When Woolworths decided to spin off its bottle shop and pubs businesses, it was meant to signify a big moment for environmental, social and governance investing.
Woolworths sales should be regarded as more durable to a changing economic environment, while the big grocer also has higher returns on invested capital and a negative working capital advantage . “This is why spin-offs outperform and are often underestimated,” said one institutional investor that bought the stock at IPO.
The army of one-arm bandits now has a chance to flourish under new ownership that isn’t shy about investing in gaming.Another point of controversy at the investor day, held on the outskirts of Melbourne, was the extent to which gaming drives earnings in its hotels division.
Because investors don’t care about ESG, and ESG funds have underperformed the market