Christmas on the Trading Charts
Can it really be Christmas week already? We’ve somehow meandered our way to the final blows of 2020. This week, we’re getting festive and taking a look at the performance of the companies behind some essential Christmas products and treats! After that, we’ll have a very brief look at the events coming up in this super-short trading week. Let’s get our jingle on!
The performance of our Christmas faves
1. Turkey
The bird many of us choose to gobble for our Christmas lunch. Did you know that the US is the world’s biggest producer of Turkey. And, regardless of the double-whammy of Thanksgiving and Christmas, Americans are not the biggest consumers of the bird. That record goes to the Israelis, who apparently, can’t get enough — eating the meat in a shawarma with tahini!
In the US, the most popular brand is the Butterball turkey, whose parent company is the Seaboard Corporation (SEB), and Q4 is usually a big winner for them and their turkey arm. 2020 hasn’t disappointed. The 28.4% increase from low in September to high at the beginning of December is a clear sign of the magic of Christmas!
Price on 01.10: 2,993.93 USD
Price on 18.12: 3,156.06 USD
3 month % change: +5.4%
Source: Google
2. Wrapping paper
Let’s face it, Christmas morning would be approximately 1,000 times less exciting if it weren’t for wrapping paper. And Britons can, largely, thank the IG Design Group (IGR) for the wrapping paper that hides the identity of their presents. Her Royal Highness, Queen Elizabeth II herself can also thank them for her Christmas crackers. No joke.
With a stock gain of over 28% in the final quarter of 2020, business is good!
Price on 01.10: 417.50 GBX
Price on 18.12: 554 GBX
3 month % change: +28.1%
Source: Google
3. Potatoes
Roasties, Jerseys, New? Whatever your fave variety, potatoes are surely a mainstay on your Christmas table. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (LW) is an American food processing company and one of the world’s largest producers and processors of potato products. If their stock is anything to go by, Thanksgiving and Christmas clearly look good on potato processing companies!
Price on 01.10: 66.67 USD
Price on 18.12: 78.66 USD
3 month % change: +16.5%
Source: Google
4. Christmas Trees
Did you know that there are 25 to 30 million Christmas trees sold in the US each year, with about 350 million currently growing around the country.
Most Christmas tree farms need access to good seedlings, so many turn to timber company Weyerhaeuser (WY). Weyerhaeuser has about 6 million acres of timberland and what grows on that colossal stretch will (after about 7 years) go on to become the fir-ed up focal point of many an American living room.
Suffice to say, with a near 16% increase in stock over the last 3 months, Q4 is their time to make hay. Or trees. Or cash, for that matter!
Price on 01.10: 28.79 USD
Price on 18.12: 33.74 USD
3 month % change: +15.8%
Source: Google
5. Sweets and Chocolate!
What would Christmas be without chocolate?!
Mars is the largest chocolate company in the world, followed by Ferrero. Both are privately owned, however. The largest publicly-listed company in the industry is Mondelez (MDLZ).
Mondelez formed in 2012 following the split of ‘Kraft Foods’ into two independent and publicly-traded companies. Mondelez got the sweetie bit and currently looks after brands such as Cadbury, Milka, Prince Polo, and Oreo.
Okay, so a 0.70% increase isn’t exactly crazy, but roll back a couple more months and that increase looks a little rosier at 14.8%. Our desire for all things sweet will always ensure that the end of the year is a strong period for companies like Mondelez.
Price on 01.10: 57.91 USD
Price on 18.12: 58.32 USD
3 month % change: +0.70%
Source: Google
6. Mince Pies
Continuing the sweet-tooth theme, mince pies! The UK’s largest producer is the exceedingly good Mr. Kipling, owned and operated by Premier Foods (PFD). The parent company also owns Ambrosia, Bird’s Custard, Angel Delight, Sharwood’s, Oxo, and Bisto (Christmas gravy, anyone?).
Again, not as crazy a price hike this quarter as some other Christmas staples on our list. However, paddle back to June and you’ll find the stock price sat at a meagre 59.90 GBX. Fast-forward to today, that’s a 52.19% growth in under 6 months.
It has to be said that the company did very nicely out of lockdowns. The vast majority of their products are related to cooking and baking, and they capitalised on the British public falling back in love with their ovens during lockdown.
Price on 01.10: 99.60 GBX
Price on 18.12: 102.20 GBX
3 month % change: +2.57%
Source: Google
What’s going on in the markets this week?
This week may be a short week, but there are some important things to keep an eye on (while casually snacking on mince pies, of course!).
Monday
No major events scheduled.
Tuesday
● GBP — UK GDP Growth Rate YoY Final (Q3)
● USD — US GDP Growth Rate QoQ Final (Q3)
● USD — CB Consumer Confidence (DEC)
Wednesday
● USD — PCE Price Index YoY (NOV)
Thursday
● USD — Durable Goods Orders MoM (NOV)
Friday
No major events scheduled.
One other tip, keep an eye on those Brexit trade deal negotiations. The outcome is likely to have an impact on the markets and related stocks, one way or another.
Here at Contentworks we closely follow market movements and prep content that we think your traders would love to read. Let’s get you started right here.
Speak soon and Merry Christmas!
The Contentworks team