LONDON, July 2, 2026, 15:10 (BST)
- Tesco PLC (LON:TSCO) was quoted at 472.40p at 15:06 BST, up 2.85%, against a FTSE 100 (INDEXFTSE:UKX) gain of 0.53%.
- The London market was open in its regular session at the dateline; LSE hours are 08:00-16:30 BST.
- Tesco has bought 112.1 million shares for £512.1 million since April 22, or 68.3% of its £750 million buyback plan.
- The average buyback price so far is about 456.6p, roughly 3.5% below the 15:06 quote, based on Reuters calculations.
Tesco PLC (LON:TSCO) shares rose on Thursday, beating the FTSE 100 (INDEXFTSE:UKX), as investors had fresh numbers to price in on a buyback that is now doing more work than the sales line.
The stock was quoted at 472.40p at 15:06 BST, up 13.10p, or 2.85%, on a 20-minute delayed basis, with a day range of 463.20p to 472.80p. The FTSE 100 was up 0.53% at 10,533.75 on a delayed LSEG quote.
Tesco said in a July 2 RNS that it bought 4.5 million shares on July 1 at an average 461.50p. Since the April launch of the programme, it has bought 112.1 million shares for cancellation for £512.1 million. The company said the buyback sits inside an existing £750 million plan.
Reuters calculations using the July 2 RNS and the 15:06 Davy quote put the capital-return math as follows:
| Buyback measure | Value | Investor read-through |
|---|---|---|
| Shares bought on July 1 | 4.5 mln | £20.8 mln deployed in one day |
| Average July 1 price | 461.50p | 2.4% below the 15:06 quote |
| Bought since April 22 | 112.1 mln shares | 1.76% of the starting share base |
| Cash spent so far | £512.1 mln | 68.3% of the £750 mln plan |
| Implied average price | 456.6p | 3.5% below the 15:06 quote |
| Cash left in plan | £237.9 mln | About 50 mln shares at 472.40p |
That matters because Tesco’s latest operating update was steady rather than punchy. In the 13 weeks to May 30, group like-for-like sales rose 1.0%, UK sales rose 1.8%, and Booker fell 3.2%. Tesco kept guidance for group adjusted operating profit of £3.0 billion to £3.3 billion and free cash flow of £1.5 billion to £2.0 billion.
| Latest quarter | Tesco PLC (LON:TSCO) | J Sainsbury PLC (LON:SBRY) |
|---|---|---|
| Like-for-like sales | Group +1.0%; UK +1.8% | +2.1% excluding fuel |
| Food/grocery | UK food +2.6%; fresh food +3.6% | Grocery +3.6% |
| Weak spot | Booker -3.2% | General merchandise and clothing -3.7%; Argos -0.5% |
| Profit guide | £3.0 bln-£3.3 bln adjusted operating profit | £975 mln-£1.075 bln underlying operating profit |
Hargreaves Lansdown senior equity analyst Matt Britzman called Tesco’s first-quarter trading “a temporary blip rather than a bigger trend” and said the UK food growth number was “solid.” HL
Tesco CEO Ken Murphy told analysts after the Q1 update the company was “where we expected to be,” but added: “It would help us if we could get some sunshine.” CFO Imran Nawaz said he was “really happy with where we landed.”
The sector comparison became sharper this week after Sainsbury’s June 30 update. Sainsbury said first-quarter like-for-like sales excluding fuel rose 2.1%, with grocery up 3.6%, but the chain has more non-food exposure than Tesco. Sainsbury CEO Simon Roberts said heatwave demand “really hit record levels.” Reuters
Tesco also told holders of two ESG-linked notes that its greenhouse-gas KPI percentage was 68%, above the 60% threshold. It said the 1.875% rate on £400 million of 2028 notes and the 0.375% rate on €750 million of 2029 notes would not change.
The next hard check is whether the higher share price makes buybacks less cheap before sales momentum improves. At 472.40p, the remaining £237.9 million would cancel about 0.8% of the latest share count of 6.27 billion. Tesco is due to report interim results on Oct. 8.
