A JD Sports profit warning sent shares in the sports retailer tumbling 14% on Thursday, even as the FTSE 100 managed a marginal gain, closing up just 4.81 points at 10,748.16, with support from miners and oil stocks absorbing the blow from London’s blue-chip index.
The FTSE 250 ended the day down 134.86 points, or 0.6%, at 24,508.66, while the AIM All-Share edged 2.55 points higher, closing at 804.09.
What is behind the JD Sports profit warning?
In a trading statement, JD Sports said it now expects pretax profit before adjusting items for financial 2027 to come in at between £700 million and £800 million. That is a step down from previous guidance of £750 million to £850 million. At the midpoint, the new guidance would represent a 12% fall from the £852 million posted in the 52 weeks to 31 January 2026.
The trading picture behind that downgrade is laid out in regional detail. According to Yahoo Finance UK, North America, which accounted for 35% of second-quarter sales, recorded a 4.5% fall in organic sales and a 6.8% decline in like-for-like sales. Europe was similarly under pressure, posting a 0.4% organic sales decline and a 2.7% like-for-like fall. The one bright spot was Asia Pacific, where organic sales rose 10.2% and like-for-like sales were 1.4% higher.
Across the group, like-for-like revenue for the 26 weeks to 1 August 2026 dropped 2.8% to £5.89 billion, according to Drapers. On margins, World Footwear reports that the full-year gross margin is expected to be around 48%, broadly in line with the prior year, suggesting the pressure is coming from the top line rather than from costs squeezing the margin.
Chief executive Regis Schultz said trading in the quarter ‘remained tough’, and that the updated guidance ‘reflects a pragmatic view of external market conditions.’ He added: ‘The market stayed highly promotional, reflecting the consumer and footwear product cycle headwinds our industry has faced in recent quarters, whilst our core consumer was impacted by incremental cost-of-living pressures.’
Patience running thin among investors and shareholders
Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, described the update as ‘yet another setback’ for JD. ‘There is only so long that shareholders will stay patient, and time is running out for chief executive Regis Schultz to whip the company back into shape,’ he said.
Coatsworth also pointed to the position of Pentland Group, the Rubin family-owned business that is the majority shareholder in JD. He suggested Pentland may be getting ‘frustrated’ at the retailer’s progress, but added that ‘a lot of the problems facing JD are not of its own making, so Pentland might want to choose constructive discussions on strategy rather than simply calling for leadership change.’
The governance backdrop adds further context. In April, the Financial Times reported that Andrew Higginson had quit as chair of the company after pushing for Mr Schultz to be ousted, but failing to win unanimous backing for the move.
Broader market: bond yields, oil prices and global indices
Away from JD Sports, bond yields ticked higher on Thursday after Wednesday’s falls, which had followed the US Treasury’s announcement that it was increasing buybacks of longer-dated treasuries. Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, cautioned that ‘fundamental pressures remain, with the US national debt reaching record levels and inflationary pressures still bubbling.’ She described the Treasury’s move as a ‘sticking plaster which could be rapidly ripped off, given that bond vigilantes are on such high alert.’ UBS said the action may ‘help cap near-term yield volatility and reduce the risk of disorderly market moves, but it does not fundamentally alter the outlook for rates.’ The yield on the US 10-year Treasury widened to 4.70% on Thursday from 4.66% at Wednesday’s London equity close, while the 30-year yield rose to 5.26% from 5.20%.
Oil prices climbed as US President Donald Trump pledged ‘economic warfare’ against Iran and threatened any country trading with it. Brent crude for October delivery traded at $93.53 a barrel on Thursday, up from $92.40 late Wednesday. That lifted BP and Shell on the FTSE 100, up 2.4% and 0.6% respectively. Gold also pushed higher, reaching $4,518.45 an ounce, boosting Fresnillo and Endeavour Mining by 2.7% and 2.1% respectively.
In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7%, the S&P 500 lost 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.9%. In Europe, the Cac 40 in Paris closed down 0.6% and the Dax 40 in Frankfurt fell 0.4%.
On the FTSE 250, Trainline fell a further 9.0%, extending Wednesday’s losses after the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) opened a formal consumer protection investigation into how the platform presents mandatory booking fees. If the CMA finds an infringement, it can order customer compensation and impose fines of up to 10% of global turnover. Friday brings composite PMI readings for the UK at 09:30 BST, alongside UK retail sales and government borrowing data.
