JD Sports narrows profit guidance as North America sales fall 6.8%

The quarter that forced the reset

Group organic sales fell 1.3 percent in the 13 weeks to Aug. 1, a worse showing than the first quarter’s 0.1 percent decline. Like for like sales dropped 3.1 percent, down from 2.5 percent in Q1. Footwear stayed weak everywhere as several brand partners’ product cycles ran their course, while apparel and accessories grew in every region.

SGIE reported in May that the original guidance came alongside a 10.5 percent jump in full year revenue, as the retailer pivoted from expansion toward efficiency. That pivot is now running into a tougher consumer. Free cash flow guidance didn’t move. JD still expects £460 million to £520 million (€529 million to €598 million), and that’s the number chief executive Régis Schultz is leaning on to reassure the market that this is a demand problem, not a cash problem.

North America turns from growth engine into drag

North America made up 35 percent of the quarter’s sales and did most of the damage. Organic sales fell 4.5 percent there, and like for like sales fell 6.8 percent, though stripping out standalone Finish Line stores narrows that to a 1.0 percent organic decline. Schultz said the region saw “the most acute impact” from a slower cycle for limited release footwear and from back to school shopping sliding from July into early August.

North America overtook the UK as JD’s biggest market in July, right as the retailer began trading on the OTCQX exchange to court American investors. Three months later, the market JD built its US pitch around is the one dragging the numbers down.

Europe and the UK both did better than in the first quarter, though neither is growing yet. Europe’s sales fell 0.4 percent, helped by steady demand for sporting goods in Iberia, Greece and Cyprus. In the UK, sales fell 0.2 percent overall, but like for like sales actually rose 0.8 percent, lifted by strong football shirt sales and a better quarter for the Outdoor business. Asia Pacific, still just 5 percent of the group’s sales, kept growing fast, up 10.2 percent

US banners take the biggest hit by brand

Looking at the business by brand group instead of region: the core JD stores barely moved, down 0.3 percent. The group of US banners that includes Finish Line, Hibbett and DTLR fell 8.0 percent, taking most of the North America hit. The smallest segment, Sporting Goods & Outdoor (Sprinter and Go Outdoors), grew 6.4 percent and had the best quarter of the three.

Running is the exception to the footwear slump

One product keeps showing up as a bright spot no matter which region you look at: running. Schultz talked about “encouraging momentum in performance based running,” and the statement called out running as a strength in North America, Europe and the UK alike, right where the rest of footwear was struggling.

That matches what SGI Europe’s own State of Play 2026: Running report has found all year: more of the growth in running is coming from shorter, more social races and run clubs, not marathon training. That’s good news for a retailer like JD, which sells many brands and can shift quickly toward running even while some of its biggest partners are stuck in a slow patch for sneakers.

The buyback keeps going anyway

JD is now sitting on more cash than debt, a change from a year ago. On Aug. 3 it also started the second £100 million part of its £200 million a year buyback plan. Spending more on buybacks in the same statement where it cuts profit guidance sends a clear message: management still trusts the cash coming in, even if it’s less sure about near term sales. This buyback plan began as part of a bigger push to return cash to shareholders, and this quarter shows that push hasn’t slowed down.