AO World Shares Slide Despite H1 Profit Beat

AO World (LON: AO.), the online electricals retailer, saw its shares fall sharply today despite reporting first-half profit growth of more than 20%. The stock was last quoted at 88p, down from a previous close of 93p.

The shares are down 5.38% from yesterday’s 93p close. In today’s session they have ranged between a high of 95p and a low of 87.1p, on volume of 475,605 shares.

The move followed a pre-close trading statement published this morning ahead of AO World’s 4pm AGM, covering the six months from 1 April 2026 to 30 September 2026, the first half of its 2027 financial year. The company reported group revenue up 5.5% year-on-year and profit before tax up more than 20% to approximately £21.5m. Despite that improvement, AO World kept its full-year profit expectations unchanged, citing planned strategic investment, including an ERP programme, a system upgrade covering enterprise resource planning, and tougher comparatives in the second half.

The reaction runs counter to the headline beat itself. With full-year guidance unmoved despite stronger first-half numbers, and management flagging cost and investment headwinds into the second half, the statement appears to have been read as a sell-the-news event rather than a signal that full-year forecasts could rise. Founder and chief executive John Roberts struck an upbeat tone on the half’s performance.

We’ve carried our momentum into the new financial year with continued growth against a sluggish backdrop in the wider UK retail sector. Group revenue is up over 5%, profit is up more than 20% and cash generation remains strong.

John Roberts, Founder and CEO, AO World plc

AO World’s next scheduled event is its AGM later today, where shareholders and analysts may seek further detail on the unchanged full-year outlook and the scale of the planned ERP investment. The company describes itself in the statement as “the UK’s most trusted electricals retailer.”