The US stock market is surging right now. Clearly, investors expect a Donald Trump administration to be great for business. The good news for British investors is that many UK-listed stocks are set to benefit from the Republicans’ victory too. With that in mind, here are two FTSE 100 stocks that could potentially do well while Trump is president and are worth considering.
Building boom?
Trump wants to “make America great again”. So, we can expect to see a lot of building and construction over the next four years or so. New infrastructure is likely to be a key area of focus. As are manufacturing factories (like semiconductor manufacturing plants).
One UK company that I’d argue is almost certainly going to benefit from all this activity is Ashtead (LSE: AHT), which rents out construction equipment. Today, the bulk of its revenue comes from the US via its Sunbelt Rentals division so it’s very well placed to capitalise on a Trump construction boom.
It’s worth noting that when Trump won the US election last week, Ashtead was one of the best performers in the Footsie. In the blink of an eye, the stock jumped more than 6%.
After its recent jump, Ashtead shares aren’t in bargain territory. Currently, the forward-looking price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio here is about 20.8.
That valuation does add a bit of risk. If US government spending on construction doesn’t end up coming through in the years ahead, we could see some share price weakness.
I own some shares in Ashtead however, and I’m comfortable with the earnings multiple, given the supportive backdrop. It’s worth noting that several brokers have price targets around the 7,000p mark, which suggests that they expect the shares to continue rising.
A boom for businesses
Another company that looks well placed to benefit from a Trump administration is Sage (LSE: SGE). A provider of accounting and payroll software to small and medium-sized businesses, it generates almost half its revenue in the US today.
Trump is a pro-business politician, favouring lower corporate tax rates and less regulation. So, the backdrop for small and medium-sized businesses across America could be healthy in the years ahead.
A supportive backdrop could give firms the confidence to invest in new technology. I can see Sage – which can help companies automate a lot of manual accounting and payroll processes – benefitting here.
It’s worth noting that since the election, Sage’s share price has moved noticeably higher. So clearly, I’m not the only one with this view.
Now, a lot of UK investors might baulk at the valuation of this stock. Currently, the P/E ratio is about 25 – which is quite high for the UK stock market. Ignoring the stock because of this earnings multiple could be a mistake, however. Typically, software companies have higher P/E ratios due to the fact that they have recurring revenues and they are very profitable (minimal expenses).
Of course, there are still risks here. One is competition from newer players in the market such as Xero.
At the current valuation, however, I like the risk-reward setup. In 2028, I expect this stock to be much higher than it is today so I think it’s worth considering right now.
