18 September 2025
If you are covering Next’s latest financial results, please find below a comment from Mamta Valechha, consumer discretionary analyst at Quilter Cheviot:
“Next delivered a solid set of half year results today, with profits beating expectations, although the long run of upgrades to guidance has disappointingly come to an end. The group had already reported full price sales growth of 10.9% in July for this period, but it has today reported pre-tax profit being up 13.8%. This is a 2% beat against consensus.
“Many investors were probably hoping for another upgrade to guidance given these results, however, Next reiterated its guidance for the full-year, which it had upgraded in July where it benefitted from M&S’s cyber-attack and also due to strong growth in the overseas business.
“The primary concern going into the second half of Next’s financial year is the tough economic outlook in the UK. Management has ramped up its political statement on the UK economy, sounding the alarm while criticising the government as job vacancies shrink and applications rise. However, whilst there is a reason to be cautious, management does not believe it is not approaching a cliff edge.
“Despite these challenges, Next is well positioned to weather any looming storm or uncertainty. We see continued strength in Next’s platform with Next’s brand continuing to do well, up 6%, with opportunities to invest in quality. In third party brands which continues to power ahead (up 13%), they are seeing opportunities in sports, premium and luxury, whilst in International they are seeing growth across all brands and channels as the group scales.
“Shares do look more expensive for investors than its recent history, however, we think the changing profile of the business, giving Next diversified growth avenues, negligible tariff exposure and consistent performance can provide support to this valuation.”
