Swissquote shares hit all-time high after posting record 2020 results
Shares of Gland, Switzerland based online broker and banking firm Swissquote hit an all-time high early Thursday, after Swissquote indicated it would post revenue and profit ahead of expectations for the just-finished 2020 year.
Swissquote actually kept its expectations low after a blowout first half of 2020, but the market took the results announcement as a positive sign. SQN shares had been trading up sharply during the first two weeks of January ahead of the company’s announcement, and shareholders were not disappointed in what they heard.
Swissquote didn’t state so specifically in its announcement, but our analysis shows that revenue at the company actually declined during the second half of the year, from CHF 161 million in 1H-2020 to about CHF 154 million during the last six months of the year. Profitability didn’t slip, however, with 2H-2020 profits of CHF 55 million up 10% over the first half’s CHF 50 million.
The company’s shares hit an all-time high of CHF 105.80 early Thursday, before retreating somewhat to CHF 104.60 toward mid-day. At its current share price Swissquote is valued at CHF 1.60 billion (USD $1.8 billion), about 15x times 2020 earnings. Swissquote is one of a handful of publicly traded Retail FX and CFD brokers, each of which performed well in 2020.
Swissquote one year share price graph. Source: Google Finance.