Just as Rightmove announced a major new AI launch, news emerged that it may drop out of the prestigious FTSE 100.
The portal’s share price has been dropping consistently over the last few months, and is now at five-year low levels.
Under-fire
Falling out of the FTSE 100 of the top firms listed on the London Stock Exchange would be a blow at a time when Rightmove is under-fire from estate agencies over fee hikes.
It will be listed in the FTSE 250 of smaller firms in a sign of shrinking valuation, if its status outside the top 100 is confirmed next week.
AI threat
Only this week it unveiled its own ChatGPT property search app as it attempts to see off the threat from AI.
Shares in the portal plummeted in November following its latest trading update which revealed it is planning to spend £60 million over three years on AI and product development that would impact profits.
It forecasted 8–10% revenue growth and 3–5% profit growth this year as it moves through what it calls an “investment phase”. The additional spending, it said, would support “double-digit profit growth” in later years.
And the portal is due to publish its full-year results tomorrow.
Investors jittery
Recently, Dan Coatsworth, Head of Markets at AJ Bell, told The Neg “It’s no coincidence that Rightmove’s shares have been in steady decline since announcing last November it would make AI-related investments.
“A year earlier, any mention of AI would have been cause for celebration. Now it’s a suggestion that Rightmove is having to move with the times and investors are jittery about companies spending on tech.”
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