London, June 20, 2026, 19:03 BST
- Tesco ended Friday at 440.8 pence, slipping 2.6% on the day and falling 6.8% from last week’s finish.
- Tesco said first-quarter UK like-for-like sales were up 1.8%. The grocery giant kept its full-year profit forecast between £3.0 billion and £3.3 billion.
- Tesco said it plans to pay out its 9.7-pence final dividend on June 26. The payout follows shareholder approval this week.
Tesco finished the week down as UK sales growth cooled, hitting confidence in the supermarket’s profit outlook. Shares dropped 2.6% on Friday to £4.41, while the FTSE 100 slipped 0.35%. The London market is closed for the weekend.
Tesco left its full-year outlook unchanged. The issue was UK like-for-like sales. This measure, which ignores store openings and closures, rose 1.8% for the 13 weeks to May 30. That missed the average analyst call of 2.3% and slowed from 3.1% growth last quarter.
Group sales stripping out fuel and VAT came in at £16.83 billion, with like-for-like sales up 1%. Ireland was up 3.3%, Central Europe up 0.8%, but Booker – Tesco’s wholesale business – dropped 3.2%. The retailer is holding its outlook for adjusted operating profit at £3.0 billion to £3.3 billion for the year to February 2027, compared with £3.15 billion last year.
Tesco CEO Ken Murphy said the year-on-year comparison was tough and told reporters he “wouldn’t be reading too much into” the slower sales growth. Charles Stanley’s Garry White said Tesco’s decision to keep its guidance unchanged “should reassure investors” that the company is still managing price competition and profits. Reuters
Some areas did better. UK food sales were up 2.6%, while fresh food sales rose 3.6%. The Finest premium range jumped 9%. Online revenue gained 8.9%, and Whoosh, the fast delivery unit, saw growth of more than 30%.
Tesco’s Murphy pointed to a wet spring for weaker spending on events and seasonal food, with some lift from World Cup match days. “The weather effect is the big difference,” he said. Tesco has pushed its Aldi Price Match to over 2,000 Express stores. The Guardian
Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, called the weaker quarter “a temporary blip rather than a bigger trend.” He pointed out that rising employment costs and Tesco’s push on low prices are keeping profit growth behind sales growth. Shares moved lower, showing investors were looking for more from guidance. Hargreaves Lansdown
Tough competition hasn’t let up. Asda posted a pretax loss of £989 million for 2025, hit by price cuts, slower sales and costs tied to its tech update. Tesco has scale on its side, but defending share when competitors push harder can get expensive.
Tesco’s buyback plans could help the shares. By June 18, the group had used £350 million of its £750 million buyback, picking up 76.6 million shares for cancellation. At the annual meeting on Thursday, shareholders backed all resolutions, with the remuneration report passing at 95.18% support.
The risk is still there. Ongoing problems at Booker, another round of food or energy inflation, or a drop in consumer confidence could drag profit to the lower end of Tesco’s range. Tesco has guided for £3.15 billion at the midpoint, about level with last year, so there’s not much room if things go wrong.
Tesco has no trading statement set for the week ahead, with interim numbers coming October 8. Market focus shifts to whether selling after results slows, how ongoing buybacks support the shares, and if grocery demand gets a lift from summer and football.
