Which Brands Should We Keep An Eye On In 2016?
For all intents and purposes, 2016 looks like it could be a bumper year for many businesses. World events that are bound to influence global economics include the US presidential election, the UK’s European Referendum, a new-five year plan in China, and the Summer Olympics in Brazil.
But while some companies are ready and waiting to take advantage of these occasions, other brands will quietly go about their business and deliver sizeable profits for both shareholders and investors. With IG financial trading, even you could make money from the good fortunes of economic enterprise in 2016. But which brands should we keep an eye on?
Nike
In the wake of the recent doping scandal that has embroiled athletics, sportswear brand Adidas decided to end its sponsorship of the sport’s world governing body early. This clearly isn’t good news for the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) ahead of the Olympics, but could salvation come in the form of another apparel giant?
Nike is recognised the world over and currently commands an annual revenue of $30.6bn. It also continues to innovate with technologically enhanced apparel and is no stranger to sponsoring certain sports, as last year Nike signed a deal worth roughly $1bn as the official uniform and jersey supplier for the NBA. However, it remains to be seen whether Nike will want to go through the rigmarole of risking association with another doping scandal after Lance Armstrong.
Tesla
In the grand scheme of things, Tesla is quite a young company, having been founded in 2003. But since then it has managed to take the automotive world by storm with its electric-powered vehicles that not only deliver environmentally friendly motoring, but also provide superior performance over similar rivals and an impressive range compared to other plug-in cars.
However, CEO Elon Musk is championing household sustainable solutions too. Earlier this year, he revealed that the next iteration of the company’s Powerwall home battery pack, which enables homeowners and businesses to store energy, manage backup power and generate zero-emission electricity, is due out as early as summer 2016.If Powerwall has the same impact as the Tesla Roadster, it could be a lucrative year for this eco-centric enterprise.
Alphabet (Google)
After its latest earnings report, Google’s parent company Alphabet became the world’s most valuable company. In Q4 2015, the company made a profit of $4.9bn, which is an increase from $4.7bn a year ago. What’s more, following the announcement that Alphabet overtook Apple to claim top spot, its share price went up as much as 9 per cent in after-hours trading.
Even though Alphabet lost $36bn due to its ‘Other Bets’ business, which includes experimental ventures such as self-driving cars and internet-enabled helium balloons, the Google side of the business continues to perform, especially online advertising. Paid-for click ads were up 31 per cent across the entire Internet and 40 per cent on Google-owned sites. With its search engine dominance showing no signs of diminishing, investors can safely back Google for prolonged prosperity throughout 2016 and beyond.
