LONDON, July 3, 2026, 22:01 BST
- J Sainsbury closed Friday at 335.0p, slipping 0.65%. That drop comes after the stock rose for two days on its first-quarter update.
- Company data shows grocery brought in about £264 million more in sales year-on-year for Q1. Argos plus general merchandise and clothing cut around £22 million.
- Sainsbury picked up a little more than 4 million shares for around £12.9 million from June 26 through July 2, its July 3 buyback filing showed.
- The 2026/27 profit outlook was kept in a range of £975 million to £1.075 billion, so the midpoint is unchanged from last year’s retail underlying operating profit.
J Sainsbury plc (LON:SBRY) fell on Friday, though shares kept much of their gains from the recent update. Investors are looking at a stronger grocery business while Argos and apparel continue to lag.
Sainsbury’s ended Friday at 335.0p, falling 2.2p, or 0.65%. The FTSE 100 (INDEXFTSE:UKX) edged up 0.25%. Hargreaves Lansdown showed Sainsbury’s volume at 5.4 million shares. The London market was closed, according to the broker.
Sainsbury also backed its own shares less visibly. On July 3, an RNS said it bought 4,029,109 shares from June 26 to July 2, paying volume-weighted average prices between 314.813p and 333.9686p. The company plans to cancel the shares. Filing math puts the cost at roughly £12.9 million.
| Buyback period | Shares bought | VWAP range | Approx. value |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 26-July 2 | 4.03 mln | 314.8p-334.0p | £12.9 mln |
| Share capital reference | 2.23 bln voting rights | — | Buyback is about 0.18% of that |
The buyback is small compared to Sainsbury’s 2.23 billion voting rights, but it has weight on a light post-earnings tape. Only 5.4 million shares changed hands Friday. Over the last five sessions, Sainsbury’s bought back almost three-quarters of that volume.
The stock rose 3.38% to £3.31 on Wednesday and added 2.00% to £3.37 on Thursday, beating the FTSE 100 both sessions. Shares closed Friday up about 1.2% from Wednesday despite the retreat.
Sainsbury’s sales mix is behind the move and the hesitation. For the 16 weeks to June 20, Sainsbury’s said total retail sales excluding fuel climbed 2.7% to £9.15 billion. Grocery sales grew 3.6% to £7.60 billion. General merchandise and clothing slipped 3.7%, with Argos down 0.5%.
| Q1 segment | Sales | YoY change | Implied YoY £ change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grocery | £7.60 bln | up 3.6% | £264 mln higher |
| General merchandise + clothing | £438 mln | down 3.7% | £17 mln lower |
| Argos | £1.11 bln | off 0.5% | £6 mln down |
| Total retail ex-fuel | £9.15 bln | rose 2.7% | up £241 mln |
Sainsbury’s chief executive Simon Roberts said shoppers want “value now more than ever” and more are coming in for the main weekly shop. The retailer pointed to Nectar Prices on some 11,000 products and said its Aldi Price Match is covering more items.
Sainsbury CEO Roberts told Reuters the recent hot weather drove a strong start to Q2 trading. “Demand really hit record levels,” he said, after the grocer turned in its best weeks on pizza, ice cream and berries. Sainsbury left its 2026/27 underlying operating profit guidance at £975 million to £1.075 billion. Reuters said Sainsbury made £1.025 billion for 2025/26. Reuters
That’s the issue for the stock. Guidance is set at a £1.025 billion midpoint again, matching last year. Investors get the market-share gains in food, but the earnings outlook doesn’t give much for those hoping for a quick rebound.
Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, called first-quarter progress “mixed” and warned Argos could take a hit if inflation picks up and weakens lower-ticket demand. Chiekrie said Sainsbury’s is trading above its long-term average and told HL the valuation “looks about right.” HL
Tesco (LON:TSCO) posted UK like-for-like sales growth of 1.8% for the 13 weeks to May 30, missing the 2.3% analysts expected, Reuters reported June 18. Sainsbury’s said its Q1 like-for-like sales ex-fuel rose 2.1%, but Reuters pointed out that about a quarter of Sainsbury’s sales come from non-food, making it more exposed to discretionary spend than Tesco.
Sainsbury’s shareholders passed every resolution at Thursday’s AGM, with backing of 99.98% for the company buying back its own stock. Interim results are set for Oct. 22.
