This article was written by Louis Bellamacina and Elizabeth Attah, Product Managers for Company Research & Analysis at Bloomberg.
Analysts use the Bloomberg Document Search and Analytics Platform to quickly retrieve company information and understand how the key themes are impacting their coverage. Our AI-powered search analytics in DS <GO> is continuously being enhanced to make it easier for analysts to find the insights they need to conduct their research analysis.
For example, analysts can now access a number of new thematic screens to stay on top of trending topics across their coverage. When analysts search for something such as “metaverse,” the screen shows a time-series of the mentions from all companies that have been talking about “metaverse” the most.
We also recently integrated Instant Bloomberg (IB) Forums – a new kind of chat room that teams can use to collaborate internally across research, themes, and execution – into Document Search. Historical IB Forum discussions on Securities, topics or keywords can now be surfaced within DS <GO> alongside internal notes, filings, earnings transcripts, broker research and in addition to the vast content library available on the Bloomberg Terminal to create one feedback loop of research.
1. Inflation
Since our last rundown of top search topics in March, inflation has risen from #3 to become the most-searched topic at #1. The current high inflation is compounded by goods shortages resulting from supply chain issues in China and Russia’s war in Ukraine. Given these strains, investors are looking into how companies are repositioning their products and how resilient they are to increases in commodities and borrowing costs. In the U.S., there are signs that high inflation will continue for some time: Amid questions over whether rate hikes will curb inflation, US consumer prices rose above forecasts in April. In Tesla’s first-quarter earnings call, Elon Musk stated that he thinks the official inflation numbers “understate the true magnitude for inflation” and “that’s why Tesla had to raise their prices.”
2. ESG
Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) searches rose from #4 in our March’s list to #2. One factor that may be contributing to the increase is the growing energy transition in Europe that’s being accelerated by the drive to end European dependence on Russian oil and gas.
The U.S., meanwhile, is several years behind Europe in putting as much pressure on companies to make plans for transitioning to greener ways of doing things. Yet investors are showing demand for companies to meet impact goals around ESG, and the topic is poised to remain important to analysts for years to come. Many companies are making clear their intentions to move away from oil and gas. BP recently reported that they are “executing a strategy that will deliver real progress across their five transition growth engines; EV charging, convenience, bio-energy, renewables and hydrogen, as they transform to an integrated energy company.”
3. China
China is now the #3 trending search topic after not appearing at all in our list in March. The significant jump results from China’s insistence on pursuing a “zero COVID” policy of near-total lockdown across key parts of the country.
Multiple companies have referenced supply chain partners in china being impacted by the zero-COVID lockdowns, resulting in a scramble to source new parts in their global supply chains. Try searching for supply chain near China in DS <GO> to track these comments.
4. Russia
Since March, Russia has slipped from the top searched topic to #4, likely because most major companies announced their plans to exit the country earlier in the year. (There have been recent developments, however, such as Starbucks and McDonald’s exiting Russia completely.)
Continued searches for Russia reveal the capital costs of exiting the region, as well as how companies are addressing the secondary effects of Russia’s war in Ukraine. BP, for example, sees the Russia-Ukraine conflict “impacting European refining operationally.”
5.-6. Buyback & dividend
Two further entrants have made the top searches list — buyback and dividend — which show that value investors are looking for opportunities to capitalize on companies who want to shore up their stock while share prices, at large, remain depressed. It is a great time for companies sitting on large cash piles to do buybacks, with a stream of announcements. PepsiCo has forecasted 1.5 billion share repurchases and 6.2 billion dividends in 2022.
7. Capital expenditure
As companions shift to greener technologies, move to make their supply chains more resilient and face off competition with increasing by investing into new products, a new entrant has made our top searches, Capex. Ford Motor Co, just announced investments of $3.7 billion in factories across the US MidWest in plans to build more electric vehicles and create jobs.
In conclusion
Bloomberg continually invests in improving the Document Search functionality within the Bloomberg Terminal — from adding new content sets, to designing and implementing new analytical views and building a cutting edge natural language search. It’s all about making it easier for analysts to find the information they’re looking for and quickly derive insights. The Bloomberg Terminal has powerful tools that empower analysts to be successful with search. Get started by running the function DS <GO> or request a demo.