Plant and equipment hire firm Sunbelt Rentals (SUNB), formerly known as Ashtead, posted an 11% drop in Q3 earnings. These are the first results since the company moved its listing to the US, and were published as a 10-Q form. Nothing to write home about Revenue for the quarter to the end of January was $2.64 billion, up 2.7% on the previous year. Cost of sales rose 4.8% to $1.65 billion, however, meaning gross profit was marginally down year-on-year. Selling, general and admin costs rose by over 9% to $379 million, so operating income dropped 7.5% to $492 million. At…

In the first of what we hope will be a weekly wrap of interesting results incoming, we spin through Ashtead Technology (AT.), Trustpilot (TRST) and Wickes (WIX), three companies with plenty to prove. Remember, if you value this content, or any of our analysis features and stories, let us know at editorial@sharesify.com, like us on X, Bluesky, Facebook or LinkedIn, and click that ‘follow’ button., and please subscribe to our YouTube channel, where you’ll find a wealth of investing podcast material. Ashtead Technology (AT.) Interest will be high when the subsea services firm reports FY25 earnings on Tuesday 17 March. In January, the company revealed…

Apartment block builder Berkeley Group (BKG) confirmed its FY26 pre-tax profit guidance but nudged its FY27 target lower. The shares dropped 2.7% to £36.56, taking losses over the last month to around 18%. FY guidance maintained Berkeley, which has an April financial year end, posted a trading update for the four months to 28 February 2026. The group said trading over the period had remained ‘constrained’ by the impact of geopolitics on consumer confidence. Moreover, the situation in the Middle East was ‘weighing heavily on risk sentiment’. Therefore, while it stuck to its FY26 pre-tax profit guidance of £450 million,…

Shares in private equity and credit manager Bridgepoint (BPT) bounced from their 12-month low on strong FY25 results. The firm said earnings were ahead of its expectations driven by fee generation and asset growth. Robust fee growth For the year to December, the group delivered 13% growth in underlying management fees to £422 million. Meanwhile, total assets under management increased by 24.5% from $75.6 billion to $94.1 billion. Fee-paying assets increased slightly to $38.8 billion, although that figure is set to rise this year. Its latest ECP (Energy Capital Partners) fund is completing its fundraising while its latest European buyout…

Shares in heating and ventilation group Volution (FAN) eased 3.7% to 601p despite the firm raising FY26 profit guidance. Following a strong H1 and with continued momentum in H2, EPS is seen hitting the top end of market forecasts. Encouraging outlook For the six months to 31 January, the FTSE 250 firm posted a 22% increase in revenue to £229 million. All three regions – the UK, Europe and Australasia – delivered organic revenue growth in line with the firm’s 3% to 5% target. The rest of the uplift came from recent acquisitions, including Fantech in Australia, plus a small…

Shares in media group Canal+ (CAN), producer of the Paddington films, dropped 17% to 245p after FY25 results disappointed investors. Q4 revenue growth was particularly weak, although the firm said the outlook for earnings was improving. Sluggish growth Group revenue excluding Vietnam and recently acquired MCG (MultiChoice Group) rose 2.6% to €6.45 million. That included a 0.9% organic increase, which just about met the firm’s guidance of positive FY LFL growth. However, Q4 LFL growth of just 0.4% marked a slowdown from the 1.2% growth registered in the first nine months. On a positive note, FY adjusted EBIT of €527…

Shares in infrastructure group Balfour Beatty (BBY) jumped 7% after the firm posted FY25 earnings which topped forecasts. The firm also launched a new £200 million share buyback for the current financial year. Powering ahead Revenue for FY25 rose nearly 8% to £10.77 billion, ahead of the £10.43 billion consensus forecast. The firm cited strong growth in UK power transmission work and demand from the US construction sector. UK construction and support services both performed above the top end of their margin targets. Total profit from earnings-based businesses rose 82% to £327 million, while pre-tax profit rose 51% to £323…

Shares in water and climate management group Genuit (GEN) charged 10% higher to 336p on its FY25 results update. The shares had lost around 20% in the preceding week and a half as markets sold off. A year of two halves For the year to December, Genuit posted a 7.3% increase in sales to £602 million. Like-for-like growth was 3.2%, driven by new products and market share gains, with the balance due to acquisitions. Underlying operating profit rose 2.4% with flat underlying growth, in line with expectations. Growth was hindered by higher labour costs due to increases in NICs and…

Shares in housebuilder Persimmon (PSN) rallied 10% to £13.48 after the company confirmed FY26 earnings would meet expectations. The firm’s shares had dropped over 20% in the two weeks leading up to today’s announcement. Positive guidance The company said current market conditions were ‘supportive’ for the new-build market, with real wage growth and increased mortgage availability. In the first nine weeks of FY26, net private weekly sales per outlet rose 9% to 0.73 units. In addition, the average private selling price rose 6%, so the forward order book at 1 March was 9% higher £1.25 billion. Total forward sales as…

It has been a tough year already for investors and we are less than three months in. After a sudden sell-off in software stocks in February, we now look to be facing an energy price shock. Markets have followed the usual pattern of shooting first and asking questions later, resulting in heavy losses for several sectors. The question is, as a long-term investor, what is the best course of action? Keep calm Although it may sound counter-intuitive, to begin with the answer is to do nothing. Reacting on gut instinct when there is a sharp sell-off is rarely the right…