Rosneft, Elon Musk and marijuana: which companies are worth watching in 2019

Bloomberg unveiled its annual ranking of the 50 companies to watch in the next year for those facing "unusual challenges" or coming to market with a product or service with "blockbuster potential." The agency briefly talks about what's interesting for each company in the next year, and provides some of their indicators, including the percentage of women on the board of directors. The only representative of Russia on the list was Rosneft. Who made the list:

Barclays

• Sales growth forecast - 0.8%
• Earnings per share growth forecast: 8.3%
• Women on the board of directors - 26.7%

The bank's CEO, Jess Staley, still retains his post after a series of scandals and legal problems , as well as paying a $2 billion fine to the US Department of Justice in a fraud case. However, the latest report showed that the bank has returned to profit, which may change investor sentiment. After all, in terms of share price/net profit multiple, Barclays is one of the cheapest banks in Europe.

Canopy Growth

• Sales growth forecast - 556.7%
• EPS growth forecast: 87.3%
• Women on the board of directors - 14.3%

The world's largest supplier of marijuana, Canada's Canopy Growth, is actively tapping into growing global demand for cannabis-based products for both medicinal and recreational use. The company operates in 11 countries and is now entering the German market, with plans to also expand to Spain, Denmark and Australia. Canopy's main advantage over its competitors is its partnership with a major alcoholic beverage manufacturer, Constellation Brands.

Dell

• Sales growth forecast - no data
• Earnings per share growth forecast - n/a
• Women on the board of directors - 16.7%

Dell, the world's largest private technology company, is looking to streamline its structure and go public again, possibly by the end of the year. However, such a decision would mean buying a tracking share of its own software developer VMware (read more about this story here ).

Ford

• Sales growth forecast - -0.5%
• EPS growth forecast: -9.3%
• Women on the board of directors - 21.4%

The company is facing a large-scale restructuring, the coming year will be critical for it in terms of changing its business model - Ford is abandoning the production of sedans in North America in favor of pickups and crossovers and is seriously taking on the problem of Japan's growing share of the global market. In addition, the company must move forward with the development of its own autonomous car. Management has not yet released any details about the project, which only heightens the sense of urgency for change.

Harley

• Sales growth forecast - 5.1%
• EPS growth forecast: 3.1%
• Women on the board of directors - 20%

American motorcycle manufacturer Harley Davidson responded to the trade war unleashed by Donald Trump (which increased motorcycle prices) by moving production outside the country, closer to its main target - emerging markets. However, the problem is that Harley does not know how to make smaller and lighter motorcycles, which are especially in demand in the company's key Asian market. A solution may be to partner with a local manufacturer.

Nike

• Sales growth forecast - 10.5%
• EPS growth forecast: 16.5%
• Women on the board of directors - 25%

The global leader in the sportswear and footwear market is using its social media accounts to improve the interaction between the marketplace and offline outlets. Nike continues to invest in demand-sensing technology, gathering supply demand information from across the digital world to help make better production and distribution decisions. The ultimate goal is to understand where and when it is best to ship products to maximize profitability.

Softbank

• Sales growth forecast - 1.4%
• EPS growth forecast: -14.8%
• Women on the board of directors - 0%

Softbank's $100 billion investment fund could significantly reduce the intensity of investments. This depends on whether CEO, the world's leading tech investor Masayoshi Son, can raise about $26.3 billion during the IPO of the Japanese mobile division of Softbank (the main source of the company's debt) and thus find financing for the fund. Another deal - the merger of Softbank's American subsidiary Sprint with the operator T-Mobile - will also allow Softbank to avoid unnecessary debt.

Tesla

• Sales growth forecast - 91.2%
• Earnings per share growth forecast - n/a
• Women on the board of directors - 22.2%

Elon Musk can't just "tweet" Tesla's problems. The to-do list is very long - the company must address its needs, create a new team of reliablemanagers and get rid of excessive dependence on profit reports. All this against the backdrop of growing car production.

Vodafone

• Sales growth forecast - -2.5%
• EPS growth forecast: 1.5%
• Women on the board of directors - 41.7%

If the $21.3 billion deal with telecoms company Liberty Global is approved by regulators, Vodafone, which wants to buy Liberty Global's operations in Germany, Hungary, Romania and the Czech Republic, will become the largest mobile operator in Europe. The company will face increased competition and falling revenue due to high costs (the situation is also complicated by a CEO change in October), but investors may need to be patient: Vodafone has a high-quality mobile network and has already developed several important solutions to connect its services in new markets.

"Rosneft"

• Sales growth forecast - 3%
• Earnings per share growth forecast: 39.8%
• Women on the board of directors - 0%

The prospects for further growth in oil prices and production volumes are a good sign for Rosneft. Low operating costs, a weak ruble and regular oil supplies will allow the company to successfully implement its plan to reduce debt by 500 billion rubles and buy back its own shares by $2 billion.

The entire list can be viewed here .

Artem Gubenko