JD Sports Fashion plc reported its full-year results for the twelve months ending January 31, 2026, posting total sales of £12.66 billion, a rise of 11.7% at constant exchange rates and 10.5% at reported rates compared to the prior year.
The headline growth figure was heavily influenced by the contributions of two businesses acquired in the previous financial year, US athletic retailer Hibbett and French sneaker chain Courir, which together added significant scale to the group’s top line.
Stripping out those acquired businesses, organic sales growth came in at 2.1% at constant exchange rates, a more modest figure that reflects the genuinely challenging consumer environment the retailer has been navigating across most of its key markets.
CEO Régis Schultz described the performance as resilient under the circumstances, pointing to the company’s deep understanding of customer behaviour and lifestyle trends as the key factors enabling it to consistently bring the right products to the right locations at the right prices.
North America, which is JD Sports’ largest market by revenue, delivered organic sales growth of 3.2% for the full year, though like-for-like sales declined 1.8% on a comparable store basis, reflecting the competitive pressure and softening consumer demand facing athletic wear retailers across the United States.
Europe performed similarly, with organic sales up 4.2% but like-for-like sales down 1.2%, while the Asia-Pacific region was the standout on a comparable basis, achieving 8.5% organic sales growth and a 0.4% like-for-like gain, making it the only region to report positive like-for-like performance for the year.
The UK, by contrast, was the weakest performing region, recording a 2.5% organic sales decline and a 3.9% like-for-like decline, with management attributing the underperformance to a difficult consumer backdrop and a disproportionately high reliance on the online channel in the domestic market, where trading was particularly weak throughout the year.
Gross margin held steady at 47.0%, unchanged from the prior year, as controlled price investment in the online channel was offset by higher marketing contributions from brand partners, preserving the company’s revenue quality even as it competed aggressively on pricing in certain segments.
Profit before tax and adjusting items declined from £923 million to £852 million for the year, while statutory pre-tax profit fell 12.0% to £629 million, with both measures reflecting the combined weight of a subdued consumer environment, rising operating costs, and the integration work associated with the Hibbett and Courir acquisitions.
The most significant positive in the results was the performance of free cash flow, which surged to £462 million from just £123 million in fiscal 2025, a 275% increase that Schultz attributed to disciplined cost management, tighter capital allocation, and better inventory management that kept stock levels broadly in line with sales growth throughout the year.
Looking ahead to fiscal 2027, management said it continues to expect subdued market growth conditions in line with previous guidance, and noted that while the company has no direct exposure to the Middle East, it is actively monitoring the evolving geopolitical situation and its potential knock-on effects on consumer confidence, supply chains, and trading conditions in the regions where it operates.
JD Sports widened its profit guidance range for fiscal 2027, setting expectations for profit before tax and adjusting items of between £750 million and £850 million, with free cash flow forecast in a range of £460 million to £520 million, a band that signals management confidence in the underlying cash generation capacity of the business even as it acknowledges continued top-line uncertainty.
Timothy Mason is a senior reporter at the Foreign Policy Journal, covering current affairs and business news. He studied Economics at the University of Michigan and has worked as a journalist for over seven years.
