Next (#NXT) – 9 weeks full price sales +5.7%, ahead of guidance

Next (#NXT) – Q3 full price sales +4% YoY, increasing full-year guidance

Real-world, broad-church, insights from Next plc

My typical conclusion over the last few years when looking at Next plc (NXT) is that a sixty quid share price is a mega level for the company. Broadly speaking, you start to buy the FTSE 100 name when its shares are below this and start to sell them when they are above. How is my “rule” looking today?

Next (#NXT) – H1 EPS +1% to 264.5p, DPS 66p, nudges up FY guidance

Next (#NXT) – Q2 full price sales +6.9% YoY, further increases FY guidance

Next (#NXT) – Q1 full price sales -0.7% YoY, though ahead of guidance of -2%

Next (#NXT) – FY EPS +8% to 573.4p, DPS 206p, “prepared (and budgeted) for a difficult year”

Next plc continues to show how to be a sensible retailer despite all the obvious challenges out there

Back in September 2021, I observed that it was the “same old, same old ‘not cheap but quality’ at Next plc (NXT)”. But the stock was kicking around at an eighty quid share price then, whilst a c. sixty quid share price (or below) was always a much smarter level to get involved. And hopefully some of you have done so over the last six months or so, a point reinforced by the observation today that Next plc’s full year profit before tax guidance has been raised “by £20m to £860m, up +4.5% versus last year".

Next (#NXT) – 9 weeks to 30th December full price sales +4.8%, increased FY profit guidance

Next (#NXT) – 13 weeks to 29th October full price sales +0.4% YoY, slightly ahead of expectations

Next (#NXT) – H1 growth but notes August below expectations and rising cost of living pressures

Next (#NXT) – quarterly sales up in line with guidance, maintains FY profit guidance

Whilst Next is boring that does not make it dull

I am sure many of you have shopped at a Next (NXT) store, from one of its catalogues or online over the years. Next may not be super-fashionable or super-cheap but it is super solid, hence why over the last five years the shares have not embarrassed themselves like M&S (MKS), boohoo (BOO) or Debenhams have. But I need to have a think about Next shares because since I last wrote about the company in early January the stock is down over 20%. So whilst I did title my article ten weeks ago “Good job Next, but your positive Christmas trading is factored in”, is the share price now cheap?

Next (#NXT) – FY EPS up to 530.8p, DPS 127p, UK sales currently ahead of expected

Good job Next, but your positive Christmas trading is factored in

It was not a big Christmas shocker for Next (NXT) to declare this morning that ‘in the eight weeks to 25 December full price sales were up +20.0% versus two years ago…This was £70 million ahead of our previous guidance for the period’. That is far from a disaster, even if Next shares have fallen below the 80 quid level.

Next (#NXT) – 8 weeks to 25th Dec full price sales +23%, +20% on 2 year basis, special dividend

Next (#NXT) – last five weeks full price sales +14% on two year basis, better than forecast

Same old, same old ‘not cheap but quality’ at Next plc

Back in July I observed that Next plc (NXT) ‘shares might not be cheap but they are quality’. Since then the stock has traded either side of an £80 share price, including being up 2% today after the publication of H1 numbers. With all the challenges for the clothes sector, you have had plenty of opportunities to buy Next shares over the last five years at a 40 quid or below share price. The share price this year though has been nicely above the previous all-time highs in late 2015 when the world was a different place for all of the biggest clothing names. Whatever happened to most of them?! Next has always been a bit different.

Next (#NXT) – H1 up on even 2 year comparative, upgrades FY guidance

Next (#NXT) – latest 11 weeks full price sales +18.6% on two-year basis, increased guidance