YouGov

LN: YOU

Market Cap£954m

Last Close 862p

YouGov is an international research data and analytics group. Its data-led offering supports and improves a wide spectrum of marketing activities of a customer base including media owners, brands and media agencies. It works with some of the world’s most recognised brands.

Investment summary

YouGov’s H122 results showed impressive underlying revenue growth of 25%, led by strong progress in Data Products and Custom Research, with the US and Europe the best-performing regions. Sales momentum has continued in H222 and FY22 results are expected to be slightly ahead of earlier guidance. We increased our revenue forecasts by £5m for FY22 and FY23, keeping our operating margin assumptions unchanged (raise in gross margin offset by higher costs). As with other high-growth stocks, the share price has retrenched over the year to date but the shares retain their premium rating, reflecting management’s ambitious growth aspirations.

Y/E Jul	Revenue (£m)	EBITDA (£m)	PBT (£m)	EPS (p)	P/E (x)	P/CF (x)
2020A	152.4	39.2	24.7	15.7	54.9	23.9
2021A	169.0	45.9	30.5	17.6	49.0	16.7
2022E	215.0	58.1	41.4	24.6	35.0	15.4
2023E	255.0	71.1	53.4	32.7	26.4	13.1

Industry outlook

The group is making good progress across all geographies, but notably in the key US market. The increasing regulatory emphasis on data privacy and the forthcoming changes to third-party cookie usage (despite the delay) highlight the benefits and value inherent in actively permissioned, first-party data. YouGov’s developments, particularly those such as YouGov Safe, sit well in this shifting environment.

Last updated on 01/07/2022