I’m convinced WPP (LSE: WPP) is one of the best FTSE 100 stocks for those seeking electric earnings growth in the years ahead.
The advertising giant has a rich record of generating resplendent earnings growth year after year. The breadth of its operations in the communications and advertising sectors — allied with its massive worldwide footprint — allows it to navigate weakness in one or two markets and keep delivering stunning top-line growth.
And WPP’s remains extremely active on the M&A front to keep creating sales growth. Just this month the business snapped up Texas-based SubVRsive, a specialist in the potentially-explosive virtual reality segment, and also picked up as advertising services play Zubi, which caters to the Hispanic market in the US.
WPP has also made acquisitions in Ireland, India, China and Brazil since the turn of the year alone, and the strength of its balance sheet should keep the acquisitions rolling in.
The City expects these factors to keep generating solid earnings growth, and has pencilled-in rises of 15% and 9% in 2017 and 2018 respectively. These projections result in very reasonable P/E ratios of 14.5 times and 13.3 times.
WPP’s impressive profits history has also made it one of the hottest growth dividend bets out there too. The business lifted payouts at a compound annual growth rate of 11.9% between 2012 and 2016, and the City expects shareholder rewards to keep tearing higher.
Indeed, a predicted 55.4p per share dividend for 2016 is anticipated to rise to 63.5p in the current year, creating a chunky 3.4% yield. And this figure jumps to 3.8% for 2018 thanks to an estimated 69.7p dividend.
Make soaring returns
I also reckon International Consolidated Airlines Group (LSE: IAG) is a terrific selection for share pickers to buy and hang onto.
A flurry of factors have made investment in the airlines industry somewhat unfashionable in recent times, from fears over shrinking traveller wallets and rising terrorism on holiday demand, through to concerns over rising fuel costs.
But in the long run I reckon IAG has what it takes to navigate these near-term problems and deliver exceptional rewards in the coming years. Ongoing cost-cutting across the group should help it to navigate any near-term revenues problems and set it up as an efficient, earnings-generating machine in the future.
And the company’s blue-riband airlines like British Airways should benefit from the steady rise in transatlantic traffic, while rising investment in Aer Lingus and Vueling sets it up nicely to enjoy booming growth in the budget segment.
The number crunchers expect IAG to print a fractional earnings rise in 2017 before picking up the pace again from next year — a 5% rise is currently anticipated for 2018. And these figures create ultra-low P/E ratios of 6.7 times and 6.3 times respectively.
Furthermore, IAG is also a lucrative stock in the dividend stakes, with expected payments of 22.7 euro cents per share this year and 24.2 cents in 2018, yielding 4.1% and 4.4%.
