M&S shares shift from frumpy to fabulous as pre-tax profits are up by 56%
M&S is performing strongly and has announced it will pay a dividend for the first time since the pandemic.
Marks & Spencer’s shares jumped by 9% on the news it is to pay a dividend for the first time since before Covid, say Oliver Ralph and Euan Healy in the Financial Times. The move comes as “bumper food sales” helped bring about a first-half result that exceeded expectations. Pre-tax profits hit £326m in the six months to 30 September, up by an annual 56%.
The firm says its success was due to “favourable market conditions” and competitors’ exits from the market. The shares have risen by 90% since January, enabling it to rejoin the FTSE 100 index and making it the blue-chip index’s second-best performer after Rolls-Royce.
Both the food and the clothing arms “look in their best shape for years”, says Alistair Osborne in The Times. Food, which has always done well, has been bolstered by “upgrades to 500 products”, as well as “a £30m spend on lowering prices across 200 products and locking them in on 150 more”.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
This has been rewarded with market-share gains, mainly from a “lacklustre Waitrose”, and an 11.7% rise in underlying sales. Like-for-like sales across the clothing section rose by 5.5%, while operating margins jumped from 9.8% to 12.1%, with M&S also benefiting from recent efforts “to wean the group off promotions”.
M&S is now seen as “the UK’s best retailer” for women’s clothes, says Ellie Violet Bramley in The Guardian. Once M&S clothes were seen as either “frumpy” or “at best inoffensive”. But now it is appealing to female customers “who have one eye on Vogue and another on value”.
Much of the credit is down to the director of womenswear, Maddy Evans, who has “helped the brand to develop a better understanding of who their shoppers are”, so it can fill a gap between “fashion-forward but pricey” retailers and those “associated with clothing less likely to last”. Moreover, M&S has had success in third-party brand partnerships, which bring in “a wider demographic”, and has also improved an “antiquated supply chain”.
This article was first published in MoneyWeek's magazine. Enjoy exclusive early access to news, opinion and analysis from our team of financial experts with a MoneyWeek subscription.
Related articles
- How investors can profit from high food prices
- It might confuse the market, but Associated British Foods is a buy
- Marks & Spencer shares look cheap – should you buy in?
Sign up for MoneyWeek's newsletters
Get the latest financial news, insights and expert analysis from our award-winning MoneyWeek team, to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.
Matthew graduated from the University of Durham in 2004; he then gained an MSc, followed by a PhD at the London School of Economics.
He has previously written for a wide range of publications, including the Guardian and the Economist, and also helped to run a newsletter on terrorism. He has spent time at Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and the consultancy Lombard Street Research.
Matthew is the author of Superinvestors: Lessons from the greatest investors in history, published by Harriman House, which has been translated into several languages. His second book, Investing Explained: The Accessible Guide to Building an Investment Portfolio, is published by Kogan Page.
As senior writer, he writes the shares and politics & economics pages, as well as weekly Blowing It and Great Frauds in History columns He also writes a fortnightly reviews page and trading tips, as well as regular cover stories and multi-page investment focus features.
Follow Matthew on Twitter: @DrMatthewPartri
-
Why Chinese stocks are so far out of favour
There’s little appetite for Chinese stocks despite low valuations.
By MoneyWeek Published
-
The 62 UK areas where you could be priced out of using your Lifetime ISA
Saving for your first home in Croydon, Ealing, Brent or any one of these other locations? You could be at risk of being priced out of using your Lifetime ISA
By Katie Williams Published
-
Why Chinese stocks are so far out of favour
There’s little appetite for Chinese stocks despite low valuations.
By MoneyWeek Published
-
Three companies that dominate their markets with critical products
A professional investor tells us where he’d put his money. This week: Charlie Huggins, manager of Wealth Club’s Quality Shares Portfolio, picks three stocks.
By Charlie Huggins Published
-
Should you continue to hold Smithson Investment Trust?
Opinion Smithson Investment Trust, a small- and mid-cap fund, has struggled to live up to lofty expectations, says Rupert Hargreaves.
By Rupert Hargreaves Published
-
Primark owner Associated British Foods is an overlooked gem going cheap — should you buy shares?
Associated British Foods, the owner of Primark, is a family-owned business, which means it is passed over by the increasingly popular passive investment funds. That spells opportunity for private investors, says Jamie Ward.
By Jamie Ward Published
-
Trump's tariffs and a shrinking market for alcohol deal double blow to Diageo
Donald Trump's tariffs are a further headache for drinks giant Diageo, which is already being buffeted by a decline in alcohol consumption.
By Dr Matthew Partridge Published
-
Three stocks in recruitment companies with promising recovery plays
Recruitment agency Robert Walters and its peers are struggling, but now's the time to buy, says Rupert Hargreaves
By Rupert Hargreaves Published
-
Four UK data companies to buy now
Companies that create, harness or turn data into a valuable offering could be sitting on a hugely profitable gold mine. Rupert Hargreaves picks four of the best UK data companies to buy now.
By Rupert Hargreaves Published
-
China's DeepSeek AI is a 'Sputnik moment' for the US
The US is facing a new “Sputnik moment” with the sudden appearance of China's DeepSeek AI firm wiping $1 trillion off the value of US tech stocks.
By Alex Rankine Published