Analysts in the UK don’t always publish earnings previews for quarterly or half-year periods. Therefore, the upcoming figures can only serve as an indication as to whether the companies’ full-year forecasts can be met.

Entain (Q3 trading update)

Entain (LSE: ENT) is an international sports betting and gambling company. It owns brands such as Bwin, Coral, Ladbrokes, PartyPoker, and Sportingbet. Entain will provide a trading update for its most recent Q3 performance ending September 2022 on 13 October.

The FTSE 100 betting firm expects to report growth in revenue after a busy summer. However, City analysts are cautious about the outlook the company will provide after it cut its growth outlook in its last earnings report. With inflation continuing to run rampant, the cost-of-living crisis is expected to dampen the number of bets being placed.

While investors won’t be too excited about Entain’s flat online revenue growth this year, there will be plenty of attention on its US joint venture (JV) with MGM, and whether that is making good progress towards profitability.

Entain doesn’t disclose revenue or earnings figures for its quarterly updates, so a direct comparison can’t be drawn this October. Rather, the company discloses metrics such as net gaming revenue and updates on its JV, which are useful indicators too. These can serve as an earnings preview for investors to determine whether the firm is on track to hit analysts’ estimates by the end of the year.

Hays (Q1 trading update)

Hays (LSE: HAS) is a multinational company that provides recruitment and human resources services to companies across 33 countries globally. The FTSE 250 firm is expected to release a brief trading update for its most recent Q1 performance ending September 2022 on 13 October.

Updates are also expected from Hays’s peers Robert Walters and PageGroup, which will provide a clearer picture of whether the industry’s robust performance have continued into the later part of this year. Investors will be keeping a close eye on headcount as well as skills shortages, and how the current macroeconomic environment has and may impact earnings moving forward.

Only slightly over a month ago, Hays disclosed impressive bottom line growth of 128%, while declaring a £121m special dividend. In doing so, it also affirmed to investors that it was well equipped to face the macroeconomic headwinds. Whether this will carry into Q1 and the rest of its financial year remains to be seen.

Like Entain, Hays doesn’t disclose specific revenue or earnings figures for its quarterly updates. Therefore, investors will have to make direct comparisons using growth rates disclosed in the update. These can serve as an earnings preview for investors to determine whether the recruiter is able to continue its strong showing.

YouGov (FY22 Earnings)

YouGov (LSE: YOU) is a British internet-based market research and data analytics firm. It also operates in Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. The company will be reporting its FY22 results ending July 2022 on 11 October.

After a pretty strong year in FY21, investors will be keen to see what the analytical company reports on Tuesday. Given its growth attributes, analysts have high expectations for both YouGov’s top and bottom lines, as well as the outlook for its new financial year. With the stock down 45% this year, investors will be hoping for a good report.

I can convince myself that YouGov is a growth stock. But why do I believe it’s also flying under investors’ radars?

A cheap growth stock?

The most significant indication that YouGov might be an under-the-radar growth stock is the stock’s price-to-earnings growth ratio (PEG). The PEG is beloved by investors who like growth but want to pay a reasonable price. Anything less than one is great and suggests the stock is undervalued given its growth prospects. I calculate that YouGov stock has a PEG of 0.4.

A growth stock with a PEG that low is something I want to be adding to my portfolio this September, so long as I am confident that YouGov can continue to increase its revenues and earnings.

Trusted opinion

Gathering people’s opinions and transforming them into useful output used to take days, perhaps weeks, to complete. YouGov pioneered online polling. It can pose questions to some 17m panel members (up from about 5m in 2017) in 43 countries to provide real-time marketing and opinion data for paying customers and public distribution.

YouGov does seem to have a potent, growth stock-type business model. But what it does is easy to replicate, at least in principle — set up a digital platform, take to social media, and offer to pay people (about £3 per hour at UK rates) to answer questions. The tricky part is building the skills and techniques to transform that data into actionable output.

More importantly, a company like this needs to establish trust and credibility to motivate someone to pay for its insights. That takes time, talent, and high-profile wins. YouGov has got election outcomes right when others were wrong, and it plumped for Will Young to win 2002’s Pop Idol when all the pundits backed Gareth Gates. 

A growth stock paying dividends

YouGov’s 2021 revenues of £169m is a drop in the ocean of a market measured in the tens of billions. It has room to grow. But of course, it has competition. A string of unsuccessful predictions could make YouGov’s reputation, and market share, take a hit. That risk is perhaps heightened now as the company is rolling out new features designed to gather more data more cheaply from its users, like linking Netflix browsing histories. That might be off-putting. And given it’s a new data source, the company might make a mess of interpreting it.

And then there is the fact that the YouGov share price has fallen. Growth stocks have found themselves out of favour over in 2022. YouGov has not bucked this trend in underperforming the FTSE All-Share by 30% in the year to date. I cannot be certain that the downtrend is over.

However, on balance, I think YouGov’s prospects are good and buying it for my portfolio this September is worth the risks. Plus, YouGov has another boon to offer as it pays a dividend, meaning I don’t have to make the choice between a growth or an income stock.

For instance, British games maker Frontier Developments (LSE:FDEV) expects sales to grow by 20% per year on average. And it’s by no means a wild forecast. It recently reported record revenue of £114m. That’s 26% higher than the previous year.

So what does Frontier do and could this growth stock beat the market? Let’s take a further look.

Founder-led growth stocks

For almost 30 years, Frontier has been developing innovative games. At the helm is David Braben, CEO and founder of the business.

Some of the best companies in the world are founder-led, and with Frontier, Braben owns almost a third of the shares. That’s exactly the kind of skin-in-the-game that I like to see.

Its internally-developed games are driving material sales for the business. And several upcoming releases should build on that growth.

Making good progress

In addition to self-publishing games, Frontier partners with selected studios under its new games label Frontier Foundry. This part of the business looks promising and could drive future growth over the coming years.

There are risks if Frontier isn’t able to find and retain the talent that it needs to grow. Skilled staffing is a key component of the business model.

Sales for the coming years could also be hit by the rising cost of living. I’d question if consumers will be willing to spend more on games if they have less disposable income in their pockets.

Overall, Frontier has a healthy balance sheet, a solid strategy and innovative ideas. With a share price sitting 40% lower than this time last year, I reckon it has a decent chance to beat the market over the next three years.

Crunching data

Often the best growth stocks already have a successful track record. One such share is data and analytics company YouGov (LSE:YOU). Sales have doubled since five years ago and profits are up six-fold.

Its share price has fallen by 22% over the past year. But let me take a step back. If I’d bought these shares a decade ago, I would have achieved an annual return of 30%.

Could the recent share price tumble be an opportunity to beat the market? I reckon so.

Data is the new oil

It’s often said that data is the new oil. Companies that can successfully provide insights from mountains of data points could be the biggest winners of the future.

YouGov aims to do just that. Its unique panel of 17m members can capture thousands of data points on consumer attitudes and behaviour.

That being said, competition looks like the largest risk. It will need to keep up with emerging technologies that could provide superior data analytics in the future.

With technology-based businesses, competition from much larger players can often appear quickly and can have a material impact on future earnings.

All things considered, I would describe YouGov as a high-quality growth stock. I reckon the recent dip in share price is an opportunity and I wouldn’t hesitate to buy the shares today.

Multi-bagging growth stock

With a market cap of £1.4bn, international research and data analystics firm YouGov (LSE: YOU) isn’t exactly the market’s best-kept secret. However, nor is it a company that frequently hits the headlines. As a long-term Foolish investor, that piques my interest, especially when looking at the performance of the shares. 

In the last five years, YouGov’s valuation has jumped almost 400%! This goes some way to explaining why I have a good proportion of my money invested lower down the market spectrum. Picked carefully, the potential upside is greater since it’s theoretically easier for relative minnows — like YouGov once was — to grow revenue and profits at a faster clip. Indeed, it’s why I’ve been buying this investment trust in February.

Momentum reverses

Like many growth stocks, however, YouGov hasn’t fared so well in 2022, dropping 20%. That’s perhaps to be expected given recent global events and the stock’s still-eye-watering valuation of 47 times forecast earnings. To pay this price, I’d expect the company to be blowing analyst projections out of the water. However, management recently stated that growth would likely be only “slightly ahead” of its own forecasts. That’s hardly a bad thing but it’s clearly not been enough for some investors to stick around.

All this brings to light a key risk with buying high-performing investments; the bar for what is considered successful trading is set so much higher. Since no company is capable of executing perfectly, the potential to disappoint is greater.

Interim results from YouGov are due on 22 March. If the share price drops further, I might have to consider adding the stock to my own portfolio. In spite of the high valuation, this looks to be a very decent company with great geographical diversification and a robust sales pipeline. It’s also worth pointing out that YouGov has consistently hiked its annual dividend by double digits for many years now. That’s never a bad sign. 

Off the boil

Kettle safety device-maker Strix (LSE: KETL) is another under-the-radar, AIM-listed stock that’s done well for early holders such as myself. Between March 2020 and September last year, the share price increased roughly 185%! No doubt some investors had become aware, like me, of the fat margins and seriously high returns on capital this company consistently achieves.

Unfortunately, recent performance hasn’t been so great, with shares falling 35% in the last six months. Like so many other businesses, Strix has faced supply chain issues and higher freight costs. Today’s news of a “cyber incident of Russian origin” won’t exactly boost sentiment either. That said, the company has already stated that there’s been “no impact on customer orders or sales“.

Speaking of which, the £500m cap business recently said that it would log revenue growth of around 30% for 2021. Pre-tax profit has also been in line with market expectations. Numbers will be officially confirmed on 30 March.

With the shares now trading at 15 times earnings and a new factory in China effectively doubling manufacturing capacity, I may well increase my stake in the near future.

Advertisers, governments, and companies all want access to the data YouGov generates. Revenues and profits are up over five years, despite COVID-19 causing this year’s profits to slip below last year’s. The company has plenty of cash, no debt, and continues to invest in technology and expanding its geographic reach. The market for data and analytics is expected to grow robustly, and YouGov is well-positioned to benefit from this.

A flying FTSE 250 stock

2020 has been rough for airlines. FTSE 250-listed Wizz Air (LSE:WIZZ) was not an exception. Revenues for the three months up to 30 June 2020, were €600m lower than the year before. However, before the COVID-19 pandemic, Wizz was figuratively and literally flying. The airline is based in Central and European Europe, where the market for air travel is growing rapidly, competition for routes is lower, and so are things like ground and maintenance costs.

COVID-19 put a stop to Wizz’s rampant growth. However, it went into the crisis with billions in cash and no interest-bearing debt. The company has been increasing its routes, added a new base, and expanded its fleet by buying two new planes. When passengers start taking to the skies again in force, WIZZ should be ready to fly even more of them. For me, WIZZ is a top UK stock to invest in for 2020 and beyond, although the share price might be volatile in the short term.

Best FTSE 100 tech stock?

Tech and disruptive, new-economy stocks, have been big winners in 2020. The UK’s FTSE 100 is frustratingly light on stocks like these. That’s why I own FTSE 100-listed Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust (LSE:SMT).

SMT holds a portfolio of about 90 global (not Scottish) stocks and has nothing to do with mortgages. The share price performance of SMT depends on the performance of its portfolio. SMT is invested in the usual suspects like Amazon and Tesla, but also other public and private companies with a tech focus from around the world with a tech focus. Overall, SMT’s portfolio has performed admirably, and so has its share price, which has gone up by almost 700% over the last 10 years.

I think SMT is one of the top UK shares for 2020 and beyond. It gains me exposure to exciting, high-growth potential global stocks, but trades on the FTSE 100. But, I do plan to hold this stock for at least five years and am prepared for volatility. The younger, unlisted companies have an elevated risk of failure, but potentially high rewards, and SMT’s share price is vulnerable to tech sector sell-offs like we saw in October.

In fairness, the international research and data analytics company went on to say it recognises that marketing budgets may come under pressure if the current pandemic “prolongs”.

But that assessment hasn’t stopped the firm posting some barnstorming numbers for the trading year to 31 July.

Indeed, revenue rose by 12% compared to the prior year and adjusted earnings per share shot up by 21%. And, in a measure of the confidence and optimism radiating from the boardroom, the directors slapped a full 25% on the full-year dividend – impressive!

Why I think YouGov is one of several UK shares to buy now

And that’s the kind of performance we’ve become used to from YouGov. In its 20-year history, the company has delivered phenomenal growth. A glance at the financial and trading record reveals well-balanced annual increases in revenue, earnings, cash flow and shareholder dividends.

Indeed, if you’d been prescient enough to have bought the shares near 37p around 10 years ago, I reckon you’d be pleased with your investment. Today, the stock changes hands at 938p.

The finances are in good shape and there’s a net cash position on the balance sheet. Meanwhile, City analysts following the firm predict a continuation of the growth pattern. They’ve pencilled in a healthy double-digit-percentage increase in earnings for the current trading year to July 2021.

On top of that, it’s hard to fault the company’s quality metrics. Indeed, the operating margin and return-on-capital figures are running in chunky double digits.

Looking ahead, it’s clear from today’s report the directors have a well-thought-out plan for further growth. Meanwhile, trading in the current year has started “in line with the Board’s expectations.”

Chief executive and co-founder Stephen Shakespeare said in the report the company made “good” strategic progress in the year “with the UK and US continuing to be our key revenue and profit drivers.”

Geographical diversity and potential

To put that in perspective, around 49% of adjusted operating profit came from the US in the period and 40% from the UK. Indeed, the company derives big business from each side of the ‘pond’. And I find the geographic diversity to be reassuring.

My assumption is YouGov will enjoy a bright future of expansion in both areas with potential to ramp up operations in the rest of the world as well.

Meanwhile, as we might expect, quality enterprises like this don’t come cheap. With the shares at 938p, the forward-looking earnings multiple for the trading year to July 2021 is just above 50.

However, the high-looking valuation hasn’t stopped this share delivering for its shareholders, and I’d consider buying it now.

Data generation at its fingertips

Over the years, YouGov has recruited a team of 9.6m consumer panellists, all online. This gives it a significant edge, as it can tap these panellists for survey answers at the drop of a hat.  They answer regular surveys on a wide range of topics in return for points or rewards that convert into cash and prizes. With all this data at its disposal, YouGov collates and organises it online to generate up-to-date attitudes, opinions, and behaviours, which translate into valuable research for its clients.

YouGov’s customers include advertising, marketing and PR firms, media agencies, brands, and governments. It serves them the data through one of three channels: data products, data services, or custom research. It bills itself as a global public opinion organisation and has much to offer businesses and organisations in charge. This ability to deliver current opinions has served the YouGov share price well in recent years. 

Financial outlook

The recent YouGov share price rise has increased its price-to-earnings ratio to an eye-watering 53. Earnings per share grew by 35% from 6.4p to 8.7p in the second half of its 2019 financial year. They are now at 14p and it has a low debt ratio of 11%. It also offers a dividend yield of 0.5%, which although low, is better than nothing for a growth stock. YouGov has realised a rapid increase in operating margins by scaling its business through acquisitions and shifting its income streams to higher-margin products. Its chief source of income comes from the US, followed by the UK, and it also operates in Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. 

It has not been hurt by coronavirus because it was already geared to operate online. In fact, this has caused its offerings to be ever more in demand, with the answers to questions like “Will Brits flock back to pubs this weekend?” and online tools such as The UK Covid-19 Public Monitor. 

Is the YouGov share price overvalued?

It is common knowledge that data is like currency in the modern age, and YouGov is proof that this is true. I do not see this changing soon, and I think YouGov will continue to thrive. It’s P/E is very high, which means future growth is probably already priced in. So no, it is not a bargain buy. But the YouGov share price will be volatile while the markets remain uncertain so there could be opportunities  to buy.

The global market research industry is worth a fortune, close to $50bn a year. This means there is a lot more potential for YouGov to extend its reach in this industry. I do not think the YouGov share price is necessarily overvalued as it has a powerful product and a scalable business model. As a long-term investment, I think it would be worth adding to a diversified portfolio.

However, the company is highly rated with a forward-looking earnings multiple for the trading year to July 2020 running near 35, with the share price close to 540p.

But consider this: despite all the economic and political uncertainty we’ve seen, the share price has risen around 17% since my last article on the company at the time of the interim results in April. Indeed, the shares of fast-growing enterprises can perform well despite their high-looking valuations.

Great figures

And today’s figures are good. Revenue rose 17% compared to the equivalent period last year and adjusted earnings per share shot up 30%. The directors offered their seal of approval and demonstrated confidence in the outlook by slapping 33% on the total dividend for the year.

Underlying the headline numbers, revenue from the Data Products & Services division increased by 32%, and now accounts for 56% of the total. Meanwhile, revenue from the Custom Research division went up by 2%. But the firm is focusing on “higher-margin work” in that sector and there was a 10% increase in adjusted operating profit in the period.

So, more than half the business is growing like mad and the rest is improving its profitability. That strikes me as a desirable outcome for the firm.

The directors said in the report that YouGov saw a “strong” performance from its operations in the UK and the US. Around 42% of external sales came from America and 25% from the UK, so most of the business is performing well.

Chief executive Stephen Shakespeare explained in the narrative that the firm has exceeded its “ambitious” five-year growth targets. The idea was to expand YouGov’s “international reach, develop best-in-class products and dynamically respond to changing client needs.”

The plan worked well and shareholders have seen a more than 420% increase in the share price over five years, with the dividend rising about 400%.

A “strong” outlook

But in fairness, you probably won’t be buying this share for its dividend yield, which stands at just above 0.7%. The rate of dividend growth reflects the company’s progress, but earnings cover the payment about four times, which is quite a high level of cover. And high cover suggests to me the directors see plenty of growth left under the hood. Shakespeare said: “We remain very ambitious.”

Indeed, the next five-year growth plan has started and includes this results report, which shows the company has made “a great start.”  

Shakespeare summarised the year by saying the company delivered strong growth in earnings, has been winning more clients, taking on larger contracts and projects, and strengthening its position “across the globe.” 

The directors’ outlook for the business is “strong.” If the valuation was lower, I’d snap the shares up without hesitation. But even now, I see the earnings multiple as a mark of quality and would be keen to own a few bought on dips and down-days.

An impressive financial record

Over the past three years, the share price has risen around 250% driven by an increase in revenue close to 50%, a surge in normalised earnings of almost 400%, and an increase in the dividend near 150%. YouGov has been trading and growing well, and there’s more good news today. In the six months to 31 January, revenue lifted 18% compared to the equivalent period last year and adjusted earnings per share shot up by 33%.

The trading success shows up on the balance sheet too, with the net cash balance rising more than 17% compared to the year before, to £25m. YouGov doesn’t currently pay an interim dividend but last year’s full-year payment rose 50%, and I’m expecting a further advance at the end of the current trading year.

The strategy involves developing and launching new products across all the firm’s “existing geographies.” The company operates with 34 offices in 22 countries and has panel members in 38 countries. As well as organic growth, bolt-on acquisitions help YouGov achieve its goal, typically to gain access to niche areas of the market.

Big in America

In the period, adjusted operating profit from the USA rose 15%, and around 45% of overall operating profit originated there, making the geography “the largest driver” of profits. Chief executive Stephen Shakespeare said in the report that the company is in the final year of its five-year growth plan, which is delivering revenue and earnings “ahead of the market.” He said the firm’s syndicated data model “has broken new ground in the industry.”

The company’s next five-year plan focuses on activating data to create “targetable audiences,” investing in technology to integrate and customise data, and opening up some of the firm’s data as a public resource. Shakespeare explained the strategy aims to help create a universal data platform for the company’s clients. The ambition is to become “the world’s leading supplier of proprietary panel data.”

Ambitious goals and incentivised management

One big thing in today’s report that I think looks set to drive the shares higher in the coming years is the Long-Term Incentive Plan (LTIP) for senior management. In an ideal world, directors and other senior managers in any company will collect their fat salaries and do the best job they can anyway, with drive, determination, enthusiasm and great ability. But in the real corporate world of today, if managers can see a clear path to leveraging their returns they will likely be switched on all the more to try to achieve the goals that will deliver more income from their salaries and bonuses.

The LTIP targets require the doubling of group revenue and adjusted operating profit margin by 2023, and achieving a compound annual growth rate in adjusted earnings per share “in excess of 30%.” If the firm can achieve those goals, I reckon shareholders will see decent total returns from where we are now.

Online fast fashion retailer Boohoo Group (LSE: BOO) has escaped this fate, so far, despite having risen by a staggering 590% over the last three years.

Back in June, I suggested that investors might want to continue buying Boohoo. The shares have gained 10% since then. Can they continue to rise?

A changing business?

Boohoo recently published its half-year results, causing the shares to gain about 25% in a single day. The figures looked impressive to me, with six-month sales up by 50% to £395m, and pre-tax profit up 22% to £24.7m.

However, the group’s partial ownership of fast-growing brand PrettyLittleThing means that Boohoo shareholders aren’t enjoying all the fruits of the firm’s success. Some of the profits are going directly to the firm’s founders.

Robert also highlighted concerns about conflicts of interest in the boardroom. It’s not clear how much freedom incoming chief executive John Lyttle will have, given that his predecessors — co-founders Mahmud Kamani and Carol Kane — both plan to remain as executive directors with responsibility for future strategy and creative direction.

That’s not so bad

It may simply be that Kamani and Kane want to ease back slightly after years of intense work. The company’s recent results suggest growth remains strong, and I don’t see any obvious problems.

Boohoo is investing in the infrastructure required to support global sales of £3bn — more than three times current levels. I wouldn’t be surprised if it hits this goal. Sales rose by 84% in Europe, except UK, and by 72% in the US, during the first half of the year.

Revenue in each of these much larger markets is less than a third of UK sales. This suggests that there’s still a lot of room for growth.

Boohoo shares look expensive on 58 times 2019 forecast earnings. But sales are expected to rise by 38-43% this year, and by 25% per year over the “medium term.” I’d continue to hold unless problems emerge.

A super growth stock?

Another stock that’s so far managed to avoid a sell off is survey data and analytics firm YouGov (LSE: YOU). The firm’s share price was almost unchanged after Tuesday’s results, suggesting that the figures delivered exactly what investors were hoping for.

The headline numbers certainly seem good. Sales rose by 9% to £116.6m, while adjusted pre-tax profit was 42% higher at £23.3m. Shareholders will enjoy a 50% dividend increase to 3p per share, although the yield remains negligible at 0.6%.

More expensive than it seems?

I think the ‘true’ valuation of this stock may surprise you. As my fellow Fool Graham Chester has explained, YouGov’s adjusted profits are calculated so that they ignore much of the cash spent on software development.

I’m not convinced by this policy and prefer to look at the firm’s statutory profits, which show that actual pre-tax profit rose by 49% to £11.8m last year. You’ll notice that this is an impressive increase, but that the pre-tax profit figure is less than half the adjusted figure of £23.3m.

In my view, this figure provides a more realistic view of profitability. And, although I think that YouGov is a good quality growth business, I’m not tempted by the stock’s valuation of 61 times earnings.