Serco (#SRP) – H1 adj. EPS +6% to 10.4p, DPS +10% to 1.6p, FY “on track” for the guidance

Serco (#SRP) – emphasises H1 “further margin progression, full-year guidance reiterated”

Serco (#SRP) – 2025 “increasing profit and cash guidance”, 2026 guidance for improved organic growth

Serco (#SRP) – completes acquisition of “mission training and satellite ground network communications software business” from Northrop Grumman

Serco (#SRP) – CEO Mark Irwin “to retire”, appointment of Anthony Kirby as CEO designate

Serco (#SRP) – 2024 cash flow and net debt guidance improved, though 2025 immigration contracts and UK national insurance headwinds

Serco (#SRP) – unsuccessful in rebidding for Australia immigration contract and also notes UK Government budget tax changes impact

Serco (#SRP) – CEO Rupert Soames to retire next year, to be succeeded by CEO of UK & Europe division Mark Irwin

Are Serco Group shares really cheap?

It is a busy Monday. I will leave some other experts to comment on names such as Cineworld (CINE) - which seems excited by recent UK box office moves but did not talk even remotely sufficiently about potential profit or issues with more debt - or CMC Markets (CMCX), which talked about potentially splitting the business (but which correctly for a spreadbetting firm has a share price fall still notably down year-to-date). Instead I will talk about Serco Group (SRP), who ‘specialise in the delivery of essential public services, with over 50,000 people working in defence, transport, justice, immigration, healthcare and other citizen services across our four regions’, and which was apparently formed back in 1929.

Serco (#SRP) – increase to FY guidance, UK defence contract win

Serco (#SRP) – agreement to acquire US defence business Whitney, Bradley & Brown Inc for $295m

Serco – bigger government, bigger profits...

Back in the day (and I mean a decade plus ago) Serco (SRP) was riding a wave of outsourcing expansion, as governments and large corporations alike looked to find ways to save money. Today, Serco describes itself as an 'international provider of services to governments', which sounds suitably dull. However, there is never anything dull about a double-digit percentage share price rise as seen today...

Serco (#SRP) – “strong Q3 trading across all regions worldwide leads to upgrade of guidance”

Serco (#SRP) – “limited” overall H1 financial impact, reinstating guidance

Serco (#SRP) – Deferred Prosecution Agreement for fraud and false accounting

Serco - bravely batting against an anonymous short seller

The support services and related sector has had a shocker over recent years and now it appears that two of the remaining (and i use the phrase in an ironic fashion) leading lights - Babcock (BAB) and Serco (SRP) are potentially set to merge, at least as per deadwood press suggestions.  

Serco (#SRP) – current trading better than anticipated, moves up profit guidance

Serco (#SRP) – market conditions “less than ideal”, but “continuing to make progress in line with our strategy”

Serco (#SRP) - says Old Bill concludes PECS enquiry

Bill Gates on headlines (and why it is good news for Serco):

Even Bill Gates has not been immune to a few bad headlines in his wildly successful corporate life. His point is well made, however, and is deeply applicable to the stock market.  One of the hardest aspects for anyone – beginner or experienced investor – to fully appreciate is the role of expectations or to put it more simply: what is factored in already. One of the best ways to gauge what is factored into a share price currently is to look at the reaction to what – at first glance – is a good or bad news headline. And this brings us to Serco (SRP).