The outlook from Next PLC (LSE:NXT) when it delivers a first-quarter update next Thursday, 8 May, could go either of two ways.
Having only just upgraded guidance for the current year at its forecast-beating set of results in late March it might seem unlikely that it could do so again so soon.
However, the FTSE 100-listed clothes chain is a perennial beat-and-raise merchant; setting guidance at what some might call a conservative level that it is confident of exceeding and simulanously raising guidance to a beatable level for the next time.
Back in March, it said full-price sales in the first eight weeks of the financial year were ahead of expectations, leading to revenue and profit guidance being lifted for the 12 months to January 2026
New guidance for the first six months to 31 July were for full-price sales increasing 6.5%, resulting in sales for the full-year being up 5.0%.
Pre-tax profit guidance, as a result, increased to £1.066 billion for the full year, which would be an increase of 5.4%, with anticipated share buybacks expected to result in post-tax earnings per share climbing 8.5%.
Analysts at UBS said they Q1 sales to be up in line with that guidance, "driven by strong UK online and overseas channel".
Any changes to the sales and PBT outlook "will be key" for the share price reaction.
"With shares +10% over last month, we think the broader market is pricing in strong Spring/Summer trading and potentially a FY PBT upgrade," UBS said, with Next the Swiss bank's 'top pick' in the European retail sector.