This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

2020 will be remembered as a volatile year in the stock market. After crashing in March, the broader market has seen high highs and low lows, and the S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX) is up 10% year to date through Friday’s close.

Stay-at-home stocks have scored most of the high gains so far this year, and if you had invested in Etsy Inc (NASDAQ: ETSY), Square Inc (NYSE: SQ), and Peloton Interactive Inc (NASDAQ: PTON) a year ago, you would have more than doubled your money. Are further gains in store?

Exclusive products drive this e-commerce winner

Etsy’s success as an online marketplace for handmade and one-of-a-kind items hasn’t gone unnoticed — certainly not by Amazon com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN), which tried to compete with its own Handmade service. But with great management, an improved platform, and a long lead, Etsy keeps growing.

Etsy was well positioned for the pandemic, not only as a fully digital business, but with a community of makers ready to create custom masks and other pandemic paraphernalia. CEO Josh Silverman coordinated a response that spread demand among suppliers to meet increased interest in masks, resulting in millions of new customers, triple-digit sales growth for the past two quarters, and soaring earnings.

And it’s far from over. Active customers are also on the increase as Etsy moves from a niche category into the mainstream and challenges the biggest names in e-commerce. The company acquired Reverb, a marketplace for musical instruments, moving into complementary businesses and adding new ways to plump the top line.

Etsy’s stock has gained almost 240% over the past 12 months (based on Friday’s closing price), but it fell after a great earnings report that has investors wondering about the future, and fell again on Pfizer Inc‘s (NYSE: PFE) promising coronavirus vaccine news. While some forward progress was definitely built into its price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, its recent dip brings it down to a relatively reasonable P/E of 75, making now a great time to buy in.

Fueling new ways to pay

Square offers payment solutions for small and medium businesses as well as a peer-to-peer payments service called Cash App. But you probably already know that, since Cash App is the most popular peer-to-peer payments service in Alphabet Inc‘s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG) Google Play store.

COVID-19 wasn’t kind to the company; its main business, small business payment processing, and other small business services suffered with business closures. But Cash App business, specifically bitcoin, kept revenue afloat. And now that lockdowns have for the most part been lifted, growth has resumed across the board, with a 140% sales increase and a return to positive earnings.

Square, with $3 billion in revenue, is nowhere near as big as rival PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL), which has close to $5.5 billion in revenue, and PayPal’s Venmo is the most popular peer-to-peer payments service in the Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) store. But Square is growing much faster, with 140% revenue growth. PayPal’s maturity means its growth, while consistent, will be less eye-popping.

Square’s stock has gained about 190% over the past 12 months, but investors can expect to see a lot more upside.

Pedaling toward success

Going public in September 2019, just a few months before the pandemic struck, Peloton was just in time for a stay-at-home fitness movement that lifted its sales and catapulted it into hot stock territory. 

In the third quarter, even after fitness-minded consumers were out and about again, Peloton showed its staying power with a 92% retention rate, 137% increase in connected fitness subscriptions, 382% increase in digital subscriptions, and 232% increase in revenue.

In fact, it’s growing so fast that it can’t keep up with demand, and there’s a longer than one-month waiting list to purchase its premium video-connected bikes. 

Peloton has had the biggest gains of the three companies listed here, more than 280% over the past 12 months, even with a recent dip as investors cash out of stay-at-home stocks. I would say it’s also the riskiest of the three, since premium bikes have a lower ceiling than payments and trinkets. But the company is making strategic moves to keep growing, such as launching new products and connecting with celebrities, and it still has years of high growth ahead.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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Jennifer Saibil has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, Apple, Etsy, PayPal Holdings, Peloton Interactive, and Square and recommends the following options: short January 2022 $1940 calls on Amazon, long January 2022 $1920 calls on Amazon, and long January 2022 $75 calls on PayPal Holdings. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, Apple, and PayPal Holdings. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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At lunch on Monday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to start the week on a positive note. The benchmark index is currently up 0.7% to 6,585.7 points.

Here’s what has been happening on the market today:

Zip Co update.

The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price is edging lower despite revealing strong growth for the first four months of FY 2021. The buy now pay later (BNPL) provider delivered a 91% increase in BNPL revenue to $96.7 million for the period. Approximately $27.6 million of this was generated in October. Management also revealed that trading had been strong in November, with all regions set to deliver step change month-on-month growth.

Ampol $300 million buyback.

The Ampol Ltd (ASX: ALD) share price is jumping higher today after announcing an off-market share buyback worth $300 million. The fuel retailer announced the surprise buyback after completing the sale of its convenience retail properties. Originally the company, formerly known as Caltex, was going to use the funds to reduce its leverage. But due to improving trading conditions, it has opted to use the proceeds to buy back shares as well.

Insurance Australia placement.

The Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG) share price is sinking lower today after completing its institutional placement. The insurance giant raised $650 million through the issue of approximately 128.7 million new shares to institutional investors at a 7.5% discount of $5.05 per new share. The proceeds will be used to strengthen its balance sheet following an $865 million business interruption claims provision.

Best and worst ASX 200 performers.

The best performer on the ASX 200 on Monday has been the Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price with a gain of almost 6.5%. A number of resources shares are charging higher today with Fortescue. The worst performer has been the IAG share price with its decline of 5.5%. This follows the completion of its institutional placement.

More reading

• ASX 200 events this week that could move the market
• Zip Co (ASX:Z1P) share price pushes higher on trading update
• Why the Ampol (ASX:ALD) share price is racing 8% higher
• Revealed: Shares that’ll shoot up with a COVID-19 recovery
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX continues to climb, despite outage

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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AGM season this year has seen its fair share of contentious and interesting meetings for S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) companies. This has included first strike votes against Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) and Lendlease Group (ASX: LLC), and the loss of two directors at Crown Resorts Ltd (ASX: CWN).

Outside of the ASX 200, but still dramatic, was the resignation of the chairman at Myer Holdings Ltd (ASX: MYR).

From an investors point of view, AGM season has allowed us to gauge how companies are recovering from the COVID-19 lockdowns, and get updates on recent news.

Here are a range of AGMs, as well as general investor days, that may make the news this week.

ASX 200 AGMs

Monday

Ampol Ltd (ASX: ALD) is using its investor day to discuss issues around its poor performing Lytton refinery. Market interest was piqued after BP plc (LON: BP) announced it would be closing its West Australian refinery, further underlining difficulties in the sector. 

Tuesday

Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC), Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW), and TechnologyOne Ltd (ASX: TNE) are ASX 200 companies with an AGM on Tuesday. Of these, TechnologyOne has been in the news recently for its engagements with the Tasmanian Government, the Murray River Council, and Victoria University.

Wednesday

IOOF Holdings Limited (ASX: IFL) has seen its share price drop in the wake of an announcement to purchase MLC Limited from National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB). In fact, investors have watched the share price for this ASX 200 company fall by 65% from a recent peak in October of 2017.

Medical imaging company Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME) will also be holding its AGM on Wednesday, on the back of a 5-year contract renewal for $8.5 million.

Thursday

ASX 200 resource companies will be in the spotlight on Thursday. In particular, gold mining giant Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN), and rare earths miner Lynas Corporation Ltd (ASX: LYC).  Also, Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG) will be holding an investor day. 

Origin Energy has been in the news a lot in recent time. In particular, it has curtailed drilling at its Queensland natural gas operations as a flow-on from COVID-19. The company is also investigating an export level hydrogen project in Tasmania. 

Friday

Friday is of course ‘Black Friday’, a retail sales spectacular. Originating from the US, Black Friday is often such a high volume of sales that it puts retailers ‘in the black’. As part of a newer tradition, it is grouped together with ‘Cyber Monday’.  This is going to prove to be an interesting period in 2020 given the impacts that COVID-19 have had on the discretionary retail sectors of the ASX 200. 

More reading

• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX continues to climb, despite outage
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• 3 leading ASX dividend shares to buy for income
• Exciting ASX shares rated as buys by top fundie
• How to turn $20,000 into $180,000 in 10 years with ASX shares

Daryl Mather has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Brickworks and Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Crown Resorts Limited, Kogan.com ltd, and Ramsay Health Care Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price is pushing higher on Monday following the release of a trading update.

At the time of writing, the buy now pay later (BNPL) provider’s shares are up 1% to $6.24.

The Zip Co share price was up as much as 5.5% to $6.52 at one stage but has since faded.

How is Zip Co performing?

Zip Co has continued its positive form during FY 2021, with record results being driven across all regions.

According to the release, during the month of October, Zip delivered record transaction volume of $401.1 million. This was up 104% on the prior corresponding period. This means the company now has annualised transaction volume of $4.8 billion.

A key driver of this growth was its Zip US business. The QuadPay brand experienced an acceleration in its growth in October. It delivered a 200% jump in transaction volume to $160.6 million, revenue of $11.4 million, and grew its customer base to over 2.5 million.

Together with its 2.3 million ANZ customers, this took Zip’s customer numbers to 4.8 million globally, which represents a 109% increase since this time last year.

Also growing strongly was its merchant numbers. Zip now has over 36,500 merchants on its platform, which is up 74% year on year.

This underpinned another strong increase in overall BNPL revenue growth during the first four months of FY 2021.

Zip recorded a 91% increase in BNPL revenue to $96.7 million for the period, with approximately $27.6 million being generated in October. Including Zip Business, FY 2021 year to date total revenue on a pro forma basis stood at $100.2 million, with $28.4 million recorded in October.

Pleasingly, the company appears to be making positive progress with its bad debts. Although it didn’t provide any actual loss data for the period, it provided monthly arrears data for Australia. This forward indicator of future losses reduced from 1.33% in June to 0.89% in October. Management commented that this is an outstanding result in the current climate.

Zip’s Managing Director and CEO, Larry Diamond, was very pleased with the company’s performance in October.

He said: “We are pleased to report yet another record month for the Company across all its key metrics, as we accelerate into the final quarter of the calendar year.”

“We finished the October month processing over $400m in transaction volume, with November now seeing annualised volume in excess $5bn per annum. All regions are trading very strongly, and the US is now seeing more than 15,000 downloads per day – more than 5m users have now downloaded our apps worldwide,” he added.

Outlook.

While no guidance has been provided for the remainder of the half or the full year, management advised that November has been a strong month.

It advised that momentum across the company has continued this month and all regions are set to deliver step change month-on-month growth. This is prior to the inclusion of the cyber promotional activity at the end of the month.

Mr Diamond added: “Whilst online trade is expected to be very strong this year, and Zip will enjoy its share, this season Zip expects to significantly lift its instore volumes. Our partnership with Visa and access to Apple Pay and Google Pay wallets, unlocks everyday spend, providing our customers with more utility and choice.”

“Zip is well on its way to becoming the first payment choice everywhere and every day. We would like to wish all our merchant partners a strong trading period over the Black Friday – Cyber Monday weekend and into Christmas and Boxing Day. It has been a very different year for many businesses, large and small, online and offline, and we hope this quarter brings positivity and good cheer throughout,” he concluded.

More reading

• Flight Centre and Webjet were among the most traded shares on the ASX last week
• Is buy now, pay later (BNPL) giving Aussies a headache?
• ASX ends trading early, ASX 200 up 1.2%
• Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price underperforming after ASIC finds more BNPL customers falling behind
• Why does the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price continue to outperform Zip (ASX:Z1P)?

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) has announced that its Sydney-Melbourne route will resume flights immediately, following the decision by the New South Wales Premier to reopen the state’s border to Victorians starting today. At the time of writing, the Qantas share price has risen by 1.52% in early morning trading to $5.35.

How will this impact Qantas?

The Sydney-Melbourne route was the second busiest domestic route in the world prior to the pandemic, with the Seoul-Jeju route in Korea taking the number one spot. 

The Qantas share price is on the move today after the company announced that today’s flight resumption will increase its domestic capacity to just under 40% of pre-COVID levels. This is up from 30% prior to today. 

From today, Victorians wishing to travel to NSW will no longer have to get government permission or quarantine for 14 days. 

In addition, Qantas Chief Executive, Alan Joyce, today says he’s optimistic that Australia will enter into a number of travel arrangements with other COVID-safe countries, starting with flights across the Tasman as early as the first few months of next year.

He explains:

We’ve always planned that by July next year we will start reactivating our long-haul international aircraft and get a lot of our people back to work. The news about the vaccines is very positive which I think is great for that border reopening plan.

Brief take on Qantas

Qantas commands a market share of around two thirds of Australian domestic air travel. Combined with its low cost carrier brand, Jetstar, the company is also Australia’s largest international carrier, with 25% of Australia’s international traffic. Qantas has defended this leading market share pretty much for the past decade.

Despite its dominance in the domestic route, Qantas has struggled to compete in the international space. This is partly due to geography. Australia is not a natural hub location and, as a result, Qantas operates at a cost disadvantage against its Asian competitors. 

This cost disadvantage on international routes is reflected in the company’s results – where its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) is 4% for its international division, but a much higher 12% for its domestic division. 

However, this apparent Achilles’ heel turned out to be the company’s savior during the pandemic, as international flights were grounded in favour of domestic travel.

Let’s take a look at the Qantas share price in 2020

Like most airlines, the Qantas share price has taken a beating in 2020 as a result of the pandemic. Its share price started the year at $7.11, and dropped to $2.11 in March at the height of the travel restrictions. Since then, the Qantas share price has recovered to its current price of $5.35.

More reading

• Why the Helloworld (ASX:HLO) share price is climbing higher today
• Revealed: Shares that’ll shoot up with a COVID-19 recovery
• Why the Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price is up 48% in November
• Flight Centre and Webjet were among the most traded shares on the ASX last week
• Aussie companies blast ‘knee-jerk’ COVID-19 border closures

Motley Fool contributor Eddy Sunarto has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Helloworld Travel Ltd (ASX: HLO) share price is climbing higher today. This comes after the company released news about an acquisition of CruiseCo and renewed partnership with Qantas Airways Limited  (ASX: QAN). At the time of writing, the Helloworld share price is up 5.2% to $2.83.

Acquisition of CruiseCo

Helloworld advised it has entered into an agreement to acquire cruise wholesale company, CruiseCo.

Founded 20 years ago, CruiseCo is a specialist cruise package wholesaler led by Kevin Dale, Phil Hoffman, and Steve Lloyd. The company has over 250-member travel agencies with access to more than 50 global cruise lines. Prior to COVID-19, the company had an annualised total transaction value (TTV) of $70 million throughout Australia.

The acquisition will align with Helloworld’s strategy of expanding its cruise offerings in Australia and New Zealand. Furthermore, the takeover will compliment Helloworld’s existing cruise wholesale business, Seven Oceans Cruising. The latter recorded an annual TTV of around $110 million before COVID-19 hit the tourism market.

The acquisition will be funded from the company’s cash reserves and the purchase is not considered material.

Commenting on the acquisition, Helloworld executive director Cinzia Burnes said:

These two businesses, when combined, provide Helloworld Travel with a comprehensive range of cruise options for our retail agencies in Australia and New Zealand.

Given the recent demand for some 2022 specials in the market, the positive news around both the development of a vaccine and rapid testing capabilities, we are confident that demand for cruising will come back strongly from 2022 and we look forward to working with our cruise partners and agencies to capture that demand.

Renewed Qantas partnership

The Helloworld share price is also reacting to news today that Helloworld has renewed its partnership with Qantas.

The new commercial agreement will promote and sell the national carrier’s fares and products until 2023. The multi-year deal is said to provide confidence to Helloworld in the recovery of the ailing sector.

Helloworld CEO and managing director Andrew Burnes welcomed the deal, saying:

We have had a longstanding partnership with Qantas and the continuation of that was an important component in securing our position as their leading travel agency partner and ensures our owned businesses and agency networks can continue to sell Qantas with confidence.

Qantas global sales and distribution executive manager Igor Kwiatkowski said the agreement helped cement a long-standing relationship with Helloworld Travel “as their number one airline supplier in Australia”.

Despite the devastating impact of COVID-19 on the industry, we’re starting to see really positive momentum from the trade as domestic travel restrictions start to ease.

We are pleased to be working together to focus on opportunities that benefit our businesses – including joint marketing and sales activities – as the travel industry starts to recover.

Helloworld share price summary

The Helloworld share price has been soaring since the start of November. Its shares reached from a low of $1.67 to now $2.79, representing a gain of 67% in just 3 weeks. However, the Helloworld share price is still down on a high of $5.03 in January before the onset of COVID-19. The company fell to an all-time low of 67 cents in March.

More reading

• Revealed: Shares that’ll shoot up with a COVID-19 recovery
• Why the Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price is up 48% in November
• Flight Centre and Webjet were among the most traded shares on the ASX last week
• Aussie companies blast ‘knee-jerk’ COVID-19 border closures
• The Qantas (ASX:QAN) share price soared 12% higher last week

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Helloworld Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Shares in IT services provider, Empired Ltd (ASX: EPD), are soaring this morning after the company announced record first half revenue guidance for FY21 of between $87 million and $89 million. This is up from $84 million for the same period last year. At the time of writing, the Empired share price is up 14.06% to 73 cents following the the announcement which was made during the company’s annual general meeting (AGM).

What else is driving the Empired share price?

The Empired share price is rocketing higher after the company also advised it expects record earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and ammortisation (EBITDA) of between $15.8 million and $16.5 million, compared to $7.8 million last year.

Empired says it expects to pay out an interim dividend in February 2021 in the range of 30% to 40% of earnings.

On its full year outlook, the company says it will continue to perform strongly for the rest of FY21, with no material adverse changes to trading conditions due to COVID-19.

FY22 growth will be underpinned by a full year contribution from Western Power managed services and asset refresh contracts, combined with additional forecast revenue from the recent Western Power systems integrator contract win.

Empired Managing Director, Russell Baskerville, said:

We have been delighted with the progress made in ramping up services relating to a number of key contract wins over the prior six months. In the face of challenging conditions our team has transitioned and commenced service delivery ahead of time and in line with anticipated financial performance.

Over the coming 12 months, the company will contest a number of multi-year strategic deals that, if successful, will provide a material uplift in earnings in FY22 and beyond.

What does Empired do?

Empired provides IT services ranging from business consulting to applications systems development and support. 

Only two weeks ago, the company won a master IT supply contract with Western Power to provide a range of systems integration services. This was the second contract awarded by Western Power, and followed the managed services and preferred infrastructure services contracts awarded to Empired in April 2020.

Empired also counts Aussie Home Loans as one of its clients. The company first listed on the ASX in 2007, and its biggest shareholder is Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL).

How did Empired perform in 2020

The Empired share price has been one the clear winners in 2020, gaining more than 108% year to date. The Empired share price began the year at 35 cents and, based on today’s price, now commands a market capitalisation of $102 million.

More reading

• 2 very reliable ASX dividend shares to buy
• 3 leading ASX dividend shares to buy for income
• ASX 200 ends flat on Friday
• ASX stock of the day: Japara Healthcare (ASX:JHC) share price soars 23%
• Why the Oil Search (ASX:OSH) share price is the worst performer today

Motley Fool contributor Eddy Sunarto has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Christmas came early for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) with the index rallying more than 10% in November. While a majority of ASX shares are still below pre-COVID highs, these companies have managed to push higher into record territory. 

1. Galaxy Resources Limited (ASX: GXY) 

The Galaxy Resources share price has lifted more than 50% in this month alone to hit an 18-month high of $1.80. This comes off the back of President-elect Joe Biden’s plan to lead a transition to renewable energy. This includes a promise to eliminate federal subsidies to the oil industry and move to net-zero emissions by 2050. His plans have lifted sentiment for renewable related sectors including lithium miners. 

2. Lifestyle Communities Limited (ASX: LIC) 

Lifestyle Communities is involved in developing and managing affordable communities for working, semi-retired and retired people. It operates as land lease communities, which is a very different model to retirement villages. 

There has been a broad recovery in the real estate sector ranging from retail REITs such as Scentre Group (ASX: SCG) and Vicinity Centres (ASX: VCX) bouncing off lows to industrial REITs such as Goodman Group Ltd (ASX: GMG) making new record all-time highs. 

The Lifestyle share price has soared past its previous record all-time highs of $9.90 set in January 2020 to close at $10.98 last Friday. 

3. Seven Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: SVW) 

Seven operates a diverse portfolio of industrial services, media, property and other investments. Its recent share price run is reflective of the rotation from tech and growth to cyclical and value stocks. Seven’s last closed share price of $22.59 represents not only a 52-week high but also is cents away from a new all-time record high.  

4. Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES)

The Wesfarmers share price has also enjoyed the benefits of the recent rotation into value and cyclical ASX shares. Its push this month to the $49 level represents record all-time highs for the company. 

Wesfarmers has experienced significant demand growth across its businesses including Bunnings, Officeworks and Catch with respective FY21 year-to-date sales growth of 25.2%, 23.4% and 114.4%. 

More reading

• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX continues to climb, despite outage
• 2 ASX blue chip dividend shares to buy this month
• ASX 200 rises again on Tuesday
• Macquarie (ASX:MQG) picks best ASX stocks to buy for 2021 post-COVID recovery
• Aussie companies blast ‘knee-jerk’ COVID-19 border closures

Motley Fool contributor Lina Lim has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Wesfarmers Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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In more than 10 years of investing, I’ve never experienced anything like 2020. The ups, the downs, the twists! Markets have been changing so quickly that thinking about anything beyond this year, and beyond COVID-19, feels like crystal ball gazing.

That goes for our investing too. However we can’t let the short-term events of 2020 derail the most important vehicle we have for growing our money over long periods: compounding returns.

Compounding is where earnings (or dividends) get reinvested, and those earnings start to produce their own earnings. Over time, this can turn an ordinary portfolio into spectacular, life changing wealth. So here are some quick tips to get that compounding back on track in 2021.

Reinvest those dividends!

Plenty of companies are paying out great dividends to shareholders. For compounding to happen, we need to put those dividends back to work.

For example, global packaging company Amcor CDI (ASX: AMC) pays a quarterly dividend which currently yields around 4.2% per annum (unfranked). In the 2020 financial year, strong cash flows allowed Amcor to increase its dividend by almost 10%. The company also has a dividend reinvestment plan (DRP) which can allow dividends to be automatically invested back into the company, without brokerage, commission or other transaction costs.

But there’s more. In November, the Amcor board of directors approved a $150 million buy-back of ordinary shares. When buy-backs reduce the number of outstanding shares, earnings and dividends are shared between fewer shares, increasing their value.

Rail freight operator, Aurizon Holdings Ltd (ASX: AZJ), also increased its final dividend by 10% after a strong full year result where underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) increased 12%. Like Amcor, Aurizon is planning to buy back $300 million of shares in the 2021 financial year. This is in addition to $400 million of shares repurchased during the 2020 financial year which sweetens the deal for investors. Both companies are currently rated as ‘buy’ by The Motley Fool’s expert dividend analysts.

Consistency is the key…

Compounding is about consistency, repetition and investing regularly over time. If you’re good at setting habits, this will be easy. If not, no problem! The trick is to automate your investing as much as possible. Set up automatic payments to regularly deposit money into an investment account and sign up for company dividend reinvestment plans to take the hassle out of the process.

…but don’t get complacent with investment risk

We need to give companies time to grow, but that doesn’t mean we can be complacent with risk.

If 2020 has taught us anything, it is that to sleep well at night we want to build a resilient, unshakeable portfolio. Owning shares in companies in different industries, that earn revenue across different regions, is a good start. For example, 47% of Amcor’s revenue comes from North America and another 24% comes from Western Europe. Aurizon earns almost all of its revenue in Australia, so between the two companies there is an element of diversification. 

Finally, if you’re managing your own portfolio, it’s important to keep up with company news and results. The compounding process is far more effective if earnings and dividends are growing regularly. Combined with a long-term perspective and some good habits, you can focus on leaving 2020 behind and turn 2021 into a great year for compounding your wealth.

More reading

• Leading broker warns that US dollar could face bear market crash in 2021
• Latest 3 “buy” recommendations from top brokers
• Amcor (ASX:AMC) share price rising after strong Q1 results
• With interest rates near zero these ASX income shares are in focus
• 3 ASX dividend shares rated as buys by brokers

Motley Fool contributor Regan Pearson has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. You can follow him on Twitter @Regan_Invests.

The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Amcor Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Aurizon Holdings Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post How to compound your way to wealth in 2021 appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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The Laybuy Holdings Ltd (ASX: LBY) share price has started the week positively following the release of its half year results.

At the time of writing, the buy now pay later provider’s shares are up over 1.5% to $1.41.

How did Laybuy perform in the first half?

This morning the Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) rival revealed that it recorded strong gross merchant value (GMV), customer, and merchant growth during the six months ended 30 September.

According to the release, first half GMV increased 167% over the prior corresponding period to NZ$244.8 million. This equates to annualised GMV of NZ$489.6 million.

Almost half of its annualised GMV is from the UK market, which now stands at NZ$212.5 million. This is up by a whopping NZ$196 million since this time last year.

Positively, the company’s defaults are also improving. They have reduced from 3% of GMV a year ago to 2.5% of GMV.

Also climbing strongly was its net transaction margin (NTM), which grew 448% to NZ$4.1 million. As a percentage of GMV, its NTM is now 1.7%. This compares to 0.8% in the prior corresponding period.

What were the drivers of Laybuy’s strong growth?

Key drivers of the company’s growth during the first half were increases in merchant and customer numbers.

Active merchants now total 6,323, which is an increase of 48%. Whereas active customers have lifted by 315,000 over the 12 months to 568,000. Management advised that this reflects strong growth in all regions.

Laybuy’s Managing Director, Gary Rohloff, commented: “Laybuy is delighted to announce its first financial results as an ASX listed company and update shareholders on the significant progress we have made against our growth strategy.”

“Revenue has increased 151% largely due to growth in the UK. We reported strong growth in all key operating metrics for the half year period. In addition to this strong revenue growth, we saw a significant improvement in Net Transaction Margin, more than doubling to 1.7% in H1 FY21,” he added.

Outlook.

Mr Rohloff spoke positively about the company’s outlook.

He said: “Setting the foundations for growth, Laybuy has expanded its debt facilities and raised capital on the ASX, which together with its capital efficient business model supports annual GMV growth of approximately NZ$4 billion. This sets us up well to capitalise on our differentiated offering and highly scalable and flexible technology platform to capture the substantial growth opportunity in both the UK and Australian market.”

Pleasingly, management revealed that it has experienced a marked uplift in activity since the end of the first half. During this time it has added over 60,000 customers and over 1,000 merchants.

It also revealed that GMV for October and November (based on a month to date run rate) improved to NZ$45 million and NZ$61 million, respectively. This represents GMV growth of 164% and 175%, respectively, over the prior corresponding periods.

Finally, it advised that it has recently launched with Wilko in the UK (annual turnover of ~1.6 billion pounds) and had a highly successful “Laybuy Mania” event on 7 November.

This event “produced record results with a 858% increase in referral to merchants, 804% more customers visiting Laybuy’s shop directory and 100% increase in orders made with Laybuy compared to the prior month.”

More reading

• Is buy now, pay later (BNPL) giving Aussies a headache?
• Laybuy (ASX:LBY) launches tap to pay digital card
• Why Laybuy, Oil Search, PointsBet, & Webjet shares are racing higher
• Meet Afterpay (ASX:APT)’s latest BNPL challenger

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post Laybuy (ASX:LBY) share price pushes higher following half year results appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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