Shares in Next have fallen despite the fashion and homeware retailer reporting a double-digit increase in half-year profits.
The FTSE 100 constituent posted a 13.8% rise in group profit before tax to £515 million for the six months to 26 July 2025, with sales climbing more than 10% to £3.25 billion.
Post-tax earnings per share also jumped nearly 17% to 330p, while the board declared an interim dividend of 87p per share.
However, the Leicester-headquartered retailer struck a cautious note on the UK economy, warning that growth ahead would be ‘anaemic’.
It cited weakening job opportunities, regulatory pressures, high government spending and rising taxes as factors set to weigh on productivity and competitiveness.
A statement read: “To be clear, we do not believe the UK economy is approaching a cliff edge.
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“At best we expect anaemic growth, with progress constrained by four factors: declining job opportunities, new regulation that erodes competitiveness, government spending commitments that are beyond its means, and a rising tax burden that undermines national productivity.”
While first-half trading was boosted by disruption at rivals, such as the widely-reported cyber attack suffered by Marks & Spencer, the business has forecasted that full-price sales growth will slow sharply in the second half, from around 10% in Q2 to just 4.5%.
Full-year profit before tax guidance of £1.1bn, up 9.3% year-on-year, was left unchanged.
The downbeat tone of the results has unnerved investors, with shares slipping following the update.
The retail giant’s share price closed yesterday at £120.20 but it has today slipped to £115.45 at the time of writing (2pm) – its lowest since the beginning of April, when it was hit by Donald Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs. Its market cap sits at over £14bn.
Next, which has become the UK’s largest clothing retailer by market value, also flagged ongoing challenges from regulation, labour costs and shifting consumer sentiment, even as its online and Total Platform businesses continue to expand.
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