Before the bell: all that glitters is not gold

Gold prices are under pressure, driving gold mining stocks lower. Several German companies released their quarterly results this morning.

Did you sell your gold holdings after Trump’s re-election? Smart move. With political uncertainty decreasing after Trump’s clear victory, investors are taking the opportunity to lock in profits, especially as gold prices haven’t seen a correction for a while. Since the peak at the end of October, gold has dropped by 170 dollar per ounce, with stocks like Barrick Gold (-5.4%) and Newmont Mining (-6%) declining, along with the VanEck Junior Gold Miners ETF (-5%). Who’s doing well? Tesla (+9%), where a short squeeze seems to be in full effect. Since October 23, Tesla’s stock has surged 63.8%, bringing its market cap to 1.1 trillion dollar. The S&P 500 stayed flat (+0.1%), while in Asia, the Hang Seng Index is down 2.7% this morning as fears of U.S. trade sanctions against China grow.

In corporate news, today’s spotlight is on Germany. German chemical producer Brenntag reported disappointing earnings, with operating profit under pressure despite stable revenue, falling short of analysts’ expectations. Bayer’s earnings per share, excluding write-downs, dropped significantly by 36.7% to €0.24 per share. When a company focuses on EPS excluding write-downs, it’s a sign that results aren’t great. Including these write-downs, Bayer reported a €4.4 billion loss due to impairments in its Crop Sciences division. Expectations are that profits will decline further in 2025. Dutch tech firm TKH Group saw a 6.2% revenue decline in Q3 and lower earnings, driven by customers reducing their inventories. Shopify, Hertz, and Plug Power are also reporting earnings today, with Spotify and Marathon Digital Holdings expected later tonight.

Convenience is worth the price

At Spaarvarkens.be, we have a few world travelers among us. Ask them what technology is a game-changer in Asia, and the first answer is always Grab. Grab is a simple app that lets you do just about anything. Need a taxi in Southeast Asia? Grab gets you one for 1 or 2 euro with fair pricing, preventing you from being overcharged by local drivers. Food delivery? You pay next to nothing, and transport costs are minimal. Need a package delivered? They’ll pick it up within 15 minutes on a scooter and take it directly to its destination. It’s no wonder the company posted record revenue of 716 million dollar, up 17% from last year. Grab raised its 2024 revenue outlook to a range of 2.76–2.78 billion dollar, with adjusted EBITDA projected at 308–313 million dollar. The stock has already gained 32% this year, and we expect a strong opening today.

People want to unwind

Believe in entertainment? You could invest in ski resorts and amusement parks like Marc Coucke does with Compagnie des Alpes, but if he’s a fan of entertainment, he might want to consider Live Nation. No other company on the planet organizes more concerts, sells more tickets, and connects more artists than Live Nation—and that’s no exaggeration. Live Nation has organized more than 35,000 concerts, over 100 festivals, and works with thousands of artists annually. How profitable is this? Quite a bit. In the third quarter alone, revenue reached 7.7 billion dollar, with concert profits hitting a record 474 million dollar. In the last quarter, a whopping 152.4 million tickets were sold, and sponsors are eager to partner with Live Nation. The result? Free cash flow of 1.3 billion dollar in the first nine months. The music industry is big business. We expect Live Nation’s stock to hit a new record on these results.

Did you know…

that the S&P 500 has set an all-time high 50 times this year? The last time this happened was in 2021, during the post-COVID recovery. Since 2000, each year in which the S&P 500 posted more than 45 record highs was followed by a year in which the index closed lower, with an average loss of 8.8%.

This article was translated from Dutch and was originally published on Spaarvarkens.be.