Next, one of Britain’s largest clothing retailers, publishes its third quarter trading statement at 7am on Thursday 5 November 2026. The update covers the 13 weeks to Saturday 31 October 2026, according to the company’s half-year report, and it is the first hard read on how British shoppers behaved after the 28 October Budget was trailed and delivered. It lands on the same morning as ASOS’s full-year results, a day after Marks & Spencer and two days after Primark’s owner, making it the busiest results week of the autumn for UK fashion.
The numbers matter well beyond the City. Next sells to 10.5 million UK online customers a year, trades from shops on high streets and retail parks across Britain, and lends to 3.4 million UK credit customers through its nextpay and ‘pay in 3’ accounts. Its September report also confirmed a planned rise in the headline APR on ‘pay in 3’ accounts, from 29.9% to 34.9% for existing customers, starting in the fourth quarter: the quarter that begins straight after the period this statement covers.
In short
- Date and time: Next’s Q3 trading statement is due at 7am on Thursday 5 November 2026, covering the 13 weeks to 31 October.
- The bar: Next guided second-half UK full price sales up 2.0%, cut from 2.8% in September, with group full price sales up 5.8%.
- Profit target: full-year pre-tax profit guidance stands at £1,255m, up 8.4% on last year’s £1,158m.
- Shopper angle: the APR on ‘pay in 3’ accounts is set to rise from 29.9% to 34.9% from Q4; interest applies only if instalments are missed.
- Tough comparison: a year ago Next’s Q3 full price sales rose 10.5%, so even a solid quarter in 2026 will look slower on paper.
When does Next report and what will the statement cover?
Next’s financial calendar lists the third quarter trading statement for 5 November 2026, and its reports page states that “our next publication will be the third quarter trading statement scheduled for 5 November 2026”. The half-year report, published on 17 September, adds the detail: the statement will cover the thirteen weeks to Saturday 31 October 2026. Next normally releases its statements through the London Stock Exchange’s regulatory news service at 7am, which is the embargo time it used for both its August trading statement and its September half-year results.
Unlike half-year or full-year results, a Next quarterly trading statement is short. It typically gives full price sales growth by division, a comparison with the company’s own guidance, any change to full-year profit guidance and an updated view on surplus cash and share buybacks. There is no full profit and loss account, so investors and shoppers alike read the update for direction rather than detail.
Readers who want the primary source can check Next’s own financial calendar, which also lists the interim dividend timetable and a provisional Q4 trading statement date of 6 January 2027. The January update is the one that will show how Christmas and the end-of-season Sale went.
Next’s headline measure is not total revenue. Full price sales, as defined in its August statement, include all items sold in its shops and online at full price, including third-party brands, plus interest income from Next Finance. They exclude Sale events, clearance, Total Platform commission and the sales of subsidiaries such as Reiss, FatFace and Joules.
The definition matters because Next does not chase volume through constant discounting. A quarter in which Next sells more at full price is a quarter in which shoppers paid the ticket price, which is a cleaner signal of demand than a figure flattered by promotions. That makes Next’s update a useful barometer for the wider UK fashion market heading into Black Friday and Christmas.
What did Next say in September, and what has it promised?
Next’s half-year to July 2026 was, in the company’s own words, “much better than we originally anticipated, both in the UK and overseas”. Full price sales rose 7.7%, total group sales including subsidiaries rose 9.0% to £3,540m, and Next Group profit before tax rose 10.5% to £569m, according to the half-year report. Statutory profit before tax was £566m, up 11.2%, and the board declared an interim dividend of 98p per share, payable on 4 January 2027.
Drapers reported at the time that Next lifted its profit guidance after a “better than expected” first half, and TheIndustry.fashion highlighted that the UK outlook had softened even as group sales rose. Both reports, and the company’s own document, point to the same split: a strong international business and a more cautious view of the British consumer. Our preview of Next’s half-year results set out the £1.24bn profit test the company faced going into September; it cleared that bar and raised it.
The guidance Next must now hit
In September, Next raised full-year profit guidance by £12m to £1,255m. The company said the increase came from £5m of extra profit on higher sales and £7m of better than expected cost savings, mainly in warehousing. Full price sales for the year are now guided at around £6.0bn, up 6.7%, with post-tax earnings per share forecast at 820.8p, up 10.3%.
The table below shows how that guidance has moved through the year, using figures from Next’s August trading statement and September half-year report.
| Guidance for 2026/27 | Before 5 August | After 5 August | After 17 September |
|---|---|---|---|
| Next Group profit before tax | £1,218m | £1,243m | £1,255m |
| Growth on 2025/26 | +5.2% | +7.3% | +8.4% |
| Full price sales | £5.9bn (+5.0%) | £6.0bn (+6.3%) | £6.0bn (+6.7%) |
| Post-tax earnings per share | 792.9p | 812.9p | 820.8p |
| Second-half full price sales guidance | n/a | +5.0% | +5.8% |
Two upgrades in two months set a pattern. Next has a long-standing habit of guiding cautiously and then raising its numbers when trading beats the plan, and its August statement recorded sales £70m ahead of forecast in the second quarter alone. Whether that pattern holds through an autumn dominated by Budget speculation is the central question for Thursday.
What UK sales growth is Next guiding for the autumn?
The single most important number in Thursday’s statement will be UK full price sales. In September, Next cut its second-half UK growth estimate from 2.8% to 2.0%, a reduction of about £18m in expected sales, while raising its international online forecast by £40m to growth of 20.5%. The company stressed that UK sales were “currently only just below our previous guidance” when it made the change.
The table below sets out the second-half guidance by division alongside the first-half actuals, taken from the half-year report.
| Full price sales vs last year | First half (actual) | Second half (guidance) | Full year (guidance) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online UK | +7.4% | +3.4% | +5.2% |
| Retail Stores | -1.7% | -0.2% | -0.9% |
| Total UK | +3.6% | +2.0% | +2.7% |
| Online International | +23.9% | +20.5% | +22.2% |
| Total product sales | +8.1% | +6.0% | +7.0% |
| Next Finance interest income | +0.9% | +1.9% | +1.4% |
| Total full price sales | +7.7% | +5.8% | +6.7% |
The second-half guidance spans both the third quarter to 31 October and the fourth quarter to January, so Next does not have to hit 2.0% in the UK in every week. In practice, however, a Q3 UK figure well below 2% would raise questions about the Christmas quarter, while a figure comfortably above it would suggest the September caution was overdone.
Why Next turned more cautious on Britain
Next spelled out its reasoning in a section of the half-year report headed “Next comment on UK economy and outlook for UK sales”. It said it did not anticipate “a precipitous decline in spending, rather a slow, steady decline as the year progresses”. Its “primary concerns are rising inflation, higher mortgage interest costs and a weak employment market”, the company wrote, adding that “these worries will only be compounded if they are accompanied by tax increases”.
Chief executive Lord Wolfson also used the report to argue that further tax rises on investment risked “stifling growth”. Yahoo Finance reported that the Next boss urged Chancellor John Healey to cut spending to rescue the economy, and the company noted that it had been “one of many to warn that increasing taxes and regulation on jobs would undermine employment”, a concern it said “now appears well founded”. Thursday’s statement will be the first chance to see whether Next’s tone has changed now that the Budget has been delivered.
How does this quarter compare with last year?
The comparison is demanding. In its third quarter trading statement on 29 October 2025, Next reported full price sales up 10.5% for the 13 weeks to 25 October 2025, well ahead of its guidance of 4.5%, according to Sharecast’s report of the statement carried by Hargreaves Lansdown. UK sales rose 5.4% in that quarter and overseas sales rose 38.8%. Next then raised its full-year profit guidance by £30m and lifted its fourth-quarter sales guidance.
| Measure | Q3 2025 (actual) | H2 2026 guidance | What it means for Q3 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total full price sales | +10.5% | +5.8% | Growth on top of last year’s double-digit rise |
| UK full price sales | +5.4% | +2.0% | The toughest comparison in the UK for several years |
| Overseas full price sales | +38.8% | +20.5% (online international) | Growth expected to moderate as the ZEOS boost laps |
| Guidance at the time | +4.5% for the quarter | n/a | Beat by 6 points in 2025 |
Next itself flagged why international growth will slow. In August last year it switched its European aggregator business to ZEOS distribution services, which “materially” increased stock availability. The company said this created “a one-off step change” in aggregator sales, so its comparatives “become tougher in the second half”.
Next has been unusually candid about the role of weather. Its half-year report said “part of this overperformance has been the result of two unusually warm summers in the UK”, and its August statement said British weather had been “as warm as last year’s exceptional summer, which we had not anticipated”. Autumn trading depends heavily on when temperatures drop and shoppers start buying coats, knitwear and boots, so the timing of colder weather in October can swing a quarterly figure by a point or more.
Shoppers have also been moving online. The BDO High Street Sales Tracker showed UK online sales up 10.1% in October while in-store sales on the high street grew far more slowly, a split that favours Next’s online-heavy model. In the first half, Next’s UK online full price sales rose 7.4% while its shops fell 1.7%.
What should Next shoppers know about the ‘pay in 3’ APR rise?
For many households the most practical line in Next’s September report sits in the Next Finance section. The company said: “From Q4 this year, we plan to increase the headline APR on ‘pay in 3’ credit accounts from 29.9% to 34.9% for existing customers.” Next’s financial year runs to late January, so its fourth quarter begins in November, immediately after the 13 weeks covered by Thursday’s statement.
‘Pay in 3’ lets customers split the cost of their goods into three equal monthly instalments. Next’s report is clear that the product is interest-free if used as intended: “Interest is only charged if instalments are not paid on time and only on the remaining outstanding balance for the goods.” Customers who pay every instalment on time should therefore see no change in what they pay. The increase hits those who fall behind.
How much more a missed instalment could cost
Next said the change is expected to add around £4m of interest income a year, of which about £1m falls in the current financial year. It explained that the move brings returns on ‘pay in 3’ lending “closer to the returns on ‘nextpay’ accounts”, its revolving credit product. The illustration below converts each APR into an approximate monthly rate; it is a simplified guide, and the exact charge depends on Next’s account terms and statement dates.
| Item | Current ‘pay in 3’ | After Q4 change |
|---|---|---|
| Headline APR (existing customers) | 29.9% | 34.9% |
| Approximate equivalent monthly rate | about 2.2% | about 2.5% |
| Interest on £200 left unpaid for one month (illustrative) | about £4.40 | about £5.05 |
| Interest if every instalment is paid on time | £0 | £0 |
| Expected extra interest income to Next | n/a | about £4m a year |
The amounts per customer are small, but timing matters. The rise takes effect as the Christmas shopping season begins, when credit use typically climbs. Next told investors that UK credit customers were up 8% to 3.4 million over the 12 months to July 2026 and that the growth “was driven by an increase in ‘pay in 3’ accounts”.
Is ‘pay in 3’ the same as buy now, pay later?
Functionally, Next’s ‘pay in 3’ works much like a buy now, pay later plan, but it sits inside a Next credit account rather than coming from a third-party provider such as Klarna or Clearpay. Next’s report notes that both of its credit accounts are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, so they sit under existing consumer credit rules rather than the separate regime the government has brought forward for third-party deferred payment products.
The practical advice is the same as for any short-term credit. Set up a direct debit if the account allows it, check the statement date, and avoid stacking several instalment plans over Christmas. Shoppers who already know they may struggle to pay on time should treat the 34.9% APR as the real cost of the purchase, not the ticket price.
How are wages, National Insurance and the Budget hitting Next’s costs?
Next’s September profit walk-forward, which bridges last year’s £1,158m to this year’s £1,255m guidance, shows the cost pressure in detail. The company expects £42m of extra costs from “wage cost inflation and National Insurance increases”, £27m from higher fuel costs, £44m from marketing spend ahead of sales growth and £11m from higher interest costs. Set against that are £37m from higher bought-in margin and overseas price increases, £25m of efficiencies in warehousing, distribution and stores, and £28m from staff incentives returning to normal levels.
| Profit bridge to 2026/27 guidance | £m |
|---|---|
| Group profit before tax 2025/26 | 1,158 |
| Profit from full price sales growth (online up, stores down) | +110 |
| Marketing spend ahead of sales growth | -44 |
| Wage cost inflation and National Insurance | -42 |
| Increased fuel costs | -27 |
| Higher interest costs | -11 |
| Higher bought-in margin and overseas price rises | +37 |
| Employee incentives returning to normal levels | +28 |
| Warehousing, distribution and store efficiencies | +25 |
| Other and Total Platform | +21 |
| Group profit before tax 2026/27 (guidance) | 1,255 |
Those figures were set before the 28 October Budget, so any new cost burden would most likely show up in guidance for the 2027/28 financial year rather than in Thursday’s numbers. The government has already confirmed that the National Living Wage rises to £13.20 from April 2027, which falls into Next’s next financial year. This is Money reported on 1 November that retailers say the Budget will make it harder to hire young people, echoing warnings the British Retail Consortium made in the run-up to the statement.
In its stores division, Next attributed a 1.0 percentage point hit to margin to wage inflation and two months of the Employers’ National Insurance increase, offset partly by productivity gains. Despite that, Retail Stores’ net margin rose from 8.9% to 9.3% in the first half, and Next guided for store profit of around £190m for the full year.
Next is still opening shops as store sales slip
Next continues to open shops even as store sales edge down. The half-year report said the company expects to open eight new Next stores this year and re-site two existing ones, increasing overall space by about 1.3%, and that six of those stores had already opened, including at Bluewater shopping centre in July 2026. Its investment test for a new store is an internal rate of return of at least 27% and store profitability of 15%.
Like-for-like store sales, which strip out openings and closures, fell 3.3% in the first half, partly because early warm weather in spring 2025 pulled sales forward. Next forecast second-half store full price sales down only 0.2%, close to the 0.3% fall it recorded in the second quarter. Store sales in Q3 will show whether that steadier trend held through the autumn.
Warehouses, delivery and the Elmsall 4 site
Online, the story is about capacity and service. Next said its highly automated Elmsall 3 warehouse in West Yorkshire had cut warehouse wage costs per unit, and it expects warehouse costs to fall to 6.7% of sales this year from 7.4% in 2023/24. It also disclosed plans to spend £9m this year on 84 acres of land next to Elmsall 3 for a potential 1.2 million square foot warehouse, “Elmsall 4”, which it said could accommodate around £2.5bn of additional sales and is forecast to start construction by 2029.
Delivery reliability is the area Next itself flagged as unfinished. The company said the share of parcels not delivered on time and in full improved markedly between February and June, but as volumes increased in July and August, service levels “moved back towards last year’s numbers”. It said eliminating system glitches at high volumes would be a priority, and the peak weeks from Black Friday to Christmas are the real test of that.
What else reports in the same week?
Next’s statement falls in the middle of a crowded week for UK retail results. The table below lists the major scheduled updates, based on company calendars and earlier reporting.
| Date | Company | Update | Key question for shoppers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday 3 November | Associated British Foods (Primark) | Full-year results | Prices, home delivery and the planned split |
| Wednesday 4 November | Marks & Spencer | Half-year results | Online recovery after the 2025 cyber attack |
| Thursday 5 November | Next | Q3 trading statement | UK sales against 2.0% guidance; ‘pay in 3’ APR |
| Thursday 5 November | ASOS | Full-year results | Customer numbers and the October data breach |
The sequence gives an unusually complete snapshot of British clothing demand. Primark’s owner reports first, then M&S reports on 4 November with profit expected to roughly double after last year’s cyber attack, and finally Next and ASOS publish on the same morning. Analysts will read the four together: a strong M&S clothing figure alongside a weak Next UK number, for example, would suggest share shifting between retailers rather than a broad slowdown.
The last time Next reported, it noted that its own brand had benefited in 2025 from “disruption at a major competitor” and that it had planned for that gain to reverse. Next did not name the competitor, but the comment is a reminder that M&S’s recovery and Next’s UK performance are linked.
What could Next say about Black Friday and Christmas?
Next has traditionally stayed out of Black Friday discounting, preferring to hold full prices until its end-of-season Sale, which it has typically opened online around Christmas Eve and in stores on Boxing Day. That approach shapes how it reads its own figures: weeks in which rivals discount heavily can depress Next’s full price sales, while the Sale itself does not count towards its headline measure.
This year the discounting season started unusually early. Several retailers launched early offers in late October, and Very introduced a Black Friday Price Promise letting customers claim back price drops until 4 December. Thursday’s statement will cover only the period to 31 October, but any comment from Next on November trading, stock levels or surplus stock will be read as a signal for how aggressive the market is likely to get.
Next’s half-year report noted that “surplus stock increased by more than sales” in its UK online business, and that third-party brand margins fell partly because markdown sales grew faster than full price sales. For shoppers, higher surplus stock can mean more choice in the end-of-season Sale. For investors, Next usually comments on its stock position and expected Sale clearance in the January statement rather than in November, so any early commentary would be notable.
What would count as a good or bad update?
Next’s statements tend to be judged against its own guidance rather than against analysts’ forecasts, because the company publishes such detailed expectations. Based on the September guidance, the main tests on Thursday are fairly clear.
- UK full price sales: growth at or above 2.0% would support the current guidance; a figure well below it would raise questions about Christmas.
- Online versus stores: Next guided online UK up 3.4% and stores down 0.2% for the half.
- International: the guide is 20.5% growth, against a much tougher comparison than in the first half.
- Profit guidance: any move from £1,255m, in either direction, will be the headline.
- Surplus cash: Next said £180m remained available for buybacks or a special dividend, with a buyback price limit of about £136.50 per share.
A further £114m bond was due for repayment in October, and Next forecast that net debt would peak at around £1,025m in October 2026 before falling to around £815m by the year end. Next said its customer receivables, forecast at £1,360m in January 2027, are “significantly higher than the value of our net debt”. These are balance sheet details, but they explain why Next has room to keep returning cash to shareholders even in a softer market.
For most shoppers, the Q3 statement will not change prices or services overnight. Its value is as an early warning: a strong update tends to mean confident buying and steady stock for Christmas, while a weak one can foreshadow heavier promotions and a deeper Sale. Next reported 16.2 million customers placing an order on its websites in the 12 months to July 2026, up 14%, of whom 10.5 million were in the UK.
The one change that is already decided is the ‘pay in 3’ APR. Shoppers who use the plan for Christmas presents should check their payment dates now, because missing an instalment from the fourth quarter onwards will cost more than it did last year.
Frequently asked questions
When is Next’s Q3 trading statement in 2026?
Next is scheduled to publish its third quarter trading statement on Thursday 5 November 2026, according to its financial calendar. The company normally releases statements at 7am through the London Stock Exchange’s regulatory news service.
What period does the Next trading update cover?
The statement covers the thirteen weeks to Saturday 31 October 2026, as set out in Next’s half-year report. It will include full price sales by division and any change to full-year guidance.
What is Next’s current profit guidance?
Next’s latest guidance, issued on 17 September 2026, is for Next Group profit before tax of £1,255m for the year to January 2027, up 8.4% on the £1,158m it made in 2025/26.
What UK sales growth does Next expect?
Next expects UK full price sales to rise 2.0% in the second half, down from its earlier estimate of 2.8%. That splits into online UK growth of 3.4% and a 0.2% fall in its shops.
Is Next raising the interest rate on ‘pay in 3’?
Yes. Next said it plans to increase the headline APR on ‘pay in 3’ accounts from 29.9% to 34.9% for existing customers from the fourth quarter of its financial year. Interest is charged only if instalments are not paid on time, and only on the outstanding balance.
Will I pay more if I pay my Next ‘pay in 3’ instalments on time?
No. According to Next, ‘pay in 3’ purchases attract no interest if all three instalments are paid on time within three months. The higher APR applies only when payments are late.
Does Next take part in Black Friday?
Next has traditionally not run Black Friday discounts, preferring to keep full prices until its end-of-season Sale, which has usually started online around Christmas Eve and in stores on Boxing Day. Check Next’s own announcements for this year’s dates.
How many shops is Next opening this year?
Next said in September it expects to open eight new Next stores and re-site two existing stores this year, increasing its space by about 1.3%. Six had opened by the time of the half-year report, including Bluewater in July 2026.
When will we know how Next’s Christmas went?
Next’s financial calendar lists a provisional fourth quarter trading statement for 6 January 2027 and provisional full-year results for 24 March 2027. The January update normally covers Christmas trading and the start of the end-of-season Sale.