When you are trading on an earnings multiple of 35 for the current financial year, the market can be awfully unforgiving of even the slightest miss to forecasts.
Halfway earnings at Hargreaves Lansdown came in below consensus, and there was disappointment in some places on the dividend. The shares fell 32p to £12.85.
On earnings, analysts seem to have underestimated the damage done by a difficult stock market, as well as how much is being invested in the company’s next big project, HL Savings. This will arrive in the autumn and will allow borrowers to flit from bank to bank to take advantage of the best savings rate.
As for the markets, Hargreaves gets a double whammy when they are falling. Not only does investors’