Trending tickers: Advanced Micro Devices, Novo Nordisk, M&S, JD Wetherspoon and Barratt Redrow

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)

Shares in chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) fell 4% in pre-market trading on Wednesday, after the company's outlook for the current quarter failed to impress investors.

AMD said in results released after the market close on Tuesday that it expected to generate revenue of approximately $9.6bn (£7.4bn) in the fourth quarter, plus or minus $300m. According to a Bloomberg report, the average analyst estimate was $9.2bn, though some projections were as high as $9.9bn.

For the third quarter, AMD topped expectations, reporting earnings per share (EPS) of $1.20 on revenue of $9.25bn. Analysts were anticipating EPS of $1.17 on revenue of $8.74 billion, according to Bloomberg consensus estimates.

Read more: Global stock rout deepens as traders remain concerned about AI bubble

The fall in AMD shares comes amid a broader sell-off in chip stocks over concerns that lofty valuations of tech stocks are fuelling an AI bubble in markets.

Ben Barringer, global head of technology research at Quilter Cheviot, said that while AMD "saw a modest sell-off post-earnings, the fundamentals remain solid".

He said that a key driver of AMD's strong third quarter was its AI data centre rollout, where the company is "seeing growing demand for its CPUs alongside its GPU offering".

"The recent deal with OpenAI, announced last month, was a major highlight, serving as a strong validation of AMD’s long-term roadmap in the AI space," he said.

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Novo Nordisk (NOVO-B.CO)

In Europe, shares in Ozempic-maker Novo Nordisk (NOVO-B.CO) were up 1.2% on Wednesday, despite the Danish pharmaceuticals giant cutting its guidance once again.

In results released on Wednesday, Novo reported net sales of 229.9 billion Danish krone ($27.1bn) for the first nine months of the year, which was up 12% compared to the same period last year.

Net profit came in at 75.5 billion Danish krone, which was 4% higher than the first nine months of 2024.

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However, the company said it now expected to report sales growth of 8% to 11% for the year, down from a previous range of 8% to 14%, while operating profit was now expected to grow by between 4% and 7%, versus previous guidance of 10% to 16%.

Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Novo Nordisk’s CEO Mike Doustdar’s first set of results in the hot seat have come with slimmed down guidance for the full year. Hardly an ideal start but better for him to cut now while fingers can still be pointed at legacy issues.

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"There are some positives to pull out, with underlying operating margins increasing and some milestones being met on the strategic road map," he added.

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Marks & Spencer (MKS.L)

On the London market, shares in Marks & Spencer (MKS.L) dipped 1.3% on Wednesday morning after the retailer's profits more than halved in the wake of a cyber-attack earlier this year.

M&S reported pre-tax profit of £184.1m ($299.7m) for the first half of its fiscal year, down 55% from £413.1m for the same period last year.

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Adjusting items rose to £167.8m, which included £101.3m of costs related to the cyber-attack, which forced M&S to pause online orders. However, sales were up 22% to £7.97bn in the first half.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "These numbers represent the full brunt of the cyber-attack, which has inevitably dented profits but at the same time has allowed M&S to draw something of a line under the incident.

"The group’s healthy financial position helped it to weather the storm, and indeed M&S continued to make investments in the business despite the cyber-related costs elsewhere."

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JD Wetherspoon (JDW.L)

Shares in pub chain JD Wetherspoon dipped nearly 2% on Wednesday, after the company's chairman Tim Martin warned of a "cautious" outlook ahead of the autumn budget later this month.

Martin reiterated his concerns about the impact of increased labour costs on pubs, in light of changes announced in last year's budget which included increases to minimum wages and employer national insurance contributions.

Read more: How to protect yourself against tax rises in the budget

Looking ahead, he said that JD Wetherspoon was "pleased with the continued sales momentum but is mindful of the chancellor’s budget statement later this month and, as a result, is slightly more cautious in its outlook for the remainder of the year."

In Wednesday's trading update, JD Wetherspoon reported 3.7% growth in like-for-like sales in the first 14 weeks of its fiscal year.

Analysts at Barclays (BARC.L), who have an "overweight" rating on the stock, said in a note on Wednesday that JD Wetherspoon "continues to outperform the wider sector (Figure 1), thanks to its value​-​for​-​money offer, reinvestment in the estate, and experienced employees, many of whom are shareholders.

Barratt Redrow (BTRW.L)

Shares in Barratt Redrow (BTRW.L) rose 1.3% on Wednesday morning after the housebuilder kept its guidance for completions unchanged for the year.

In a trading update, CEO David Thomas said the company had delivered a "resilient performance" over the 17 weeks to 26 October, "despite challenging market conditions and increased uncertainty" ahead of the budget.

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Barratt said that based on "solid reservation activity" since the start of its new financial year, the company was keeping its guidance for total home completions at between 17,200 and 17,800 for the 2026 fiscal year.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "Investors showed relief that housebuilder Barratt Redrow kept its guidance on full-year completions unchanged despite a difficult market backdrop."

"Barratt will be crossing its fingers for an interest rate cut later this week and an easing of gilt yields which could help bring down mortgage costs and boost prospective purchasers’ confidence. Unsurprisingly, Barratt put in a plea for greater government support for first-time buyers and further planning reforms to help facilitate growth."

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