RBC Sees JD Sports' FY27 Pretax Profit at Lower End of Guidance

06:40 AM EDT, 09/21/2026 (MT Newswires) -- RBC Capital Markets forecasts JD Sports Fashion's (JD.L) profit before tax for fiscal 2027 to come in at the lower end of the British retailer's guidance range amid a "relatively cautious" outlook and expectations of "muted market growth." The company's profit before tax guidance stands between 700 million pounds sterling and 800 million pounds for the full fiscal year, assuming limited impact from US tariffs, against the consensus of 727 million pounds and RBC's projection of 721 million pounds, according to the research firm's European Retailing report published Monday. "If we assume a 0-1% decline for the market and JD's sales, then adjusting for a space impact of 2-3pp, this should give a negative LFL sales figure-we estimate -2.7% yoy for FY27. However, JD continues to expect a strong progression in FCF, helped by a normalisation of payables, with [greater than] GBP1.4bn expected between FY26-28, which implies c.GBP950mn over the next 2 years," analysts wrote. "But we think JD is still seeing a hangover from its super-normal growth and margins during the pandemic, and we think PBT could be down 15% this year. We estimate JD generates c.53-54% of sales from the Nike and adidas brands and so has suffered somewhat from these brands moving through an evolution in their product cycles." For the fiscal first half, sales are anticipated to come in at 5.90 billion pounds and adjusted profit before tax of 279 million pounds, according to company-compiled consensus. JD Sports is scheduled to release its fiscal half-year results on Wednesday. RBC rates the stock at sector perform, with a price target of 0.95 pound.