JD Sports Fashion (LSE:JD.) saw a sharper decline in second-quarter underlying sales, pressured by a weak performance in the U.K., although its U.S. business showed signs of stabilizing after a steep setback in the previous quarter.
The retailer, which earns nearly 40% of its revenue in the U.S. through its JD Sports, Hibbett, DTLR, and Shoe Palace chains, reported a 3% drop in like-for-like sales over the 13 weeks to August 2, compared with a 2% decline in Q1. Sales fell across most regions, with Asia Pacific the sole market posting growth of 0.3%. In North America, sales slipped 2.3%, while Europe and the U.K. saw declines of 1.1% and 6.1%, respectively. For the first half of the year, total sales were down 2.5%.
“For Q2, in North America we saw an improved performance following the deferral of several product launches from Q1, along with stronger sales trends in apparel and online,” said Regis Schultz, CEO of JD Sports Fashion.
“In both Europe and the U.K., we were annualising tough comparators from the Euros football tournament last year, but still saw a good underlying performance in apparel and from newer footwear lines.”
Alongside the results, JD Sports announced a £100 million share buyback programme, citing “confidence in medium-term industry growth, our ongoing market share gains and focused execution.”
Looking forward, the company expects profit before tax and adjusting items for fiscal 2026 to align with market forecasts, while continuing to monitor potential impacts from U.S. tariffs. Regarding the second half of the year, JD Sports said it “remains cautious given the continued strains on consumer finances, unemployment risk, and the ongoing shift in the footwear product cycle.”
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