk
Bloomsbury Publishing (LON:BMY) I noted the strength in the price on a bad trading day and this has recovered from the mark down post the results. I hold but not with as much conviction as I have had in the past. We are aware Maas books are coming out and HP series is going to be on HBO very soon ( I believe potential from these is the ' lumpy' outcome to which the Board refer). An itch tells me to think what will happen if SM book sales are not as good as in the past ( is feminism laced with good social media exposure enough to sustain market expectations yet again?) Yes cynicism rather than chauvinism is the order of the day!
Given it is a stock held by plenty of private investors opinions may vary
Latest SM book out today (or rather midnight last night); a very good plug on this morning's R4 Today programme. HBO HP launch is at Christmas ISTR.
I had a look at the reviews and at 4 out of 5 stars it seems there was some queuing ( really) on a not great night for the hardy fans who are going to like or dislike the book in some way if their preferred characters do not ' get together' I digress. it seems lots of views suggest this is the gate house to the next part of the story which is due for release in early 2027. I can barely contain my enthusiasm...........
i think some companies like Bloomsbury Publishing (LON:BMY) IG group (LON:IGG) Somero Enterprises (LON:SOM) are inherently hard to geta good handle on.
ref Bloomsbury Publishing (LON:BMY)
I have kinda liked bloomsbury for years - but it just seems either expensive when its up with events - or not cheap when price takes dip. I think some companies as soon as the good news is "banked" well we are then onto a quieter spell with not so good news - and when they do say well we arent gonna do as well - they come back later with stuff less bad than might have been expected.
perhaps the time to invest with companies like this is when the current news is at its worst on the basis that it will always be swings and roundabouts and when they are downgrading stuff they are probably being conservative -
Looking right now expected 2027 eps is 46p and expected 2028 eps is 41p eps - so it kinda seems like now is the bleakest moment - with eps expected to drop is anyone else going to want to be buying in before good news arrives that gives us something more positive.
Obviously the danger is that if they only hit targets and there is no better news on the horizon where will shareprice be then?
If i waqs looking at buty price today i think i would be wanting 500p if i am being honest based on the 2028 numbers stocky has.
...and Serabi Gold (LON:SRB) starting to look tempting again, 60% off its high and pretty unloved pending the licence renewal, which surely will come eventually, after some (in)appropriate greasing of the political wheels?
Shoe Zone (LON:SHOE) Market has put the boot in following comments about a "slower than expected start" to the Autumn season. Recovery deferred....for a bit. Harrumph. I hold.
Re Shoe Zone
From the trading update...
"However, overall discretionary spending remains subdued as consumers exercise greater caution in their expenditure."
I think that Shoe Zone have used this discretionary spending argument before? However, the notes to the trading update state...
"During an average year Shoe Zone sells 12.4 million pairs of shoes per annum at an average retail price of c.£13.20."
I don't see how a £13.20 pair of shoes can be described as a discretionary spend. Its surely not that type of market.
A serious question for those who follow the workings of StockRanks. How does ShoeZone manage a 98 StockRank rating and a "Superstock" classification. I cant see why it is rated so highly.
No position
I think if you look at the 10 year chart for Shoe Zone (LON:SHOE) it tells you all you want to know about the business. I recall trading in and out once and looking at it a few times across the years but never having the inclination to bother. Essentially this is a business trading at the lower end of the consumer market ( i.e quality is questionable) so heavily influenced by the ability of the consumer to spend. Not that I have done the figures nor looked that closely at the chart but my gut feel is it tends to bounce off around the mid 50p's and rally on what seems to be negligible good news ( i am unconvinced that the news today could be seen as ; unexpected' ) so it is merely a stock to trade rather than see as an 'investment'. I put this type of consumer business in the same bracket as Card Factory, both likely to have been hit by markedly higher costs on most fronts but at least the latter has moved further away from dependence on the high street through Funky Pigeon
I just don't get Shoe Zone (LON:SHOE)
They have no strategy that shows a pathway towards top-line growth or margin expansion.
The current business is not clockwork profitable, NAV accretive, or paying out healthy dividends.
Yet the two founder/owner Smiths with 60% of the shares just seem content to run a company that essentially adds no shareholder value. Are they drawing huge salaries and getting lots of stock options, so that's what they're extracting out? (my speculation, I haven't done the research).
And to echo intuitive6191, this is not discretionary spend... It is not "fast fashion" ranges for women to treat themselves to and wear once or twice to match a going out outfit.
If consumers are "exercising greater caution" for their main pair of shoes, replacing it less often and only when its completely worn out... then the message is that the economy overall is in a worse shape than expected.
This backs up the huge plunge in GfK consumer sentiment on personal finances published last week.
Shoe Zone (LON:SHOE) Today's full year trading update, along with the Chairman's message was an open invitation for Mr. Market to put the boot in. I've seldom read such a gloomy report.
Shearwater (LON:SWG)
well management seem really chipper here having yet again delivered botom line loss for shareholders - i struggle to think of a managment team that are suber positive whilst losing shareholders funds.
Being frank its kinda victim shaming touting all the impressive metrics that are jaundiced and mean nothing whilst hardly even acknowledging its been another piss poor year where they have lost shareholders money whilst being uber postive.
Hey ho the new chairman is delighted with whats been delivered.
I would say it does appear that things are trending in better direction - but to say this company flatters to deceive pretty much all the time - well i think thats fair comment and i think shareholders would be better served witn entirely new board from scratch focusaed on delivering bottom line profits at reasonable margins as urgency and not hiding behind smokescreens pretending its fine and dandy when its piss poor.
what i am surprised is that anyone is surprised with whats this company churns out - they have ben 100% consistent in their delivery and attitude - its no surprise to me that te results are what they are - so not sure why the market is surprised to be honest - they had done what they do.
I glanced at them this morning after seeing the results. Having looked at the last few years of financials I looked away again. Momentum score is great but everything else is just awful.
What's awful?
Revenues and profits (ignoring the non cash adjustments) growing nicely this year with strong sector tailwinds. Surely the risk is firmly to the upside?
Shearwater (LON:SWG)
profits (ignoring the non cash adjustments) growing nicely this year
Ok ignore the fact they have made a loss this year
ignore the fact that stripping out intangibles w/off and amortisation of intangibles -the bottom line is actually worse this year than last year - is that progress?
would love to here what stuff you are stripping out to grt it looking better than last year - please provide detail
if we look at net cash it is up 500k this year thats better than last years 100k - but that is solely due to them benefitting from working capital ref debtors and creditors being 600k better than last year (less bad not positive) - its easily to manipulate that figure by simply delaying supplier payments till 1 day after year end.
On any level the extra sales have been eaten up by extra costs - the results simply look better due to lower amortisation /intangibles w/off - they probably benefitted by kitchen sinking last year.
is 500k of positive cashflow anything to shout home about ?
I simply see no improvement with the only reason cash resulty is better than last year being due to working capital ouflow ref debtors/creditors being 600k less bad than last year.
I am sure you can like the company cobble together some adjusted numbers that look pretty.
i think cavendish had said they may increase profits to in 2 years time 2028 to £1.6 mill but thats simply cross referencing p/e of 9.9 - it doesnt even say if that underlying profit or whatever thats the best they can hope for. ok they expect cashflow to be better than profits.
If i want to be positive i would agree that if they can hit brokers expectations modest improvements may be on the way - this company so often has promised better future then failed to deliver.
Serica Energy (LON:SER) Stockpedia system has not kept up with the company’s move to the main market. My portfolio currently shows a price of 2p per share!
Pleased to report that Stockopedia’s earlier report of a 9% overnight decline in the value of my portfolio was a false alarm. Serica is now showing the correct price per share.
Yellow Cake (LON:YCA) no new news as usual but its pleasing to see the 665 NAV at $89 so actual NAV higher reflecting the Uranium price strength and the discount could open up a rather nice final quarter - if the Uranium price kicks on and the discount closes - +20/30% would be very welcome to me as a holder and bolster my lacklustre performance YTD. fingers crossed for holders and buyers...
Both Yellow Cake (LON:YCA) and Geiger Counter (LON:GCL) look well worth checking out. YCA has just bounced off the recent £5 low as it did the last time the price fell to £5 in 2025. Positive update today and 20% discount to a now higher £6.60 NAV looks way overdone. Bargain buy?
Geiger Counter (LON:GCL) Is down 27% YTD. They have 75% of their top 10 holdings in these 5 shares:- NEX GEN up 2.3% yesterday, Paladin up 6.7%, UR-Energy up 3.54% Cameco up 0.6% and Denison up 1.4%.
Sometimes when the above 5 rise far more than this the Geiger Counter (LON:GCL) share price is slow to react, creating a buy opportunity then too. It’s also a good choice for any looking to make shorter term trade buys.
I bought back both recently.
I hold Inspiration Healthcare (LON:IHC) as a long term turnaround in a defensive (and worthy) sector. Here is a summary of today's RNS. Appreciate any further comments from team.
Pluses
Minuses
The H2 implied target of less that £21M might be conservative (10% below last year) giving them scope to beat (but it may also be that they forsee difficult trading ahead).
The dillution risk is now practically zero for the medium term.
My initial reaction is positive.
It will be interesting to see reaction after analyst presentation at 0930 today and 11am for investors.
You might want to move the 'summary' and 'our view' comments up a line from Severn Trent (LON:SVT) to Informa (LON:INF), Graham . It was a dry summer in the UK this year, but I'm pretty sure the former haven't gone in search of water in Saudi Arabia!
Kier (LON:KIE) This was issued late yesterday afternoon - another major UK gov. contract - UK Health Security Campus, Harlow
https://www.stockopedia.com/a/share-prices/kier-LON:KIE/news/01a1791a-35a2-7e40-85bf-ae6bdca85892
I can see RWS is in today's Agenda, we hold and have gone from a 40% loss in June to a 50% gain at yesterday's share price, I was tempted to take that and look forward to Stockopedia comments. We also hold micro-cap Getech, currently on a loss of c.90% but adding cautiously. The Chairman has stepped down with immediate effect "Having overseen the company's return to growth" and the CEO welcomes a new non-exec nominated by a company holding c.25.5% of Getech's shares. Thoughts welcome on what comes next!
The comments re losses on positions is interesting. Are you able to do a brief post on how you manage losing positions and your sell triggers ? I'm guessing its "know the company, take a view and hold on tight".
I wonder how such an approach to trading positions compares to cutting losses whenever they occur. That would be an interesting study.
Pre Stockopedia, I managed our losing positions very badly, stupidly thinking I knew better than the market LovelyLovelyGorgeous. Momentum matters! I also didn't run winners long enough but I've learned from the analysts here and experienced investors. Your last sentence nails it.
JASVFS. Are you willing to share your reasons for owning Getech (LON:GTC) ?
Getech (LON:GTC)
Being down 90%, not sure if JASVFS will ever get back his money from this investment. Hope he does.
But currently, Getech (LON:GTC) is one of the cheapest shares listed on AIM. Given the company's historical second-half weighting, the £2.4M H1 revenue puts it on track to achieve approximately £6M for the full year, well above current market expectations. Achieving the £6M full year revenue target is expected to yield an adjusted EBITDA of approximately £1.2M, reflecting strong operational leverage. With a clean balance sheet and an attractive FCF generation.
Their new biggest shareholder is very interesting and I wouldn’t discount a full acquisition in the future.
The NON executive chairman stepping down today is not a concern.
I hold at lower prices and will continue to do so for the next 18-24 months.
All the best
Thanks for that Yiannos1, I've read the information you've given on your financial background and I take your comments seriously.
Yes FREng. Probably embarrassing but here goes. We bought into it in 2008 when I read the company was started by a group of PhD's in Leeds university and one of our sons (also a PhD) knew one of them!! Again embarrassingly by way of my own education and somewhat wild investing history, I got three O' levels. We took a decent profit on Getech but I foolishly bought back in at around 70p in 2014 convinced on their geological expertise and then later hydrogen use/knowledge when I think Luke Johnson dumped his failing hydrogen company on them. I should have taken the hit then. Instead we now own far too many shares worth very little and I'm realistic enough to know we'd be lucky to only lose half our money, even if their recurring revenue continues to grow and the new non-exec organises a take-over. I joined Stockopedia the year after you and have slowly become a better investor (imo). The stock ranks and momentum are now studied before buying, and any previous scvr discussions. My wife and I are octogenarians with a large growing family so our investing horizons and decisions are driven my age and demands!