JD Sports Fashion Plc (LON:JD) has announced its interim results for 2025/26.
Continued focus on operating & financial discipline
PERFORMANCE SUMMARY:
| £m | 26 weeks to2 Aug 2025 | 26 weeks to3 Aug 2024 | % change (reported) | % change (constant*) |
| Sales | 5,940 | 5,032 | +18.0% | +20.0% |
| Gross margin %* | 48.0% | 48.6% | (60) bps | (60) bps |
| Operating profit*± | 369 | 402 | (8.2)% | (6.3)% |
| Operating margin %*± | 6.2% | 8.0% | (180) bps | (170) bps |
| Profit before tax and adjusting items* | 351 | 406 | (13.5)% | (11.8)% |
| Adjusted basic earnings per share* (p) | 4.60 | 5.15 | (10.7)% | (8.5)% |
| Operating cashflow net of lease repayments* | 546 | 520 | +5.0% | |
| Statutory measures | ||||
| Operating profit | 389 | 292 | +33.2% | |
| Net finance expense | (88) | (45) | +95.6% | |
| Profit before tax | 138 | 126 | +9.5% | |
| Basic earnings per share (p) | 0.80 | 0.42 | +90.5% | |
| Dividend per share (p) | 0.33 | 0.33 | – |
* See page 3 for further details on Alternative Performance Measures; ± Before adjusting items, after interest on lease liabilities.
RÉGIS SCHULTZ, CEO OF JD SPORTS FASHION PLC:
“We delivered organic sales growth of +2.7% in H1, in what remains a tough trading environment. This demonstrates the resilience of our business, underpinned by our agile multi-brand model, broad geographic reach and unmatched connection with customers.
“In North America, where we gained market share in the period, the development of our operations is progressing well. We continue to build strong brand awareness of the JD fascia by building out our customer proposition and investing in new stores; and for our complementary fascias we are successfully progressing the integration of Hibbett, while DTLR and Shoe Palace took over the operations of City Gear in June.
“Our supply chain investments are poised to unlock significant efficiencies across our global network. Our new European distribution centre in Heerlen, the Netherlands, is set to launch automation for JD Europe store replenishment in the coming weeks, while our US west coast site in Morgan Hill is set to go live with JD and Finish Line by year-end – the next step of our plan to leverage our distribution centres on a multi-fascia basis.
“In an environment of strained consumer finances and evolving brand product cycles, operating and financial discipline remains a core focus for JD, and we are controlling our costs and cash well. Whilst we remain cautious on the trading environment for the second half, we expect limited impact from US tariffs this financial year, and our full year profit before tax and adjusting items to be in line with current market expectations.”
H126 HEADLINES:
• Market share gains(1) in key growth markets of North America and Europe, against tough consumer backdrop
• Strong progress against strategic objectives across omnichannel customer proposition, store footprint, supply chain and North America operations. Costs and cash being well controlled
• Total sales +20.0% (at constant FX rates) driven by acquisitions of Hibbett and Courir; organic* sales +2.7% (at constant FX rates) and like-for-like* (LFL) sales -2.5%
• Stronger LFL sales trends in apparel and online in North America; resilient LFL sales in Europe, and UK organic sales(2) affected by tough Q2 comparatives due to Euro 2024 football tournament
• Good underlying performance in apparel globally; footwear softer given ongoing shift in product cycle
• Gross margin of 48.0%, 60bps lower YoY (40bps lower YoY excluding Hibbett and Courir). Maintaining trading disciplines with controlled price investments, particularly in online
• Profit before tax and adjusting items (PBTAI) of £351m, in line with guidance given on 27 August
• Interim dividend of 0.33p declared; second £100m share buyback programme to commence soon
• Expect FY26 PBTAI to be in line with current market expectations(3,4), with limited impact expected from US tariffs this financial year
STRATEGY HIGHLIGHTS
JD Brand First
• Opened 42 net new JD stores globally, including flagships in Las Vegas, Vancouver, Melbourne, and Manchester’s Trafford Centre (JD’s largest store globally)
• JD fascia gained market share in the North America and Europe in H1. Significantly boosted brand awareness in North America YoY
Complementary Concepts
• Integration of Hibbett and Courir on track, strengthening our presence in North America and Europe
• Complementary North American fascia segments (‘Premium’, ‘Reach’ and ‘Focus’) driving sharper customer targeting and operational synergies
Beyond Physical Retail
• Continued global supply chain optimisation with key distribution centres going live or ramping up in the US, Europe and Australia
• JD Sports Fashion’s ‘STATUS’ loyalty programme approaching 9m active members, supporting deeper and more personalised customer engagement
People, Partners & Communities
• Rolled out ‘JD Now’ colleague communications platform across six countries, with a strong uptake
• Achieved CDP leader status for climate action (‘A’ rating) for supplier engagement assessment, and retained ‘Zero Waste to Landfill’ accreditation at major UK and European sites
Footnotes
(1) Source: Circana, LLC.
(2) We see organic sales as a better sales KPI than like-for-like (LFL) sales in the UK. JD’s store strategy in the UK is to optimise its footprint and sales densities, the benefit of which is not captured in LFL sales. For example, our new flagship store at the Trafford Centre in Manchester is performing strongly (not captured in LFL sales), but is resulting in – as planned for and as per our experience – an impact on the LFL sales of other JD stores in the vicinity.
(3) According to Company-compiled data as of 15 September 2025, the current consensus of 16 sell-side analyst expectations for FY26 PBTAI is £878m, with a range of £853m to £914m.
(4) Assuming FX rates of GBP-USD of 1.33 and GBP-EUR of 1.16. Average exchange rates in H126 were GBP-USD of 1.31 and GBP-EUR of 1.16 (H125: GBP-USD of 1.27 and GBP-EUR of 1.17).
Alternative Performance Measures
Throughout this release, ‘*’ indicates the first instance of use of Alternative Performance Measures, which management believe are useful and necessary to assist the understanding of the Group’s results. Please refer to pages 41 to 46 for further information, including reconciliations to statutory measures where required.
Forward-looking statements
This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements relating to expected or anticipated results, performance or events. Such statements are subject to normal risks associated with the uncertainties in our business, supply chain and consumer demand along with risks associated with macro-economic, political and social factors in the markets in which we operate. Whilst we believe that the expectations reflected herein are reasonable based on the information we have as at the date of this announcement, actual outcomes may vary significantly owing to factors outside the control of the Group, such as cost of materials or demand for our products, or within our control such as our investment decisions, allocation of resources or changes to our plans or strategy. Except as required by applicable law or regulation, the Group disclaims any obligation or undertaking to revise forward-looking statements made in this or other announcements to reflect changes in our expectations or circumstances. As such, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements contained within this announcement.
Results presentation and Q&A
Régis Schultz (Group CEO) and Dominic Platt (Group CFO) will host an in-person results presentation and Q&A for pre‑registered analysts and investors today at 08.30 (UK time). The presentation will be held at Peel Hunt, 100 Liverpool Street, London, EC2M 2AT.
A simultaneous live video webcast of the presentation and Q&A will also be available, using the following link:
https://app.webinar.net/4k98pDBPDeR
Post-event, a replay will be available on demand via the Investors section of our website at www.jdplc.com/investor-relations.
Financial calendar
The next scheduled event is our Q3 trading statement 2025/26 on 20 November 2025.
