The retail sector is good at overcomplicating itself, and market-watchers are only too happy to join in. To iron out store expansion and seasonality we have like-for-like sales, to answer the unanswerable question of how much customers will buy in future we have wide forecast ranges for sales and profits. It's a regular gripe.
This week we discovered two retailers that have overexcited the market this year through various pronouncements. It turns out that Next's (NXT) January profit warning was not the start of a consistent trading decline, but was – at least partly – another example of management's ability to be overly prudent before telling us that all is not so bad. That's here.
At its own half-year results, JD Sports' (JD.) finance chief admitted his company had also been a bit too cautious (not to mention confusing) in its June trading statement. The 'athleisure' retailer's half-year results, which were released this week, bore little relation. Read our analysis here.
So it is appropriate, in a paradoxical way, that the best set of numbers from a major retailer – supermarket giant Morrisons (MRW) – met the worst reaction from investors.That's despite further evidence that a recovery is in train. That's here.
There's a load more results below, including a private healthcare provider in very serious trouble, and a mattress seller enjoying a nice bounce.
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