Craneware's latest profit warning raises concerns about its investment case. Is the market overreacting to a temporary setback?

The investment case has now suffered its biggest setback in years for Craneware. Discover what caused the decline.

AviationNews – The Lufthansa Group has significantly downgraded its full-year financial outlook for 2026 following a sharp 56 percent drop in second-quarter operating profit. This sudden downturn highlights the severe financial impact of mounting jet fuel expenses and the costly aftermath of recent labor strikes across the European aviation sector. On Tuesday, August 4, the German aviation giant revealed that its adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) fell to €383 million in the second quarter, down from €870 million during the same period last year.

Ashtead Technology drops sharply after cutting guidance due to delays in Middle East projects and economic uncertainties.

Discover why Vistry expects a loss in H1 and what it means for future performance. Understand the impact on share prices now.

The pub chain said higher labor and operating costs are squeezing margins despite rising sales.

The British pub chain issued its third warning in five months as higher costs and slower sales growth squeeze margins.

The British pub chain issued its third warning in five months as higher costs and slower sales growth squeeze margins.

WH Smith, the British retail chain, has issued a profit warning due to the anticipated impact of rising jet fuel prices. The company, which operates travel-focused stores at airports and train stations, relies heavily on passenger travel. As global jet fuel costs increase, airlines are under pressure, and this is expected to reduce air travel demand. Consequently, airport retail sales, including WH Smith's, may experience a slowdown. The warning highlights the company's vulnerability to external economic pressures and the dependency of its travel-related business on the airline industry. Management is reportedly reviewing operational strategies to mitigate the financial impact. Analysts suggest that WH Smith may need to adapt its pricing, product offerings, and cost management to navigate this challenging period. The situation underscores the broader ripple effects of energy price spikes on retail sectors tied to travel. Investors and stakeholders are advised to monitor the company’s financial reports closely as the situation develops. Overall, the profit warning serves as an early indicator of potential revenue pressures linked to external fuel price fluctuations and shifting consumer travel patterns.

LONDON (Reuters) -Carlsberg missed half-year profit and volume forecasts on Thursday, with the Danish brewer warning it does not expect any improvement in the consumer environment for the rest of 2025. The world’s third largest brewer behind Anheuser-Busch InBev and Heineken nevertheless raised its full-year profit guidance, breaking with those rivals who opted to keep their forecasts unchanged as U.S. tariffs drive uncertainties. Volume growth or forecasts at all three brewers have disappointed in recent weeks as the sector battles with weak demand, tariff impacts and poor weather, leaving investors fretting over growth. Carlsberg, which makes Kronenbourg 1664, Tuborg and Somersby, said it had grown first-half organic operating profit by 2.3%, while organic volumes slipped 1.7% - putting it just behind analyst expectations on both measures. CEO Jacob Aarup-Andersen said the group had "delivered solid results in a difficult half year". "We don’t expect the consumer environment to improve over the remainder of the year," he warned, adding Carlsberg could narrow its profit guidance thanks to its strong performance management and cost discipline. It now expects annual operating profit growth of between 3% and 5% organically, compared with between 1% and 5% before. ($1 = 6.3777 Danish crowns)

Investing.com -- Shares of Auction Technology Group (LON:ATG) tumbled more than 20% on Monday after the company issued a profit warning and announced an $85 million acquisition of U.S.-based vintage marketplace Chairish. The U.K.-based company said third-quarter revenue growth slightly improved compared with the first half of the fiscal year, helped by shipping. However, changes in the revenue mix led it to revise its adjusted EBITDA margin guidance to 42% to 43%, down from its previous forecast of 45% to 46%. RBC Capital Markets had estimated a margin of 44.5%. In a separate announcement, Auction Technology Group said it will acquire Chairish, a U.S. online marketplace focused on vintage furniture, décor and art. The deal will be funded through a combination of cash and a drawdown from the company’s increased revolving credit facility. The transaction will raise leverage to 2.3 times. Chairish reported revenue of $51.2 million in fiscal year 2024 and an adjusted EBITDA loss of $0.4 million. The company is expected to deliver double-digit revenue growth and an adjusted EBITDA margin of about 30%. Auction Technology Group said it expects to achieve approximately $8 million in cost synergies from the acquisition. It also anticipates revenue synergies, with the deal projected to contribute positively to adjusted EBITDA in fiscal 2026, become accretive to earnings per share by fiscal 2027 and generate a return on invested capital above its weighted average cost of capital by fiscal 2028. “A profit warning and a deal are a difficult combination - there is little detail in the statement re the moving parts at ATG, although we would expect THV to have been soft and could expect take rate to have performed better driven by shipping, albeit at lower margin,” said analysts at RBC Capital Matkets in a note. The brokerage also cited the average price point on Chairish, about $800 to $900, compared with $350 to $400 in the broader art and antiques segment. With ATG making headlines, savvy investors are asking: Is it truly valued fairly? In a market full of overpriced darlings, identifying true value can be challenging. InvestingPro's advanced AI algorithms have analyzed ATG alongside thousands of other stocks to uncover hidden gems. These undervalued stocks, potentially including ATG, could offer substantial returns as the market corrects. In 2024 alone, our AI identified several undervalued stocks that later surged by 30 or more. Is ATG poised for similar growth? Don't miss the opportunity to find out.

Investing.com -- Auction Technology Group (LON:ATG) saw its shares plummet more than 21% on Monday after the company issued a profit warning and announced the acquisition of U.S.-based Chairish, a vintage furniture and art marketplace. The company now expects its adjusted EBITDA margin for the fiscal year to come in between 42–43%, below prior guidance of 45–46%. While Q3 revenue growth modestly improved from the first half, the mix has pressured profitability—particularly as shipping volumes rose but carried lower margins. In parallel, ATG announced it would acquire Chairish for $85 million in a cash-and-debt deal, lifting group leverage to 2.3x. Chairish posted full-year 2024 (FY24) revenue of $51.2 million and a slight adjusted EBITDA loss, but is expected to deliver double-digit top-line growth and adjusted EBITDA of 30% going forward. The deal is expected to be accretive to earnings by FY27 and deliver returns above the cost of capital by FY28. Commenting on the announcements, RBC Capital Markets analyst Ross Broadfoot flagged the difficult optics of combining weaker guidance with an acquisition. “A profit warning and a deal are a difficult combination,” he wrote, adding that Chairish’s higher average price points—around $800–900 per item compared to the $350–400 A&A average—may be less aligned with the current macro environment. However, Broadfoot acknowledged the strategic rationale in expanding into complementary categories and reaching new consumer segments. Synergies of around $8 million are anticipated on the cost side, with revenue benefits also expected. RBC reiterated its Sector Perform rating on ATG. Don't miss out on the next big opportunity! Stay ahead of the curve with ProPicks AI – 6 model portfolios fueled by AI stock picks with a stellar performance this year... In 2024 alone, ProPicks AI identified 2 stocks that surged over 150%, 4 additional stocks that leaped over 30%, and 3 more that climbed over 25%. That's an impressive track record. With portfolios tailored for Dow stocks, S&P stocks, Tech Stocks, and Mid Cap stocks, you can explore various wealth-building strategies. So if ATG is on your watchlist, it could be very wise to know whether or not it made the ProPicks AI lists.

By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, Stine Jacobsen and Maggie Fick COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Investors wiped $70 billion off Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO)’s market value on Tuesday after the maker of weight-loss drug Wegovy issued a profit warning and named a new CEO, as it battles rising competition in the obesity drug market. Novo named Maziar Mike Doustdar as its new chief executive, turning to a veteran insider to revive sales and reassure investors rattled by fears the Danish drugmaker is losing ground in the obesity drug race it started. Doustdar’s appointment failed to stem a stock market rout sparked by Novo slashing its outlook for 2025 sales growth to between 8% and 14%, from between 13% and 21% previously. Its shares plunged nearly 30% before paring some losses to trade down over 20% by mid-afternoon. The shares are now down 44% this year. "The magnitude of the guidance cut is a shocker," Markus Manns, a portfolio manager at mutual fund firm Union Investment, a Novo shareholder, told Reuters, adding that Novo’s issues went deeper than "compounded" copycats to Wegovy. Compounded drugs are custom-made medicines that are based on the same ingredients as branded drugs. Novo has been hit by copycats of its GLP-1 drugs Wegovy for weight-loss and Ozempic for diabetes. U.S. law bars pharmacies from replicating approved drugs, but has allowed ’compounding’ for patients needing custom doses or formulations. The company said in a statement that it cut its 2025 sales outlook due to lower growth expectations in the second half in the U.S., both for Wegovy and Ozempic in the GLP-1 diabetes market. The drugmaker, which became Europe’s most valuable listed company following the launch of Wegovy in 2021, is now facing a reckoning as it looks to turn things around after the abrupt removal in May of CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen. At its peak in June 2024, Novo was worth as much as $615 billion, but its shares have plunged on investor concerns about the company’s experimental drug pipeline and its ability to navigate challenges in the U.S. market. "The stock has gone from being a market darling to one of its biggest letdowns," said Angelo Meda, portfolio manager and head of equities at Banor SIM in Milan, which has a small Novo stake. "The biggest concern is the illegal channel siphoning away market share - something that’s hard to quantify. Rebuilding trust will take time." NEW CEO AN INSIDER Doustdar, an Iranian-born, Austrian national, who grew up in the United States, joined Novo in 1992 and will take on the new role on August 7. He currently serves as vice president for international operations, a role he took after leading the company’s businesses first in the Middle East and then in Southeast Asia, Novo said. "We need to increase the sense of urgency and execute differently," Doustdar told investors and analysts on a call. "The fact that my announcement comes right after the guidance update, just makes the mandate ahead even more clear." Some analysts and investors had argued that Novo should select an American, or a person with extensive experience working in the United States as its next CEO. Novo has lost its first-mover advantage in the United States this year to U.S. rival Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY). The new chief executive’s most urgent challenge, according to investors and analysts, is to revive Novo’s performance in the United States, the largest market by far for weight-loss drugs and where they are most profitable. Novo launched its weight-loss drug Wegovy nearly two and a half years before Eli Lilly’s Zepbound. But Zepbound prescriptions surpassed those of Wegovy this year by more than 100,000 a week. In May, Novo said it expected many of the roughly one million U.S. patients using compounded GLP-1 drugs to switch to branded treatments after a U.S. Food and Drug Administration ban on compounded copies of Wegovy took effect on May 22. "Unfortunately, our latest market research indicates that has not happened," Chief Financial Officer Karsten Munk Knudsen said on a call with analysts on Tuesday. One million or more U.S. patients are still using compounded GLP-1s, he said. ($1 = 0.8672 euros)

(Reuters) - Australia’s IDP Education forecast a drop in annual profit on Tuesday, triggering a 48% plunge in its shares as tighter student visa rules hit demand at the firm that jointly owns the IELTS English language exam with the British Council and Cambridge University Press & Assessment. The company forecast fiscal 2025 adjusted operating earnings of A$115–A$125 million, nearly halved from last year and below a consensus estimate of A$166.3 million according to E&P Capital analysts. IDP’s stock slumped as much as 48.3% by 0411 GMT, marking its biggest intraday decline ever. It was last down 45% at A$4.11, trading at near eight-year lows and the worst performer on the benchmark S&P ASX200 index. The company, which also provides placement services to students looking for admissions at foreign institutes, said student policies remained restrictive in Canada and Australia after their elections, while the UK’s recent immigration policy white paper signaled further restrictions to student immigration. For the United States, the international student environment is "increasingly negative", the company said in a statement. President Donald Trump’s administration is seeking to ramp up deportations and revoke student visas as part of his hardline immigration agenda. "While elections have now been held in all key destination markets, policy uncertainty and negative rhetoric continues, while economic uncertainty increased," the company said. IDP expects its student placement volumes to fall by 28% to 30% and language testing volumes to decrease 18% to 20% over last year. "Whilst fee growth will partly offset volume declines, we had expected a better performance than overall market declines given IDP’s focus on genuine student flows," analysts at Sandstone Insights said in a note. ($1 = 1.5461 Australian dollars)

Investing.com -- Shares of Bunzl PLC (LON:BNZL) fell by 26% Wednesday following an unscheduled trading update and a profit warning for fiscal year 2025. The company highlighted a challenging trading environment and continued deflation as key factors impacting its performance. Bunzl also reported a significant year-on-year (YoY) decline in operating profit for the first quarter, as well as margin pressure in its North American and Continental European markets. The distributor of non-food consumable products, which had released its FY24 results in early March, has since experienced softness in key regions. The North American sector is grappling with a mix shift towards own brand products, customer loss, higher costs, and deflation. These challenges have prompted Bunzl to lower its FY25 growth and margin outlook, resulting in expectations of consensus downgrades. Additionally, the company has paused its buyback program due to macroeconomic uncertainties. In the first quarter of 2025, Bunzl’s group revenue grew by 2.6% at constant foreign exchange rates, but underlying revenue declined by 0.9%. Acquisitions, net of disposals, contributed to growth, while fewer trading days had a negative impact. The company now anticipates moderate revenue growth for 2025, driven by announced mergers and acquisitions, with underlying revenue expected to remain broadly flat. This is a revision from previous guidance which projected robust growth with slight underlying revenue growth. Operating margins are forecasted to be moderately below 8.0%, a decrease from the 8.3% reported in 2024 and earlier guidance. Jefferies said it now sees ">5% downside to current consensus," indicating a more pessimistic outlook compared to market expectations. Bunzl expects first-half 2024 margins to be around 7.0%, with second-half margins benefiting from corrective actions and seasonal trends.

The company expects the figure to be between £3 billion and £3.3 billion, after it rose slightly to £3.15 billion in the 12 months to the end of February.

Telecom Plus tumbles to a 10-year low as it reveals its strategic plan to double subscribers by 2031 amidst falling earnings.

Understand why WH Smith shares are getting hammered today after profit warnings and the fallout from the Iran war.