JD Sports share edged higher as the group showed signs of improvement across its global operations, despite ongoing softness in core markets.
Shares in the retailer were 1.6% higher in early trading on Wednesday after announcing a new £100m share buyback programme, as it maintained its profit outlook.
Shares in JD Sports were among the heaviest hit by Trump’s tariffs and have since recovered all losses caused by the ‘Liberation Day’ announcement.
However, shares still trade well below 52-week highs as the group struggles to maintain sales growth momentum.
This was again the case in the group’s Q2 and H1 trading period to 2nd August.
The sportswear giant reported group like-for-like sales down 3.0% in Q2 and down 2.5% over H1. Organic growth remained positive at 2.2% for the quarter and 2.6% for H1, driven by strategic store expansion.
Regional performance painted a varied picture. North America, representing 36% of Q2 sales, showed encouraging momentum with like-for-like sales declining just 2.3% in the quarter – a marked improvement from the 3.8% drop in H1. Strong organic growth of 4.8% reflected successful integration of acquired stores and new openings.
European operations faced headwinds from tough comparatives. The region saw like-for-like sales slip 1.1% in Q2 following last year’s Euro 2024 tournament boost, whilst the UK endured a sharper 6.1% decline as it cycled particularly strong prior-year performance in replica kit sales and women’s athletic footwear.
Asia Pacific bucked the trend with positive like-for-like growth of 0.3% in Q2, supported by robust organic expansion of 9.3%.
Apparel outperformed footwear across regions. Management highlighted strong apparel performance, whilst footwear faced pressure from key product lines reaching end-of-cycle, though newer launches provided some offset in North America.
Looking ahead, JD Sports expects to meet market profit expectations for the full year, though it continues monitoring potential US tariff impacts. The company anticipates that around 60% of annual profits will be weighted to the second half, consistent with historical seasonality patterns. Investors will hope this transpires because the first half of the year lagged behind JD Sports’ traditionally strong performance.
“Across our regions and fascias, in general we see a resilient consumer, albeit very selective on their purchases. We therefore remain cautious on the trading environment going into H2. For our FY26 profit before tax and adjusting items we expect to be in line with current market expectations, before any indirect impact of US tariffs which we continue to work through,” said Regis Shultz, CEO of JD Sports.
“We are well placed to continue growing our market share in the key growth regions of North America and Europe, and confident about the medium-term growth prospects for our industry. Reflecting this, we are reaffirming our commitment to enhanced shareholder returns, and announcing today a new £100m share buyback following the successful completion of the first £100m programme last month.”
The new £100m share buyback programme will be welcomed by shareholders and it does show management has confidence in the firm’s medium-term growth prospects and the company’s ability to continue gaining market share through focused execution of its omnichannel strategy.