Next week on the stock market

Contract caterer Compass Group’s underlying sales growth of 9.2% in the first quarter wasn’t enough to prompt a full-year upgrade from management. Current guidance is looking for organic sales growth of at least 7.5% in 2025, and underlying operating profit in the high single digits. With consensus forecasts already wandering into double-digit growth territory, there may be some disappointment if Compass doesn’t serve up an upgrade alongside next week’s half-year results.

Now that the £0.5bn buyback is complete, investor appetite may have been whetted for more of the same, so we’ll be keeping an eye out for an update on shareholder payouts as well as progress on the integration of CH&Co acquired last year for £0.5bn. Investors will be hoping for signs of continued momentum in next week’s interim results.

Alibaba delivered robust revenue growth and made notable progress in expanding its emerging AI and cloud infrastructure division last quarter, which has become central to its growth strategy.

Analysts are forecasting revenue growth of approximately 6.2% year over year for 2025. While the focus on AI and cloud is making the headlines, most revenue still comes from e-commerce, making Chinese consumer demand crucial. Despite trade tensions raising concerns about Alibaba’s international businesses, such as AliExpress, direct exposure to US tariffs is limited, as most sales are concentrated in China.

Ongoing macroeconomic uncertainties in China will remain important factors shaping investor confidence in the year ahead. The main question now is whether momentum can be sustained both in the next quarter and over the coming year.

TUI had a blockbuster first quarter with revenue rising at double-digit rates and profits landing well ahead of market expectations at the time. The Holiday Experiences division drove the improvements, with particularly strong performances across its Hotels & Resorts and Cruises.

Operating in a sector which is at the mercy of consumer sentiment and spending power is difficult. The current challenging economic backdrop means it's hard to map the demand picture accurately. Concerns around weaker bookings have caused markets to expect revenue growth to roughly half quarter-on-quarter, to 6.4%.

But falling oil prices have the potential to keep profits moving higher, given they’re such a significant chunk of airlines’ costs. And we expect to hear that full-year underlying operating profit guidance of 7-10% growth remains on track when second-quarter results are announced next week.