PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) beat third-quarter profit expectations and raised its full-year earnings guidance, even though revenue came in below forecasts. The payments group’s shares were little changed in US trading today.

The shares were up 0.11% at $55.051 by 2.18pm London time, from a previous close of $54.99, inside a day range of $54.34 to $56.63. They fell about 3.6% yesterday, from $57.02.

Adjusted earnings per share were $1.45, against $1.34 a year earlier and a Zacks consensus of $1.31 from 11 analysts. Revenue of $8.58bn missed the $8.70bn consensus from nine analysts, though it was about 1.9% above the $8.42bn of a year earlier. Net income under US accounting rules was $1.07bn, or $1.25 a share.

Transaction margin dollars, which is revenue minus direct transaction costs, came to $3.95bn against the $3.89bn analysts expected. The raised guidance puts full-year adjusted EPS at about $5.60, up from $5.38.

The fourth-quarter guide of $1.43 compares with $1.23 a year ago. Both guidance figures sit above consensus.

Chief executive Enrique Lores tied the quarter to the company’s strategy.

We are beginning to see our strategy translate into our financial results, with strong contributions from our key growth areas and increasing diversification,

Enrique Lores, chief executive, PayPal

Total payment volume rose 6.3% to $487.1bn, slightly under the $489.7bn Zacks consensus. It was the fourth adjusted EPS beat in the last five quarters.

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S&U plc (LON: SUS), the Solihull-based lender in non-prime motor finance and property bridging, has secured two securitisation facilities of up to £600m. Its shares were trading higher after the announcement, which came before the market opened this morning.

The shares were at 1,915p at 13:10 UK time, up 35p or 1.86% on yesterday’s close of 1,880p, in a day range of 1,885p to 1,945p. That is a delayed mid-session quote, not a close. It leaves them about 20% below the weekly-close high of 2,380p set in the week of the 2nd of February, and well above the low of 1,750p.

The facilities come from two Tier 1 UK financial institutions, which S&U has not named, and run for an initial three years. A securitisation facility is borrowing secured against a pool of loans. They replace in full the existing £330m of facilities, a club arrangement of lenders that was due for renewal in 2027, and S&U says the new terms carry improved interest rates.

The £600m is a ceiling, not debt already drawn. Motor finance business Advantage Finance gets up to £350m and property bridging arm Aspen Bridging up to £250m, roughly 1.8 times the previous capacity. Chief operating officer Jack Coombs said advance rates, the share of each loan lenders fund, have also improved. The debt is non-recourse for commercial risk, meaning lenders cannot claim against the wider group, and covenants reflect historic and forecast trading. Finance director Chris Freckelton said a revolving credit facility of up to £25m stays at Advantage for flexibility.

Chairman Anthony Coombs tied the funding to growth, describing the facilities as possibly the most transformative event at S&U for 20 years.

The Facilities open a vista of opportunities for sustainable, responsible growth in both our businesses, underpinning a targeted near-doubling of receivables by 2030 while driving an improving net interest margin.

Anthony Coombs, chairman of S&U

Receivables are the money customers owe S&U, and net interest margin is loan income minus funding costs. The company says the cheaper funding will only be used for lending that earns its historically high returns. More detail on the three-year plans is due with full-year results in April 2027.

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Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), the AI chip maker, will commit $3bn to the share offering from Meta Platforms. According to CNBC, the money forms part of the first $35bn of a $95bn plan Meta announced on Monday to fund AI infrastructure.

Monday’s closes predate the report, so they do not reflect it. Nvidia ended Monday at $216.00, up 2.4%, while Meta closed at $630.56, down 1.9%. Nvidia is about 11% below its 52-week high of $243.37.

Meta (NASDAQ: META) said on Monday that the first $35bn of the $95bn will be raised in stock. That splits into about $22.5bn of Class A common shares and about $12.5bn of mandatory convertible preferred stock, which is preferred stock that converts into common shares.

The Associated Press reported that Nvidia, AMD and Broadcom had indicated they may buy a combined $5bn of the offering. Those are indications rather than completed purchases.

Only $35bn of the $95bn has been broken down. The $3bn is about 0.06% of Nvidia’s market value of roughly $5.2tn, so the significance is less the size than the direction: a supplier is helping fund a customer’s AI spending, and Meta is turning to equity markets to pay for it.

Meta is 13.3% higher since the weekly close of the 27th of July and Nvidia 7.6% higher, but Meta peaked in the week of the 21st of September. Since the weekly close of the 28th of September, Meta has fallen 13.4% and Nvidia 7.7%. Nvidia fell for three straight weeks before Monday’s rise.

Meta’s 52-week range is $520.26 to $779.82, leaving Monday’s close about 19% below the top. Alphabet and Microsoft report earnings tomorrow, with Amazon on Thursday, and Nvidia’s own results follow on the 17th of November.

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Skyworks Solutions recorded the biggest fall in short interest, down 3.74 percentage points to 14.9% of float in FINRA’s report dated the 15th of October. Short interest is the number of shares sold short and not yet bought back; percent of float expresses it against freely tradable shares.

The figures compare that report with FINRA’s previous one, dated the 30th of September, and are a snapshot as of those dates, not live. The list covers US stocks averaging more than one million shares traded a day, and every name on it saw short interest fall.

In this article

• 1. Skyworks: 14.9%
• 2. Norwegian Cruise Line: 19.6%
• 3. Bloom Energy: 5.92%
• 4. Super Micro: 14.36%
• 5. Clorox: 8.52%
• 6. Illumina: 5.24%
• 7. United Airlines: 4.18%
• 8. Coherent: 4.64%
• 9. Zimmer Biomet: 4.19%
• 10. Colgate-Palmolive: 2.33%
• How to read the numbers

The top 10 biggest falls in short interest

The table shows short interest as a share of float in each report, the change in percentage points and days to cover, which is short interest divided by average daily volume.

Skyworks’ fall was more than twice the size of any other on the list, while Norwegian Cruise Line still carries the largest position of the ten.

1. Skyworks: 14.9%

Short interest in Skyworks Solutions, a semiconductor maker, fell to 14.9% of float from 18.64%, a drop of 3.74 percentage points and the largest on the list. Its market value is about $19.6 billion. It reports results next Tuesday, and it last appeared on this list on Friday.

2. Norwegian Cruise Line: 19.6%

Cruise operator Norwegian Cruise Line moved to 19.6% of float from 21.26%, down 1.66 percentage points. That is the highest short interest on the list. The company has a market value of about $6.9 billion and reports results on Thursday.

3. Bloom Energy: 5.92%

Bloom Energy, an electrical equipment maker, saw short interest fall to 5.92% of float from 7.25%, down 1.33 percentage points. Its market value is about $57.1 billion. Morgan Stanley has said AI power demand could make the company a big winner.

4. Super Micro: 14.36%

Super Micro Computer, a computer hardware company, fell to 14.36% of float from 15.66%, down 1.3 percentage points. Its market value is about $20.8 billion, and it reports results next Tuesday.

5. Clorox: 8.52%

Household products maker Clorox fell to 8.52% of float from 9.61%, down 1.09 percentage points. Its market value is about $10.4 billion, and it reports results next Monday.

6. Illumina: 5.24%

Illumina, a diagnostics company, fell to 5.24% of float from 6.29%, down 1.05 percentage points. Its market value is about $40.7 billion, and it reports results on Thursday.

7. United Airlines: 4.18%

United Airlines fell to 4.18% of float from 5.21%, down 1.03 percentage points. Its market value is about $31.8 billion.

8. Coherent: 4.64%

Coherent, a technology company, fell to 4.64% of float from 5.66%, down 1.02 percentage points. Its market value is about $41.2 billion, and it reports results next Wednesday. Its days to cover of 1.17 are the lowest of the ten.

9. Zimmer Biomet: 4.19%

Medical device maker Zimmer Biomet fell to 4.19% of float from 5.13%, down 0.94 percentage points. Its market value is about $18.8 billion, and it reports results next Wednesday.

10. Colgate-Palmolive: 2.33%

Consumer products group Colgate-Palmolive fell to 2.33% of float from 3.21%, down 0.88 percentage points, the smallest fall of the ten and the lowest short interest on the list. Its market value is about $75 billion, the largest here, and it reports results on Friday.

How to read the numbers

The figures are FINRA’s short interest as a percentage of float. Change is in percentage points against FINRA’s previous report, dated the 30th of September. High short interest describes positioning; it does not predict direction.

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NCC Group (LON: NCC), the cyber security business, has named chief financial officer Guy Ellis as its new chief executive and said full-year adjusted earnings will come in ahead of market expectations. The shares were down 1.3% at 172.2p in early trading today, as of 8.53 am, after rising about 11% over the previous two sessions.

Yesterday’s close of 174.4p was the highest in a year, following gains of 5.1% on Friday and 5.7% yesterday. The shares touched 178.8p yesterday, a 52-week high, and today’s quote is 3.7% below it. They are up 23.7% this year and well clear of the 52-week low of 107.2p.

The two-day rise predates today’s session. Today’s announcement also covered trading for the year ended the 30th of September. Ellis, who has been finance chief since June 2023, succeeds Mike Maddison with immediate effect. Andy Beaver, the Group Financial Director, becomes interim chief financial officer.

NCC expects revenue in line with market expectations and adjusted EBITDA, its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, ahead of them. Cyber revenue, excluding disposed businesses, was about £235m against £227.4m a year earlier, up 3.7% at constant currency. Cyber gross margin hit a record 38.4%, up 1.8 percentage points, and Cyber adjusted EBITDA was £16.3m, about 6.9% of revenue.

Net cash was about £53m as of 30 September, with 35% of a £15m buyback executed. Including eight months of the Escode business, sold in May, group revenue is about £280.0m and adjusted EBITDA £36.0m. FY27 expectations are unchanged.

Chair Chris Stone said the board chose Ellis after an internal and external process, and credited the outgoing team with the change in the business.

Over the past four and a half years, Mike and the Executive team have transformed NCC into a focused and strategically positioned cyber security business.

Chris Stone, NCC Group

Ellis said the shift to a pure-play cyber business is complete. He aims to deepen client relationships, expand managed services and grow organically, with a plan to reach mid-teen EBITDA margins.

NCC reports audited results on the 10th of December, when it will provide more detail on its growth strategy.

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Shearwater Group (LON: SWG), the AIM-listed services and software company, grew annualised revenue 34% to £42.3m in the year to the 30th of June. Adjusted EBITDA, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation with one-offs stripped out, rose 44% to £2.6m on the same basis.

The prior year ran for 15 months, so the company annualises it for comparison. Shares were trading 4.7% lower at 66.7p at 8.48am today, after the results, against a previous close of 70p.

Services, 96% of revenue, grew 37% on an annualised basis to £40.6m. Three renewals drove it: a c.£25m deal with a UK-based global telecoms provider, worth about £12.5m this year, a c.£9m deal with a global financial organisation (£2.7m) and a £7.3m extension with a UK mobile network operator (£3.5m).

Growth came at a thinner margin. Services gross margin fell to 18.7% from 21.6% on third-party software content, and the group margin to 19.8% from 24.2% annualised.

Software revenue fell 17% to £1.7m. The company blamed rival products, notably Microsoft Authenticator, which is sometimes bundled free, and restructured its sales operation in June.

The statutory loss narrowed mainly because the prior year carried an £11.1m impairment, a write-down of acquired goodwill and intangibles.

Cash generated from operations was £1.8m, below adjusted EBITDA. No cash had been collected on a major contract invoiced on the final day of the year. Receivables due after one year rose to £9.2m from £0.2m.

Group chief executive Phil Higgins framed the year as one of momentum.

I am delighted to report a second consecutive year of strong growth in revenue and underlying profitability.

Phil Higgins, Group CEO

Trading in the new financial year is in line with expectations, with new wins of £1.2m from a Japanese financial group and £1.7m from a UK central government department. Cash is £5.6m with no borrowings, and chairman Robin Southwell said a capital reduction backed at a general meeting on the 13th of October would open the door to a future dividend or buyback.

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London is trading lower on Tuesday, with the FTSE 100 down 1% and HSBC and Reckitt falling sharply after results.

The FTSE 250 is down 0.2%, while on the continent the DAX has lost 0.1%, the CAC 40 has fallen 0.3%, and the Stoxx 50 is down 0.2%.

Results hit HSBC and Reckitt

HSBC was last down 7.09% at 1,268.50p after the bank’s Q3 update. Third-quarter pre-tax profit was $9.6bn, up 32% year on year but below $10.1bn in the second quarter, and its CET1 capital ratio of 13.9% sits under its 14%-14.5% target range. It announced a buyback of up to $1bn and reiterated guidance.

Meanwhile, Reckitt fell 6.31% to 5,138p, with core like-for-like revenue rising 3.3% in the third quarter, but North America fell 1.3%. Chief executive Kris Licht said “North America was below our expectations”, citing temporary manufacturing constraints.

Risers and fallers so far

Computacenter is extending Monday’s surge of more than 13% after its trading update. Rentokil started a buyback of up to $200m. In the FTSE 250, Vistry is up 4.39% and B&M is down 2.00%.

Severn Trent said finance chief Helen Miles is leaving to become Vistry’s chief financial officer.

Oil and the Middle East

Brent has gained 0.8% to $111.57, while WTI is up 0.8% at $102.57. Tehran has accused Washington of “not being serious” about talks, and a vessel was reported on fire about 63 nautical miles southeast of al-Faw, Iraq.

Elsewhere, spot gold is trading 0.5% lower at $3,995, and GBP/USD is 0.2% lower at $1.3319.

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Revolution Beauty Group (LON: REVB) swung to a £2.0m adjusted EBITDA profit in the six months to the 31st of August, from a £12.5m loss a year earlier. Results were released at 7am today.

The profit came on revenue of £48.4m, down 2.0% from £49.4m, and equals 4.1% of revenue. Underlying revenue grew 8.3%.

The swing came from margins and costs. Gross margin rose to 43.6% from 32.2%, because last year’s clearance sales and heavy gross-to-net charges did not repeat. Operating costs fell 32.7% to £19.1m.

The group is still loss-making before tax. Chief executive Tom Allsworth framed the half this way:

gross margin is up more than 11 percentage points, our cost base is a third lower, and we have turned a £12.5m EBITDA loss into a £2.0m profit.

Tom Allsworth, chief executive

The balance sheet remains stretched. Net debt of £25.7m is borrowings of £30.0m less £4.3m of cash, net liabilities are £32.0m, and the directors say a material uncertainty exists over the group’s ability to continue as a going concern. Their downside case would breach covenants without mitigating action.

On outlook, the board says September and October trading is in line with its expectations and that the group is at the top end of market expectations for the year to the 28th of February 2027: revenue of £92.0m to £95.0m and adjusted EBITDA of £6.0m to £6.6m. The second half is seasonally larger.

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Alumasc Group (LSE: ALU) said today that first-quarter revenue rose 10% from a year earlier and its order book is 67% higher. The UK supplier of premium sustainable building products, systems and solutions updated the market ahead of its annual general meeting at 10am.

The board said the financial year to the 30th of June 2027 is on course to meet expectations. That is a confirmation rather than an upgrade, but it comes with growth in every division despite a tough construction market.

Group revenue growth was 9.6%, which rounds to the 10% headline. Water Management grew 13.3%, Building Envelope 7.0% and Housebuilding Products 6.4%. Alumasc said margins improved as expected, helped by operational gearing and the benefit of recent restructuring.

The order book at the end of September was 67% above its level twelve months earlier. Order intake was strong, with early signs of better conversion into sales, and the book grew even though customers called off orders faster.

October has added two wins. Building Envelope took a £2.1m order for the first phase of a student accommodation refurbishment at Manchester University. Water Management won £0.4m for the first phase of an upgrade at Tin Can Island Port Complex in Nigeria, widening its exports beyond the Middle East and Asia.

Interim Executive Chair Vijay Thakrar framed the quarter against a weak backdrop.

Against such a tough economic and construction market backdrop, it is encouraging to see the positive revenue and order intake momentum continue over Q1 FY27 and into the first weeks of Q2 across all of our divisions.

Vijay Thakrar, Alumasc

Airport work flattered the quarter. It included the first call-offs from the £2m Changi Airport Singapore project and further sales to Hong Kong’s Chek Lap Kok airport. Without those, revenue was 5% higher, despite subdued demand, particularly in UK residential construction.

Timloc, the Housebuilding Products business, has no order book because it delivers next day, and it continues to win market share in a difficult housebuilding market.

The board remains confident of progress in the year, in line with expectations. The test now is whether the larger order book turns into revenue.

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Severn Trent (LSE: SVT) said today that Chief Financial Officer Helen Miles is stepping down to become finance chief at Vistry Plc. The water utility made the announcement in a stock exchange statement.

Miles has told the Board she will leave her roles as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director after 12 years at Severn Trent.

The Board has begun a formal search for her replacement. Miles will remain CFO throughout her 12-month notice period to support an orderly transition.

Severn Trent said it will provide further updates in due course.

Chief Executive Officer James Jesic thanked Miles and pointed to the work still ahead:

“On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Helen for her significant contribution over her 12 years at Severn Trent and I wish her well for the future. We remain focused on continuing to deliver one of the sector’s most ambitious capital investment programmes for the benefit of our customers, communities and the environment.”

James Jesic, Chief Executive Officer, Severn Trent

Jesic said the company remains focused on delivering its capital investment programme.

Miles said in the announcement that she had “loved my time at Severn Trent and the opportunity to work with brilliant colleagues across the business”. She added that she looks forward to supporting a smooth transition over the coming year.

For shareholders, the practical point is timing. The finance chief of a business running a large investment programme will change within roughly a year, giving the Board that time to find a successor.

The things to watch are who the successor is and when the Board names them.

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Shoe Zone (LSE: SHOE), the UK footwear retailer, reported an adjusted pre-tax loss of about £1.0m for the 53 weeks to the 3rd of October, against an adjusted profit of £2.4m a year earlier.  Revenue fell 4.5% to £142.4m from £149.1m, according to an unaudited trading update today.

The company said the adjusted loss was in line with management expectations. The statutory loss before tax was about £0.6m, compared with a £3.3m profit in FY2025; the adjusted figure excludes a £0.4m foreign exchange revaluation gain.

Sales fell because Shoe Zone traded from 18 fewer stores and consumer confidence kept declining amid general negativity about the UK economy. Profit also bore a full year of the National Insurance increase and a further rise in the National Living Wage, partly offset by better margin.

Product margin rose to about 63.1% from 61.0%, mainly on lower, less volatile container prices and a better Sterling-Dollar rate. Net cash climbed to about £15.1m from £5.9m, helped by lower capital spending, a lower cost of product and a lower cost of sales.

There is no dividend. None was declared at the half-year, and the company expects a nil payout for the full year while it manages cash prudently but actively.

The estate ended at 251 stores, down 6.7% from 269, after 25 closures, seven openings and six refits. That is 211 larger-format stores and 40 original High Street shops. Shoe Zone is limiting capital spending to essentials, and with 211 conversions completed, the pace is slower.

Management is cautious and expects trading to stay subdued. A slower start to autumn and winter hit the last few weeks of FY2026 and is continuing into FY2027.

Container prices rose at the year end on port issues in China, geopolitics and fuel costs, which management expects to hurt margin. A weaker Sterling-Dollar rate and higher fuel costs could add to that, and the company is awaiting the Government’s October 2026 Budget.

“Sales were good when there was a clear reason to buy, such as the warm summer and the Back-To-School season. However, overall discretionary spending remains subdued as consumers exercise greater caution in their expenditure.”

Charles Smith, Chairman of Shoe Zone

The board said it is managing cash with resilience and flexibility in mind, and that the position is healthy. A more detailed update will come with final results in January 2027.

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Vistry Group (VTY), which builds homes across all tenures, has named Severn Trent finance chief Helen Miles as its next chief financial officer and executive director. She is due to join the board in 2027.

Until she arrives, Robert Allen becomes interim CFO and joins the board with immediate effect. Vistry said the appointment followed a comprehensive internal and external selection process led by the Chair.

Miles is currently CFO of Severn Trent, the FTSE 100 water company, a post she has held since July 2023. She joined Severn Trent in November 2014 as Chief Commercial Officer and became Capital and Commercial Services Director in 2020.

Earlier she was CFO of HomeServe and of Openreach, part of BT Group, with previous roles at Bass Taverns, Barclays Bank and Compass Group. Vistry points to her record across listed-company finance, strategy, capital markets, investor relations, treasury and operational leadership. She also sits as a non-executive director of Breedon Group.

Rob Woodward, Vistry’s Non-Executive Chair, tied the choice to the group’s strategy:

“Helen is a high calibre finance and business executive who I am confident will work with the Board, Adam and the rest of the leadership team to maximise the strengths and opportunities of the Group’s mixed tenure partnership model.”

Rob Woodward, Non-Executive Chair, Vistry

Adam Daniels, Vistry’s CEO, said her appointment “further strengthens the quality of our executive leadership” and that the shared focus would be on delivering “our recently announced plans”. Miles said she was excited to join “as it enters the next stage of its development”.

Allen was most recently CFO of The Crown Estate for four years, and before that CFO at Intu Properties and Crest Nicholson. Vistry cites his expertise in strategic transformation, capital markets, investor relations and commercial leadership across property and real estate.

Under UK listing rules, Vistry also disclosed that Allen was an executive director of Intu Properties, Intu Shopping Centres and Liberty International Group Treasury Limited, each of which entered administration on the 26th of June 2020. He was also a director of Intu Payments Limited, which entered creditors’ voluntary liquidation on the 26th of October 2021.

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