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Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) told 2,000 employees on Monday morning that their jobs would be terminated.

Staff were informed their ground crew roles across 10 airports would be outsourced.

The decision came after the airline started an evaluation of outsourcing options back in August.

The move would save Qantas about $100 million a year, it estimated.

Qantas has now sacked 8,500 of what used to be a 29,000-strong workforce before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is another tough day for Qantas, particularly for our ground handling teams and their families,” Qantas domestic and international chief Andrew David said.

“Unfortunately, COVID has turned aviation upside down. Airlines around the world are having to make dramatic decisions in order to survive and the damage will take years to repair.”

The Qantas share price was flat at the time of writing, trading at $5.52.

Union bid ‘falls well short’

The evaluation process saw external service providers bid for the ground handling work to see how cheap they could perform the currently in-house functions. 

The Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) also had a right to put in a bid of its own, but the airline ultimately rejected that proposal.

“The TWU’s in-house bid claimed that significant savings could be made but it failed to outline sufficient practical detail on how this might be achieved, despite us requesting this information multiple times throughout the process,” said David.

“Even with the involvement of a large accounting firm, the bid falls well short of what the specialist external providers were able to come up with.”

The Motley Fool has contacted TWU for comment.

Qantas revealed that a number of other third parties submitted bids that met all the requested objectives. Some of the bids saved as much as $103 million annually.

The winning bidders will be notified on Monday, with the transition to outsourcing to take place in the first quarter of next year.

“We have used these specialist ground handlers at many Australian airports for decades and they’ve proven they can deliver a safe and reliable service more efficiently than it’s currently done in-house,” David said.

“This isn’t a reflection on our people but it is a reflection of economies of scale and the urgent need we have because of COVID to unlock these efficiencies.”

Qantas will have its domestic operations return to 60% of pre-COVID levels by Christmas. International flights are a long way off, although the airline’s chief executive Alan Joyce indicated last week mandatory passenger vaccinations might provide a shortcut.

“International travel isn’t expected to return to pre-COVID levels until at least 2024,” David said.

“We have a massive job ahead of us to repay debt and we know our competitors are aggressively cutting costs to emerge leaner.”

More reading

• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week
• Is the Qantas (ASX:QAN) share price heading to $7.00?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 next week
• Is the Qantas (ASX:QAN) share price flying closer to recovery?
• Why the Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price is soaring 6%

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo owns shares of Qantas Airways Limited. 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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If you haven’t bought any shares of CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) yourself, you likely still own part of the company via your super fund.

With a market capitalisation just shy of $138 billion, the Aussie-based, global biotechnology company is the second largest share trading on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

It’s been a volatile year for the company’s shareholders, who watched the CSL share price plunge 21% during the COVID-19 market panic in late February and early March. Since then, a series of sharp ups and downs have delivered a year-to-date gain of 10%.

Over the past 2 years, the CSL share price has soared 71%.

Advantage Moderna

Despite CSL’s strong performance history and major blue chip status, Platinum Asset Management’s unlisted international healthcare fund doesn’t own any shares.

Platinum’s data reports that the fund returned 25.7% net of fees over the 12 months to October 2020, a period where the ASX 200 lost more than 10%.

So why doesn’t the fund own any shares of CSL?

Bianca Ogden, head of Platinum’s international healthcare fund believes CSL is a great company, but explains it may not be spending enough on R&D to keep up with the advancements made by competitors, particularly in the cutting-edge field of mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid).

Ogden prefers Moderna Inc (NASDAQ: MRNA), which the fund has held since 2018.

According to the Australian Financial Review, Ogden was impressed by its mRNA vaccine technology, stating: 

What does [the mRNA technology] mean to the vaccine industry – to the incumbents? That has been one of our major investment ideas since 2018 and why we went with mRNA. What can it do to the vaccine industry?

The Moderna share price leapt 16% higher in Friday’s trading on hopes its COVID vaccine will soon roll out across the world. Shares are now up 561% year to date.

According to Ogden:

A lot of people don’t actually understand . . . how it’s much more dependent on your manufacturing set up and your supply, than on drug risk.

But we also found that I can buy a plasma business at Takeda [Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd (TYO: 4502)] for a lot less than if I buy a CSL. And when I then look at Takeda’s activity and changes that are happening to their R&D organisation, I find that more exciting.

The takeaway for CSL?

Lift research and development spending or risk losing market share.

More reading

• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX 200 on track for a top month
• Why AstraZeneca’s potential vaccine is more exciting than you think
• 10 fantastic ASX shares to buy in December
• Why Moderna Is Less Risky Than You Think
• 2 ASX 50 shares to buy today

Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of CSL Ltd. 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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In many ways, 2020 has been a year of paradigm shifts when it comes to saving and spending money. On the one hand, we have had the coronavirus pandemic, which shuttered countless businesses, even entire industries, for months on end earlier in the year. Unemployment spiked, with uncertainties over the future of our economy still with us today.

On the other, 2020 has seen an unprecedented level of government spending in the economy. Think back to 2019, and the idea of a government-funded employment subsidy of $1,500 a fortnight seemed ludicrous. And yet that’s what we’ve seen this year with the JobKeeper program, which has been credited with saving thousands of jobs during the worst of the lockdowns. On top of that, we have also seen generous one-off payments to pensioners and other welfare recipients, as well as the coronavirus supplement. This supplement increased the level of money one could expect to receive on the JobSeeker (formally NewStart) unemployment benefit effectively double in 2020. Most of these programs are being slowly unwound as the economy recovers. But most won’t be fully tapered off until March 2021 (which could change in the future, of course).

And on top of all that state-sponsored spending, the federal government also brought forward billions of dollars in tax relief in this year’s budget. The ‘stage 2’ tax cuts that were originally scheduled for FY2022 have now been backdated to FY2021 (from 1 July 2020).

So how are Aussies planning on using these tax cut dollars? Well, a report from wealth manager Colonial First State sheds some light on this matter today.

Spending vs saving

The report has analysed how Australians are planning to spend (or not spend) these tax cut dollars. It makes for interesting reading.

Firstly, the report notes that 57% of the people surveyed do not intend to spend the money at all. They are reportedly more keen to slot the extra dollars away in savings accounts, rather than the 22% who want to spend the extra dosh, perhaps by hitting the Black Friday sales. This is especially true of young people aged between 18-34, and also with women. Apparently, 66% of young Australians want to save this money, against an average of 57%. It also finds that women are 10% more likely than men to try and save the cash as well.

However, the proportion of those persons who want to invest the extra tax money is a lot lower. The report finds that just 17% of those surveyed want to put the extra money towards their mortgage. An even lower figure of 16% plan on investing the money in the share market, and an even lower again 6% want to top up their superannuation funds.

Of the 22% who plan on spending the money, 33% of those people intend to spend it on life’s essentials like bills, groceries and insurance. Another 24% plan on going shopping for things like clothes and electronics, whereas 10% are putting it towards the Christmas fund.

Since the intended aim of the tax cuts was to help stimulate the economy through increased spending, the federal Treasurer might not be too keen on the findings of this report.

More reading

• Why Platinum Asset’s healthcare fund doesn’t own CSL (ASX:CSL) shares
• 4 ASX growth shares to buy in December
• Why Kathmandu, Resolute, Select Harvests, & Treasury Wine Estates are dropping lower
• What Australia’s recovery from the COVID recession means for the Santa Rally
• Flexigroup rebrands to Humm (ASX:HUM) on the ASX today

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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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We’re nearly into the final month of the year. Time will tell if there’s a Santa rally or not. But there are some ASX growth shares rated as a buy by a Motley Fool investment service.

Here are those ASX growth share picks:

Betashares Global Cybersecurity ETF (ASX: HACK)

This is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) which looks to give investors exposure to global cybersecurity giants, as well as emerging players, from a range of global locations.

As of last week, its largest positions were: Crowdstrike, Okta, Zscaler, Accenture, Cisco Systems, Cloudflare, F5 Networks, Palo Alto Networks, Leidos and Science Applications.

Since inception in August 2016, its net return has been 16.8% per annum. That’s after the annual management fee of 0.67% per annum.

BetaShares said that with cybercrime on the rise, the demand for cybersecurity services is expected to grow strongly for the foreseeable future.

The Motley Fool Pro service currently rate the Betashares Global Cybersecurity ETF as a buy.

Pushpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: PPH)

Pushpay is an electronic donation business that largely services the faith sector, namely being large and medium US churches.

The ASX growth share is aiming to reach a market share of around 50% which would see it generate US$1 billion of annual revenue.

Pushpay recently said it expects “significant operating leverage to accrue as operating revenue continues to increase, while growth in total operating expenses remains low.”

In FY21 Pushpay is aiming to more than double its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and foreign currency (EBITDAF) to a range of between US$54 million to US$58 million.

The company just went through a share split, which is why the Pushpay share price looks like it has fallen from where it was last week.

Pushpay is currently rated as a buy by the Motley Fool Pro service.

Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN)

Kogan.com is an e-commerce website that sells a wide variety of products and services. TVs, computers, phones, appliances, furniture and clothes are just some of the products that it offers. It also sells various services that a household may want such as energy, mobile plans, insurance, credit cards, home loans, superannuation and internet.

The ASX growth share also offers a membership service that includes free delivery and discounts available only to members.

Mr Kogan, the founder of the company, has spoken about the benefit to the company of its growing number of people using its loyalty scheme: “The Kogan First community of members grew exceptionally during the second half, and importantly these loyal members on average purchase and save much more often than non-members, demonstrating loyalty to the platform, and also demonstrating the significant savings and other benefits available through the loyalty program.”

Kogan.com is currently rated as a buy by the Motley Fool Share Advisor service.

Bapcor Ltd (ASX: BAP)

Bapcor is an auto parts business, the biggest in Australia and New Zealand. It has a variety of brands including trade business Burson Trade, retail chain Autobarn and various wholesale specialists.

The ASX growth share recently gave a trade update. Burson Trade revenue was up 10%, with same store sales growth of 7.7% – it was up 17% excluding Victoria. New Zealand revenue grew by 6% on same store sales growth of 4%. Retail revenue soared 47% higher, with Autobarn same stores sales going up 36%. Finally, specialist wholesale revenue went up 45%, though excluding acquisitions revenue went up 18%. Overall, group revenue went up by 27%.

However, due to the uncertainty, Bapcor wasn’t able to give any guidance for the rest of the year.

The Motley Fool Dividend Investor service currently rates the Bapcor share price as a buy.

More reading

• Is the Bapcor (ASX:BAP) share price a buy?
• Why these All Ords shares have been smashed this month
• The NAB (ASX:NAB) share price is up 25% in November
• 10 fantastic ASX shares to buy in December
• 4 great ASX growth shares to buy

Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of BETA CYBER ETF UNITS and PUSHPAY FPO NZX. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Bapcor and Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended PUSHPAY FPO NZX. 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 early afternoon trade the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to start the week on a disappointing note. The benchmark index is currently down 0.65% to 6,559 points.

Four shares that have fallen more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are dropping lower:

Kathmandu Holdings Ltd (ASX: KMD)

The Kathmandu share price has dropped 5% to $1.16 after announcing the exit of its CEO. According to the release, Xavier Simonet is resigning from the company to take up a senior role with the Australian Public Service. Mr Simonet will serve a six-month notice period before leaving to become the head of Austrade.

Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG)

The Resolute share price is down 4% to 75.7 cents. Investors have been selling Resolute and other gold miners on Monday after the price of the precious metal pulled back on Friday night. Softening demand for safe haven assets has been weighing on the gold price. At the time of writing, the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold index is down 1.7%.

Select Harvests Limited (ASX: SHV)

The Select Harvests share price has fallen 4% to $5.96. This follows the release of the almond producer’s full year results this morning. Select Harvests reported a 52% decline in net profit after tax to $25 million. This was driven by a fall in global almond prices and delayed shipments, which offset a record almond crop.

Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE)

The Treasury Wine Estates share price is down 7.5% to $8.53. Investors have been selling the wine company’s shares after it responded to news that China is placing tariffs on Australian wine exports. Management expects demand for its portfolio in China to be extremely limited because of these tariffs. This is bad news given that China contributed 30% of its earnings in FY 2020. Management is aiming to limit the damage by reallocating its Penfolds Bin and Icon range from China to other key luxury growth market.

More reading

• ASX 200 drops 0.5%: Treasury Wine sinks, Zip flat after AGM update, Bega Cheese rises
• The Select Harvests (ASX:SHV) share price is sinking 6% lower today. Here’s why.
• Treasury Wine (ASX:TWE) share price sinks 12% after responding to China export tariff
• Kathmandu (ASX:KMD) share price on watch after CEO resigns
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX 200 on track for a top month

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Treasury Wine Estates 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 Why Kathmandu, Resolute, Select Harvests, & Treasury Wine Estates are dropping lower appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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Australia is set to officially emerge from its first recession in 19 years as economists rush to upgrade their September quarter estimates ahead of the ASX Santa Rally.

The big four ASX banks are forecasting gross domestic product (GDP) growth of between 3% and 4.1%, reported the Australian Financial Review.

If the numbers are on the money, it will mark Australia’s highest growth since 1976!

Santa Rally reaching escape velocity

ASX investors have another reason to feel more confident about this year’s Santa Rally even as the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) gave up early gains to trade 0.5% in the red.

A strong GDP number will prompt Treasury to upgrade its mid-year forecasts next month. And this means a better than expected federal government budget position.

We will only know for sure if we have escaped the technical recession this Wednesday when the government reports the latest quarter GDP numbers.

Recovery from the COVID recession

But the signs are good. Strong retail spending data, a faster than expected jobs recovery, a record bounce in consumer confidence and rebounding house prices are tailwinds.

To some extent, it’s a non-event as the share market was already predicting this outcome when bottomed in March.

Equity markets have a habit of predicting the end of a recession around six months in advance.

What is the Santa Rally?

But confirmation that the worst has past will still be supportive of the ASX as we head into Christmas.

The two weeks before Christmas and the month after, a period affectionately called the Santa Rally, tend to see share markets rise.

There aren’t any clear fundamental reasons for this seasonal phenomenon, but it’s one of the most reliable patterns for share investors. Bases on historical data, there is around a 70% chance of a Santa Rally happening in any given year.

Can we expect a Santa Rally this year?

While the strong gains in November with the ASX sitting on a whopping 10% gain at the moment. Such gains usually represent a full year’s return on the market – not a month.

This could dampen gains during the end-of-year hoorah. But with global economic indicators pointing to better times ahead in 2021 despite the resurgence of COVID‐19 around the world, it’s hard to see a sell-off in the near-term.

The expected arrival of at least one, if not more, effective vaccines against the pandemic should offset the risks of another global economic shutdown.

RBA protecting the rear

What’s more, central banks around the world are acting as a safety net for markets. They are ready to pump even more liquidity into the financial system if any more cracks appear.

On that note, the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) meeting tomorrow will be closely watched. Not for its interest rate decision as it can’t go lower, but for hints on how much harder it’s willing to pull on the quantitative easing (QE) lever.

More reading

• ASX 200 drops 0.5%: Treasury Wine sinks, Zip flat after AGM update, Bega Cheese rises
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX 200 on track for a top month
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 next week
• Are gold and bitcoin both ‘safe havens’?

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau 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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Buy now, pay later (BNPL) player Flexigroup Limited (ASX: FXL) has rebranded today, officially changing the company name and ASX ticker to Humm Group Limited (ASX: HUM), effective immediately.

Today’s move follows shareholder approval two weeks ago after the company first announced its intention to rebrand back in August. At the time of writing, the Humm share price is trading higher at $1.30.

Why did the company rebrand?

The rationale for the rebrand was the growing status and brand recognition of the company’s Humm product. This has become synonymous with digital, interest-free finance for more than 2.2 million customers across Australia, New Zealand and Ireland.

Humm says the rebrand also resulted from a successful simplification initiative, where the company reduced its 23 products to four. Since starting the restructure, the company has launched Humm; Bundll, its BNPL product; and most recently Humm90, its long term interest free product.

Today’s rebranding also follows overwhelming support from shareholders at the annual general meeting on 19 November, where 99.69% of votes cast were in favour of the company name change.

Humm chief executive Rebecca James, said:

Today marks another big milestone for the business as we rebrand to our most recognised and loved brand, Humm.

Our mission is to revolutionise the way people buy. With a single platform serving everybody from Generation Z and millennial spenders through to young families, Humm finances everything from life’s little luxuries through to significant purchases.

We’re excited about the growth opportunities ahead of us as we leverage the strong Humm brand into new products, new verticals and new markets in the years ahead.

Quick take on Humm

Humm is a diversified financial services group. It provides a range of digital finance products to consumers and businesses through a large partner network of more than 18,000 retailers.

The buy now, pay later company currently services 2.2 million customers in Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland. In Australia, the company offers terms of up to $30,000.

In September, the then Flexigroup advised the market it has launched its Humm product in New Zealand, following the success of its BNPL brand Oxipay. Through Humm, the company says it is the first BNPL company to offer terms of up to NZ$10,000 in New Zealand.

About the Humm share price in 2020

The Humm share price has lost almost 30% this year. It began the year at $1.79, its 52-week high. At the current share price today, the company commands a market value of $631 million. 

More reading

• Why Afterpay, Bega Cheese, Humm, & Telix shares are storming higher
• ASX 200 rises on mixed Thursday
• Why ALS, BlueScope, FlexiGroup, & Perpetual shares are charging higher
• FlexiGroup (ASX:FXL) share price surges 10% higher on Mastercard deal and trading update
• Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price underperforming after ASIC finds more BNPL customers falling behind

Motley Fool contributor Eddy Sunarto has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended FlexiGroup 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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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.

Earlier this year, Shopify Inc (NYSE: SHOP) surpassed eBay Inc (NASDAQ: EBAY) as the second-largest e-commerce platform in the U.S. by sales volume after Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN).

That was a humbling blow for eBay, the world’s first online auction platform for person-to-person transactions. It also explains why Shopify stock has soared more than 3,700% over the past five years. During that same period, eBay stock rose 76% and Amazon stock advanced 375%.

Investors might be reluctant to buy Shopify stock right now, since it trades at over 290 times forward earnings. Meanwhile, eBay stock trades for 14 times forward earnings, which might make it look tempting as a value play. Nevertheless, it’s smarter to pay a premium for Shopify than a deep discount for eBay, for three simple reasons.

1. Old e-commerce vs. new e-commerce

eBay’s platform was once considered revolutionary. But today, it faces stiff competition from Amazon’s third-party sellers, Etsy Inc (NASDAQ: ETSY), and other similar marketplaces. Social media platforms like Pinterest Inc (NYSE: PINS) and Facebook Inc‘s (NASDAQ: FB) Instagram are also integrating online purchases into their sponsored posts.

Today, Shopify’s services are considered disruptive. Instead of providing a centralized marketplace, Shopify’s e-commerce tools help over a million merchants set up online stores, process payments, manage marketing campaigns, fulfill orders, and access other services. 

In other words, Shopify operates behind the scenes to help companies establish their own online presence without relying on big marketplaces like Amazon and eBay. Shopify also launched Shop, a consumer-facing app that provides searchable listings for its merchants, earlier this year.

Shopify’s decentralized approach enables merchants to expand online without diluting their identity, and it’s easy to scale as a business grows. By contrast, merchants usually need to buy promoted listings to stand out in eBay’s crowded marketplace.

2. Fortune favors the bold

eBay shrank its business over the past five years. It spun off PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL) in 2015, shut down its fixed-price subsidiary Half.com in 2017, sold its online tickets platform StubHub this February, and plans to sell its online classifieds platform by the first quarter of 2021.

eBay also reduced its marketing spending last year. The goal was to boost its profit and take rate — the percentage of each sale it retains as revenue — instead of maximizing gross merchandise volume (GMV). Its prioritization of profit over growth, along with its dividends and buybacks, strongly suggest that eBay is a mature tech company with limited growth prospects.

Shopify has expanded significantly since its IPO in 2015. It acquired the digital consulting and product development firm Boltmade in 2016, the drop-shipping platform Oberlo in 2017, and the warehouse automation company 6 River Systems last year.

The company has partnered with Amazon to let merchants sell products on Amazon from their Shopify stores. It has added similar integrations with Facebook, Alphabet Inc‘s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG) Google, Snap Inc‘s (NYSE: SNAP) Snapchat, and ByteDance’s TikTok. It also beefed up its premium Shopify Plus tier for larger merchants.

Shopify has also expanded its own payments platform, Shopify Payments, which processed nearly half of its GMV last quarter. It launched its own fulfillment network last year. Finally, it offers additional services via its own app store for online stores.

All those aggressive moves indicate that Shopify is still expanding. It’s eager to reinvest its cash into itself instead of divesting businesses and cutting costs to protect its bottom line.

3. Shopify is growing a lot faster

eBay’s revenue rose just 1% last year as its GMV dipped 5%. It blamed that sluggish growth on the reduction of its marketing expenses and higher internet sales taxes in several U.S. states. Its adjusted net income rose just 5%, but big buybacks boosted its earnings per share 22%.

This year, eBay expects its revenue to rise 19%-20% after excluding its divested businesses and currency headwinds. Adjusted EPS is on track to grow 18%-20%.

Those growth rates look impressive, but they’re mainly attributable to a temporary acceleration in online sales during the pandemic. Looking past that growth spurt, analysts expect eBay’s revenue and earnings to grow 7% and 9%, respectively, next year.

Last year, Shopify’s revenue rose 47% and its GMV surged 49%, but its adjusted EPS fell 30% as it integrated 6 River Systems into its new fulfillment network. However, analysts expect pandemic-related tailwinds to boost its revenue 81% this year, while adjusted EPS could jump more than tenfold.

Next year, analysts expect Shopify’s revenue and earnings to rise 32% and 2%, respectively. Investors should expect Shopify to continue generating high double-digit sales growth, but its earnings growth could remain unpredictable due to the ongoing investments in its ecosystem.

Why Shopify is a better buy than eBay

The e-commerce market is rapidly evolving, and it arguably favors disruptive players like Shopify instead of legacy marketplaces like eBay. Shopify lets merchants build their own online brands and optionally link them to Amazon and social networks. eBay wants to trap them in a walled garden filled with low-priced competitors.

Investors seem to believe Shopify’s vision for the future justifies its premium valuation, while eBay deserves a lower valuation. Shopify stock will likely remain volatile, but it should keep attracting more bulls than eBay.

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

More reading

• ASX 200 drops 0.5%: Treasury Wine sinks, Zip flat after AGM update, Bega Cheese rises
• Why the Myer Foundation aims to achieve 100% ESG investments in 2 years
• The Select Harvests (ASX:SHV) share price is sinking 6% lower today. Here’s why.
• Why Afterpay, Bega Cheese, Humm, & Telix shares are storming higher
• Why is the Atomos (ASX:AMS) share price up 6% this morning?

Leo Sun owns shares of Amazon, Facebook, and Snap Inc. 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. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, 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, Etsy, Facebook, PayPal Holdings, Pinterest, and Shopify. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends eBay and recommends the following options: long January 2021 $18 calls on eBay, short January 2021 $37 calls on eBay, 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, Facebook, 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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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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At lunch on Monday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has given back its early gains and is on course to start the week with a decline. The benchmark index is currently down 0.6% to 6,563.8 points.

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

Treasury Wine share price sinks lower.

The Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE) share price crashed as much as 12% lower this morning before staging a partial recovery. The wine company revealed that the Chinese tariffs on its wine exports are expected to hit its sales in the country hard. Given that China contributed 30% of its earnings in FY 2020, management is acting fast to limit the damage. Its plan includes the reallocation of Penfolds Bin and Icon range from China to other key luxury growth market. Though, management has warned it could take three years for this plan to reach its full potential.

Zip Co AGM update.

The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price has given back its morning gains and is trading flat at lunch. This morning the buy now pay later provider released its annual general meeting presentation. That update revealed that it is now launching in the $600 billion UK market after COVID-19 pushed back its original launch plans. Management revealed that it has 150 merchants live on its platform and will be bringing on global fashion and apparel brands, JD Sports, Boohoo, Fanatics and Fashionova.

Tech shares push higher.

The ASX 200 may be dropping lower, but that hasn’t stopped Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT), WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC), and other tech shares from charging higher. This appears to have been driven by a strong night of trade on the technology focused Nasdaq index on Friday. The S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) is up 0.8% at the time of writing.

Best and worst ASX 200 performers.

The Bega Cheese Ltd (ASX: BGA) share price has been the best performer on the ASX 200 on Monday with a 5% gain. Investors have continued to buy its shares following the announcement of the Lion Dairy & Drinks acquisition for $534 million. The worst performer on the ASX 200 has been the Treasury Wine share price with a 7% decline. This comes after the wine company revealed the extent of the damage that China’s tariffs will have on its business.

More reading

• Why Afterpay, Bega Cheese, Humm, & Telix shares are storming higher
• Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price climbs higher following AGM update
• Treasury Wine (ASX:TWE) share price sinks 12% after responding to China export tariff
• Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price under heavy fire from industry giants
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX 200 on track for a top month

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 AFTERPAY T FPO, WiseTech Global, and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Treasury Wine Estates 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 ASX 200 drops 0.5%: Treasury Wine sinks, Zip flat after AGM update, Bega Cheese rises appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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Economic, social and governance (ESG) investing, once predominantly the realm of activist investors, is now high on many retail and institutional investors’ radars.

And for good reason.

Incorporating ESG into your investment considerations not only puts your money to work in more responsible ways, it can also see your returns given a healthy boost.

That’s according to the latest research from Mercer, a global leader in responsible investment advice and solutions, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE: MMC).

Mercer’s research revealed that the best sustainable investment strategies in Australian shares returned 10.4% annually over the last 3 years through to June 2020. Over that same time, the median actively managed Aussie equities fund returned 5.3%, while the S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO) returned 5.2%.

In other words, the ESG strategy roughly doubled the annual returns.

100% ESG in 2 years

That potential boost in returns will surely come as good news to the philanthropic Myer Foundation. The Myer Foundation, established in 1959, aims to achieve a 100% ESG investment portfolio by November 2022.

The Foundation set the ambitious goal last November. And in March this year it commissioned Mercer’s Responsible Investment business to help restructure its portfolio.

Martyn Myer, who led the transition and stepped down as president earlier this month after 11 years in the role said:

Shared Value posits that corporate success and improved social and environmental conditions are in fact inherently linked – and when achieved together, they can dramatically enhance future prosperity.

The SDGs [United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals] provide a clear pathway to address social, economic and environmental challenges and with 193 nations committed to achieving them, it signals broad global consensus, creating a powerful economic tailwind for aligned companies.

Helga Birgden, Partner, Global Business Leader of Mercer’s Responsible Investment remarked:

Through this project, Mercer has worked with The Myer Foundation to identify the best investment managers globally that we expect to deliver strong investment returns while contributing to solutions to sustainability challenges and a positive impact on the environment and local communities.

While not all responsible investment or ESG funds will outperform over all periods, as long-term investors focused both on returns and truly sustainable investment solutions, rigorous investment and operational due diligence is critical for manager selection.

Myer added that the Myer Foundation is now in a position to help change the attitude that companies need to choose between delivering competitive returns to shareholders and doing good.

As Mercer’s latest research reveals, they can do both.

More reading

• The Select Harvests (ASX:SHV) share price is sinking 6% lower today. Here’s why.
• Why Afterpay, Bega Cheese, Humm, & Telix shares are storming higher
• Why is the Atomos (ASX:AMS) share price up 6% this morning?
• Why the Viva Leisure (ASX:VVA) share price is climbing higher today
• News Corp (ASX:NWS) shares sink after Foxtel buyout rejected

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben 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.

The post Why the Myer Foundation aims to achieve 100% ESG investments in 2 years appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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