John Lewis Partnership reports increased sales in 2025/26 results

The John Lewis Partnership, the retail group behind John Lewis and Waitrose brands, has reported improvements in its financial performance in its unaudited full year results for 2025/26.

Across the employee-owned partnership, sales increased to £13.4 billion, up 5% year-on-year. Operating profit margin improved slightly to 2.1%, and cash generated from operations was £595 million, up £63 million year-on-year.

Strong results follow a period of major investment by the group into its stores, technology, supply chain and wider brand initiatives, and which have also driven record customer satisfaction and loyalty. Investment is set to continue into 2026 to further enhance customer experience and progress a multi-year transformation plan for the retailer, such as a recently announced investment into AI technology and the brand’s launch on TikTok Shop.

Following the strong results, the John Lewis Partnership has also confirmed the return of a 2% Partnership Bonus to employees across both Waitrose and John Lewis brands, alongside an already-announced investment in partner pay.

Jason Tarry, Chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, said:

“Our multi-year plan to invest in customers and our brands for the long term is working; we have grown customer numbers and achieved record satisfaction. Despite a subdued market, a challenging lead into the crucial peak period and increased taxes, we took the decision to continue investing in the business, and have delivered cash and profit growth.

“There is much still to do, but our growing cash generation and strong balance sheet enable us to invest more in our brands and our Partners to improve the experience for our customers. I’m really grateful for the commitment and passion our Partners bring and, alongside our continued investment in Partner pay, we’re pleased to be in a position to award a 2% Partnership Bonus. We remain on track to make further progress this year.”

Looking ahead to 2026/27, the retailer remains cautious in its outlook for trading amid a challenging macroeconomic environment. Despite this, the partnership anticipates being well positioned to navigate economic turbulence thanks to improved liquidity and low levels of external borrowing, which is set to enable further investment in John Lewis’ retail first strategy.