General retailers
Next is a major UK clothing, footwear and homewares retailer with a large online business and a growing portfolio of third-party brands. It also provides e-commerce, logistics and technology services to other retailers through its Total Platform operation.
NEXT-branded retail stores and online sales, homewares, consumer credit, international e-commerce, brand investments and Total Platform fulfilment, website, logistics and customer-service services.
The United Kingdom is the core market, supported by growing overseas online sales and platform relationships with fashion and lifestyle brands in the UK and internationally.
Full-price sales, online and international growth, stock and markdown discipline, performance of acquired brands, Total Platform expansion, consumer incomes, freight costs and exchange rates.
Weak consumer demand, fashion and weather risk, intense online competition, sourcing and currency costs, excess inventory, markdowns and execution risk across acquisitions and partner brands.
5 August 2026: second-quarter full-price sales rose 9.2%, around £70m ahead of the company's forecast, prompting a £25m increase in full-year pre-tax profit guidance to £1.243bn. Half-year results are due 17 September, followed by further trading updates in November 2026 and January 2027.
Long-established dividend payer with distributions supported by strong cash generation. The 2025/26 final dividend was 181.0p per share, ex-dividend 2 July 2026 and paid 3 August. Dividend levels can vary with earnings and the Group also uses share buybacks when appropriate.
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