16 stocks that could see a Euro 24 boost

Tonight sees the start of a month-long festival of football as the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament kicks off – with Germany facing Scotland in the opening game.

Not only will it be a welcome distraction from the UK’s general election campaign, for some sectors, it promises to be a real economic boon.

So which stocks can benefit?

Making the tournament squad would be ITV, JD Sports, Frasers, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Entain, Flutter, EasyJet, Ryanair, International Consolidated Airlines, Mitchells & Butlers, Fuller's, Wetherspoons, Diageo, Heineken, Ab InBev.

ITV Plc (LSE:ITV)

As the main UK commercial broadcaster with the rights to the Euro 2024 fixture list, ITV will naturally see a bump in viewership – meanwhile, as brands seek to capture the attention of Britain’s sport-loving couch potatoes ad pricing is also likely to be more competitive.

ITV will be broadcasting seventeen live games over the course of the tournament, including the final – which will simultaneously be live on BBC too.

Like with many of the stocks on this list, the deeper into the tournament that the England team go the better it will be for ITV and its revenues.

JD Sports Fashion (LSE:JD) and Frasers (LSE:FRAS)

England shirts and paraphernalia will be in demand, especially if the team is doing well.

Typically, sports apparel and equipment sales tend to get a boost during major sporting events, and the Euros will be followed by the Paris Olympics – so it could be a positive summer trading period for both JD Sports and Sports Direct owner Frasers.

Tesco (LSE:TSCO) and Sainsbury's (LSE:SBRY)

Beers, snacks and perhaps even party food and bunting will be extra items on British shopping lists over the coming weeks as consumers settle in for the matches.

Supermarkets often see a boost in sales of food and beverages, especially items like snacks and drinks, during large sporting events.

Entain (LSE:ENT) and Flutter Entertainment (LSE:FLTR)

As much as the Euros will be a festival of football, for some fans it will also be a festival of betting.

Through the leading brands Entain (Ladbrokes, Coral, Eurobet, Sportingbet, and bwin) and Flutter (Paddy Power, SkyBet, Betfair, and FanDuel) this pair represent a large portion of the market for casual sports betting – which is precisely the segment of fans that will be upping their ante during the tournament.

With three matches per day through the group stages, there’s no shortage of opportunities for the ‘punters’.

For bookies, volume is always great for business – after all the phrase “the house always” was coined for good reason.

It will be an even better tournament for the bookies if favourites in key betting markets come a cropper.

EasyJet (LSE:EZJ), Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY), International Consolidated Airlines Group (LSE:IAG)

It is estimated that some 2.7 million football fans will travel to German venues at different points during the tournament – which hosts fixtures across ten cities.

For example, in the group stages England plays in Gelsenkirchen (40kms from Dusseldorf airport) on Sunday, then plays Denmark in Frankfurt (Frankfurt Airport) on Thursday 20 June, before facing Slovenia in Cologne (Cologne Bonn airport).

The other 31 teams in the tournament similarly have their matches spread across the country.

All-in-all, that will add up to a lot of flights between now and the Final, on 14 July.

Mitchells & Butlers (LSE:MAB), Fuller's (LSE:FSTA) and Wetherspoons (LSE:JDW)

Around 20 million extra pints of beer will be sold during the Euros, with market research from the British Beer and Pub Association estimating that UK pubs will see some £93 million of additional sales during the tournament.

In all, the sector is expected to generate a total of £1.4 billion.

“Football fans know that the best place to watch live sport if you can’t be in the stadium itself, is down the pub,” the BBPA’s Emma McClarkin said.

The longer England and Scotland stay in the tournament the better the windfall promises to be for UK pub groups.

Diageo Plc (LSE:DGE), Heineken (AMS:HEIA), Ab InBev (NYSE:BUD)

Guinness is not especially associated with football, and it doesn’t especially scream sunbathed beer garden in June and July – nor does Smirnoff, Tanqueray, Johnnie Walker, or Baileys for that matter.

Perhaps, then its an ill-fitting addition to this particular squad of Euro 24 names.

More fitting substitutions are perhaps come in the form of Amsterdam-listed Heineken or AbInbev, the parent company of both Budweiser and Stella Artois.