Must read: Lloyds Bank, easyJet, Apple

Lloyds Banking Group FY – Thurs 29 Jan 

Richard Hunter, Head of Markets, interactive investor says, “Lloyds Banking Group (LSE:LLOY) kicks off an unusually elongated reporting season for the banks, with HSBC Holdings (LSE:HSBA) not bringing down the curtain until the end of February.

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The third quarter turned out to be one to forget for Lloyds, with the additional motor finance redress provision playing havoc with many of its key metrics. Of course, the motor provision is not life-threatening and without that distraction the underlying progress remains strong.

Often seen as a barometer for the UK economy, the group will face the additional challenges of a potentially deteriorating backdrop, while previously lower house price forecasts increased impairments in addition to the motor finance hit. For the most part, however, the UK consumer is alive and well with defaults stable and the previous small number of individual cases moving into default territory within Commercial Banking appearing to have stabilised.

There was some positive news in terms of the group’s more traditional business, with growth in both loans and deposits. Meanwhile, Lloyds is pursuing its refocused strategy, especially on the digital front where at the last count the total number of banking app users of 20.9 million provides a springboard for further capital light growth. The group is also prioritising higher value areas, such as what it describes as the Mass Affluent segment, deepening customer relationships and separately expecting in excess of £1.5 billion of annualised additional revenues from strategic initiatives from next year. The recent acquisition of Schroders Personal Wealth, previously run as a joint venture, is a statement of intent.

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Given the backdrop of the third quarter, it may have been a step too far to have expected any progress in terms of shareholder returns. Nonetheless a dividend yield of 3.3% remains attractive and increases for this as well as the buyback programme should still be on the table, with an announcement very possible within this release. 

The sector has been rerated and the strongest players recognised with Lloyds, for example, having enjoyed an increase in the share price of 75% over the last year. As such, the likelihood of blowing the lights out is more remote, although overall investors would be relieved to hear of a straightforward and no-frills set of numbers for the year as a whole.”

easyJet Q1 – Thurs 29 Jan

Richard says, “The share price has tended not to reflect the progress which easyJet (LSE:EZJ) has been making, especially within its holidays business, which is flying.

At the full-year results in November, it was the easyJet holidays arm which again stole the show. This is a burgeoning business which seems to have come at the right time with cost-conscious consumers searching for value packages. The group has high hopes for the unit’s longer-term contribution to overall profits, which currently accounts for 14% of total group revenue. The medium term target of £250 million in pre-tax profit was hit early, prompting a revised aim of £450 million by 2030. 

This also chimes with the group’s value-conscious appeal and the increasing body of evidence which tends to suggest that the family holiday remains almost sacrosanct and outside of normal budgetary restraints. Nor is the group stopping there, with the previously announced tie-up with Tesco Clubcard putting the new brand in front of 23 million households. 

In addition, the benefit of increasing ancillary revenues, which include the likes of customer payments for personally allocated seats, baggage and food, were in evidence, Now accounting for 26% of group revenue, customers are clearly still readily prepared to pay for these extras, while also adding another string to the group’s revenue bow.

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Investors will be scrutinising the usual metrics such as passenger numbers and the load factor. There is also likely to be an update on the outlook, where easyJet previously reported that the airline business was already 81% sold for the first quarter, and with the group continuing to target £1 billion of pre-tax profit in the medium-term. 

This will not be a clear ascent necessarily, with industrial action in France the latest reminder of a litany of woes which have affected the sector over the years, ranging from volcanic ash clouds and geopolitical tensions to virus outbreaks. For all the progress, the shares have fallen by 6% over the last year, and with British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines having posted a gain of 27% over that period, it is clear where investors’ priorities have tended to lie.”

Apple – Thurs 29 Jan 

Victoria Scholar, Head of Investment, interactive investor says, “Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) gets set to deliver FY26 Q1 results on Thursday 29 January. 

According to Refinitiv, Apple is expected to report earnings per share (EPS) of $2.67 and revenue of $138.42 billion, both up 11% year-on-year after the iPhone seller beat on the top and bottom lines last quarter. 

There are high hopes going into this set of results after the company issued a strong forecast for revenue growth last October of between 10% and 12% for the final three months of 2025. Apple’s boss Tim Cook also said its latest iPhone 17 enjoyed a ‘tremendous response’ globally. Apple could potentially achieve its best-ever quarter in terms of sales, although an FT report citing the International Data Corporation said its new skinnier iPhone 17 Air might disappoint. 

Investors will be looking for any clues or comments about Apple’s AI strategy. While Apple has been seen as lagging other tech giants in the AI race, it announced plans this month to team up with Google to improve its AI features, including a significant upgrade to its virtual assistant Siri later this year. According to the Information, Apple is also reportedly working on a wearable AI pin. 

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The cost of tariffs will also be in focus. In the September quarter, the company took a $1.1 billion hit, with the potential for a further $1.4 billion cost in the three months to December. Apple has been trying to push some of its iPhone production to countries outside of China such as India and Vietnam. 

Shares have struggled at the start of 2026, caught up in the broader trade war tensions. However, shares are up by more than 15% over the past six months. 

According to Refintiv, Apple has a consensus buy recommendation from the analyst community with a current target price of $285.59, around 14% higher than its current share price.”