What Is Going On With National Express?

September 23, 2021

If you bought the National Express Group PLC (LON: NEX) stock around six months ago, you might have expected it to rise over the coming months as vaccination rollouts proceed and lockdown restrictions are lifted.

However, a quick glance at the share price of National Express shows that the stock has done little but decrease in value since the spring of 2021.

There is no doubt that this will have been a huge disappointment to many investors across the world.

At the moment, National Express shows no signs of recovery. But why? And is this stock worth watching for short-term investors looking for a new buy?

Look Outside The UK

Many UK investors bought shares in National Express this year expecting the growing popularity of ‘staycations’ (or vacations close to home) to boost the UK’s domestic travel sector and prop up companies like National Express, who run a host of bus routes up and down the UK, as well as pioneering coach-led package holidays to popular UK destinations.

However, this shortsighted view of NEX is missing out on a huge chunk of NEX’s market share in Europe and the rest of the world.

National Express operates buses across the world in locations as far apart as the United States, Morocco, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Malta, Bahrain and Germany. Many of these countries have suffered from falling tourist numbers this summer, which means that NEX revenue has failed to keep up.

What’s Next?

However, we don’t need to dwell on the bad news for too long. In fact, NEX may be one to watch over the coming months; investors looking to make a quick profit could do worse than throwing some money at this stock soon.

The recent news about the UK’s international travel system being simplified demonstrates the UK government’s dedication to relaxing rules on international travel despite rising cases, and no doubt other governments across Europe will follow suit too.

However, NEX isn’t without its challenges. Another lockdown could easily set this stock back further, in which case it’s either best avoided or, for bullish investors, worth waiting to buy the dip.