Shares in British American Tobacco (LON:BATS) cheapened after the company warned FY26 global cigarette industry volume is expected to be down around 2.5%. That guidance was worse than the previously expected 2% decline. It also means BATS’ FY26 sales and profit growth will be at the lower end of the company’s medium-term guidance ranges. Investors were also unnerved by the outlook for heated tobacco, where BATS expects a low double-digit sales decline for H1 and the full year. This reflect competition and inventory movements in Japan. Showing resilience Mildly disappointing FY26 guidance overshadowed an otherwise solid H1 update from the…

High-yielding renewable energy infrastructure fund Bluefield Solar Income (LON:BSIF) soared after accepting a £548 million all cash bid from Drax (LON:DRX). The offer price sits below Bluefield Solar’s last reported net asset value (NAV). However, it represents a 31% premium to the undisturbed share price back in November, before Bluefield Solar put itself up for sale. Considering the headwinds facing renewable energy trusts, the takeover provides Bluefield Solar’s shareholders with a clean cash exit. Shares in peers including NextEnergy Solar Fund (LON:NESF), Foresight Solar Fund (LON:FSFL), Greencoat UK Wind (LON:UKW) and Octopus Renewables Infrastructure (LON:ORIT) gained ground on the positive…

Shares in Applied Nutrition (LON:APN) muscled their way to an all-time high after the sports nutrition brand delivered another FY26 upgrade. Investors welcomed an earnings-enhancing US acquisition from Applied Nutrition. And the company also announced a new licensing agreement with US snacks giant Mondelez (NASDAQ:MDLZ). Crucially, this exciting deal opens doors with Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) and GNC. Profits bulking up For FY26, the protein powders-to-supplements maker now expects to deliver revenue of around £148 million. That is ahead of the £140.3 million consensus estimate and implies almost 40% year-on-year growth. Following the positive news, Panmure Liberum upgraded its FY26 pre-tax profit forecast…

In our latest Podcast, the Sharesify team talk parabolic tech stock moves, US retailers and investment trusts taking radical steps to improve performance. Our tech expert Steven tells us why Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) stormed almost 40% higher in after-hours trading on Wall Street. This followed Snowflake’s (NYSE:SNOW) stock price surge on a major Q1 FY2027 earnings beat earlier in the week. Retail guru James explains why US retailers Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) and Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR) rallied hard. He also discusses US clothing retailers GAP (NYSE:GAP) and American Eagle (NYSE:AOE), which fell after sounding the alarm on a cautious female clothes shopper. Ian…

Following a strategic review, the struggling European Opportunities Trust (LON:EOT) is to wind itself up and offer shareholders three options. They can either roll their investment into a new open-ended Liontrust fund, LT European Opportunities. This fund will bemanaged by Alexander Darwall. EOT’s current manager Devon Equity Management is in the process of being acquired by Liontrust. Those who wish to stay in an investment trust can switch into JPMorgan European Growth & Income (LON:JEGI). The £620 million cap trust is the best performer in the AIC Europe sector over one, five and ten years. Shareholders who prefer to take…

Shares in Ultimate Products (LON:ULTP) ticked higher after the homeware brands owner’s Q3 update revealed revenue is tracking ahead of expectations. This positive news prompted analysts to upgrade their FY26 revenue estimates. Today’s update is encouraging in that it marks the end of quarterly revenue declines since the air fryer boom faded. It is a small step in the right direction for the Oldham-based company behind leading homeware brands including Salter and Beldray. Sales stabilise Ultimate Products generated sales of £34.8 million in the third quarter to April 2026. That was flat year-on-year and reflected continued subdued consumer demand for…

Nick Train’s Finsbury Growth & Income Trust (FGT) suffered a 14.4% decline in H1 net asset value (NAV) total return after key holdings plunged on AI disruption concerns. Finsbury Growth & Income’s negative share price total return of 14.1% lagged the 8.9% rise in the FTSE All Share Index. But chairman Pars Purewal has pledged to do ‘whatever it takes’ to improve shareholder returns. Three key measures Purewal conceded Finsbury Growth & Income’s recent performance has been ‘disappointing’. Nevertheless, he continues to back Train’s ‘disciplined, long-term approach focused on high quality businesses with resilient franchises and hard-to-replicate data assets, where…

In the latest Sharesify Podcast, the chaps discuss everything from market highs and microchips to Screwfix, spares and strikes and a pet retail recovery story. Steven explains why Micron (NASDAQ:MU) and SK Hynix (KRX:000660) have joined the trillion-dollar club. Our tech guru also discusses the latest strong results from global growth fund Scottish Mortgage (LON:SMT), one of a rare breed of investment trusts trading at a premium to net asset value (NAV). James walks us through some surprisingly resilient updates from consumer-facing names. Home improvement retailer Kingfisher (LON:KGF) continues to take market share, while Hollywood Bowl’s (LON:BOWL) air-conditioned bowling alleys are helping…

UK pet care leader Pets at Home (LON:PETS) saw profits plunge on broadly flat revenue in FY26 and slashed the dividend by more than 40% to conserve cash. So why did shares in the pet food-to-vet services seller rally on such dog-eared results? Well, new CEO James Bailey hailed progress with the retailer’s turnaround strategy. This has already stoked a return to growth for the retail business in Q4. The Cheshire-based firm said retail sales growth has ‘accelerated further’ in FY27-to-date despite tougher comparatives. And Pets at Home expects a further year of profit growth from its vets business. The…

Shares in Hollywood Bowl (LON:BOWL) rallied to a three-month high after the ten-pin bowling operator reported record H1 sales. This result reflected continued strong demand for its affordable leisure activities in both the UK and Canada. Investors also welcomed the launch of a fresh £5 million share buyback and an outlook statement pointing to a positive H2, with Hollywood Bowl sounding confident of meeting FY26 consensus expectations. Profitable growth The FTSE 250 bowling operator, which also runs mini-golf centres, racked up a 9.5% rise in total revenues to a record £141.5 million in H1. UK sales rose 9.4% to £118.4…