LONDON, June 17, 2026, 16:05 BST
- Marks & Spencer traded down about 3% at around 361p, trailing the FTSE 100, which was little changed.
- UK inflation was unchanged at 2.8% in May, taking some rate pressure off but keeping consumer stocks in focus ahead of the Bank of England’s meeting on Thursday.
- All eyes are on M&S as investors look for the profit rebound the company pledged following last year’s cyber incident.
Marks & Spencer Group Plc shares slipped on Wednesday, underperforming the broader London market as traders sold the stock ahead of the Bank of England rate call. The retailer is still facing pressure after last year’s cyberattack.
AJ Bell figures put the shares at 360.10p on the sell side and 360.50p to buy, off 3.14%. They opened at 373.60p. Previous close came in at 372.20p. Market cap stood at £7.42 billion.
M&S is back in focus as it straddles two key parts of the UK consumer market. On the food side, price changes show up right away for shoppers. Higher borrowing costs can cut demand in clothing, home and beauty. UK consumer price inflation stayed at 2.8% in May, missing forecasts. Economists in a Reuters poll see the BoE holding Bank Rate at 3.75% on Thursday. KPMG’s Yael Selfin said the inflation numbers back a “continued cautious approach” from the central bank. Reuters
M&S faces a tougher company-specific task. Last month, the retailer posted a 23.8% drop in adjusted pretax profit to £671.4 million for the year to March 28. The number strips out one-off and non-core items. Cyberattack incident costs landed at £131.3 million. Food sales climbed 7.0%. Fashion, home and beauty sales were down 7.7%.
Chief Executive Stuart Machin told investors the company had been “laser focused” on customers and “came out stronger”. That statement seemed to calm things down after a year when online clothing orders were stopped for seven weeks and click-and-collect was paused for nearly four, according to Reuters. Dominic Younger, a fund manager at Columbia Threadneedle Investments, said the update put an end to “a year of huge adversity”. Reuters
M&S shares came under more pressure Wednesday. Trading Economics had the stock at 361.90p, down 2.77% on the day and off 10.71% over the last four weeks.
Clothing rivals are adding pressure. M&S is pushing to get online sales to 50% of its total fashion business, up from around a third now. Next gets about 60% of UK sales online. Maddy Evans, director for M&S Woman, said the chain’s new monthly capsule program aims to move products “from concept to customer at a faster pace”. Reuters
Cyber risks are still on investors’ radar. M&S reported that some customer personal data was stolen but said there’s no sign the data was shared. The company also said card details, payment information and account passwords were not impacted.
But risks are still there. Services inflation picked up in May, and Reuters said manufacturers’ input costs saw the sharpest increase since 2023, which could hit retailers if fuel, freight or wages push up again. Shoppers trading down in food, or delays in M&S restoring fashion stock and digital sales, could make that promised profit bounce tougher to reach.
M&S is set to hold its annual general meeting on July 7, with half-year results for 2026/27 coming up on Nov. 4. The retailer declared a 3.0p final dividend, pending shareholder approval, to be paid July 10 to shareholders recorded on June 5.
