Short-sellers had a lucrative year betting against Ocado, as the company’s share price plunged by more than 50% during 2024, on the back of ongoing doubts about the long-term demand for its robot-operated warehouses, according to a report by The Times.
A key setback came when Sobeys, a major Canadian client, postponed the launch of an automated warehouse in Vancouver over the summer. Additionally, Ocado’s demotion from the FTSE 100 in June underscored investor concerns, contributing to its sharp decline. The company’s market value now stands at £2.5bn.
Ocado wasn’t the only company to deliver big returns for short-sellers, with Rio Tinto, the world’s second-largest miner, seeing its stock lose 20% of its value in 2024. Weak iron ore prices and declining demand from China, the world’s largest consumer of raw materials, fuelled the drop, with short-sellers reaping paper profits of £113.2m from positions in the firm, according to Ortex data.
Spirits maker Diageo, electricity supplier National Grid, fund manager Abrade, and pharmaceuticals group Astra Zeneca, meanwhile, all provided short sellers with profits in excess of £50m.
Despite these successes, 2024 wasn’t entirely smooth sailing for short-sellers, with the FTSE 100 rising for the fourth consecutive year, complicating bearish bets. Several high-profile trades resulted in significant losses, including the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), with shares climbing nearly 25% as investors embraced its positioning as a technology company rather than a traditional stock exchange and leaving short-sellers with paper losses of £369.6m.
After years as a reliable target for short bets, BT’s 15% share price increase in 2024 cost short-sellers £262m, while Hargreaves Lansdown (£148.2m), Anglo American (£144.4m), and Rolls-Royce (£132.8m), all left short-sellers nursing big paper losses.
