Regardless of the impact of Brexit on consumer spending power in the months and years to come, I expect Cineworld (LSE: CINE) to retain its lustre as a go-to stock for growth investors.
A trip to the movies is one of life’s simple pleasures regardless of the broader economic climate. Indeed, a bag of popcorn and the latest blockbuster can be considered one of today’s cheaper recreational activities, a factor that could actually play into Cineworld’s hands looking ahead.
Cinema-goers are already flocking through the doors in titanic numbers, and data released this week from Digital Cinema Media showed 18.1m tickets sold in August, up 26% year-on-year. And a steady slew of blockbusters slated through to the end of the decade from the likes of Marvel Studios should keep admissions striding skywards.
Against this backcloth the City expects earnings at Cineworld to rise 2% and 13% in 2016 and 2017 respectively. I believe subsequent P/E ratings of 17.7 times and 15.6 times are great value given the cinema chain’s superb defensive qualities.
Clothing corker
I also retain a bullish long-term view of Ted Baker’s (LSE: TED) long-term earnings prospects as its global expansion scheme continues.
The FTSE 250 (INDEXFTSE: MCX) fashion play advised in its latest trading statement that retail revenues leapt 12.7% during the 19 weeks to 19 June, with new store rollouts across Europe, North America and Asia satisfying the surging appetite for its premium-priced clothes and accessories.
And Ted Baker is also throwing shedloads of cash at the key online growth channel in all of its territories. This programme propelled e-commerce sales 32.3% higher during the period.
With the retailer still expanding its stores and distribution infrastructure across the globe, the number crunchers expect the bottom line to expand 12% and 15% in the periods to January 2017 and 2018 respectively.
While consequent P/E ratios of 22.7 times and 19.7 times may be heady on paper, I believe Ted Baker’s rapidly-improving growth outlook merits such a premium.
A tasty treat
Like Cineworld, I reckon Britain’s evergreen love of the takeaway makes Just Eat (LSE: JE) a piping-hot pick for those concerned about future earnings volatility.
Whether it’s pizza, Chinese or something a little more left field, ordering something in with family and friends is certainly a lot kinder on the credit card than nipping out to a restaurant. And the rise of Netflix, as well as the riches of sport shown by the likes of Sky, now make staying in the thing to do.
On tip of this, Just Eat is throwing dollops at its digital operations to make ordering quicker and easier. As such, the number of active digital users climbed to 15.9m as of June, up 45% year-on-year.
With the eateries specialist also improving its overseas footprint, electric earnings growth of 69% and 49% is expected for this year and next.
Resulting P/E ratios of 49.1 times for 2016 and 32.9 times for 2017 may be too rich for classic value hunters. But I reckon Just Eat’s tasty earnings outlook makes it a shrewd pick even at current prices.
