The JD Sports Fashion (LSE: JD) share price has been the bane of my portfolio. In fact, the ‘King of Trainers’ has been the bane of the FTSE 100. It shares are down 56% over the last five years, with only a handful of blue-chip stocks faring worse in that time.
I’d been wanting to buy JD Sports for years, so when the shares crashed more than 20% after it issued a profit warning on 4 January 2024, I swooped. Too soon, unfortunately. JD was hit by the cost-of-living crisis, troubles at key partner Nike and unseasonable weather. Instead of recovering as I hoped, it continued to struggle. I averaged down twice in early 2025, but still the shares fell.
It’s a different story today (27 May). JD Sports shares have jumped 6.25% this morning. Yesterday, they climbed 4.7%. Over the last month, they’re up a grand total of 25%. I’m still in the red but my losses are narrowing fast. Can JD Sports keep going?
Should you consider it today?
JD published full-year 2025 results on 7 May, which revealed an 11.7% increase in full-year revenues to £12.7bn. That looked good, but was largely driven by acquisitions. Underlying pre-tax profits actually fell 6.4% to £852m, due to acquisition costs and store expansions.
The stock jumped 3% on the day but the shares only really kicked on the following week. I’m putting that down to wider factors, primarily hopes of a US deal with Iran. If that comes through, oil prices and inflation should ease, making consumers feel better off. That seems to be the thinking here. JD heads the FTSE 100 leaderboard today and the next two high flyers are also retailers – Marks & Spencer Group and Burberry Group.
I’m excited, but wary. Excited, because it suggests that when the economy picks up, JD Sports shares may fly. Wary, because if the current surge is based on vague macro sentiment, it could quickly reverse. I’ve had false dawns with JD before.
I’m also worried about youth unemployment, which is rising in the UK and elsewhere, and could be aggravated by AI. That’s JD’s core demographic.
Does the FTSE 100 stock look good value?
JD Sports has looked stonkingly cheap lately, with the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio dipping below six at times. Today, the P/E has crept up to 9.4. So it’s not as cheap as it was, but still pretty good value.
The group still carries a lot of net debt, £2.8bn at last count. That’s against a market cap of just £4bn. Although last year free cash flow rose 36% to £462m.
I think JD Sports has the potential to outperform and beat the market, and is well worth considering with a long-term view. It’s not going to rise in a straight line, no stock ever does. But it’s great to see it rising again. Game on.
Should you invest £5,000 in JD Sports Fashion right now?
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Harvey Jones owns shares in JD Sports and Burberry Group
