Sainsbury’s Shares Rise On Strong Q1 Sales

Shares in J Sainsbury (LON: SBRY) climbed more than 2% on Tuesday after the UK’s second-largest supermarket reported an encouraging start to its financial year, driven by continued volume growth and market share gains.

The stock rose to 323.2p — touching an intraday high of 326.7p — following the release of Sainsbury’s first quarter trading statement covering the 16 weeks to 20 June 2026. Total retail sales excluding fuel grew 2.7% year-on-year to £9.15 billion, while like-for-like sales rose 2.1%.

The standout performer was grocery, where sales jumped 3.6% to £7.6 billion, with Groceries Online surging 12.5% as strong demand for home delivery and rapid delivery services continued.

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Fresh food outpaced the broader market with sales up 5%, and the grocer’s premium Taste the Difference range grew 6%, with more customers trading up despite the cost-of-living squeeze.

Chief Executive Simon Roberts credited Sainsbury’s value credentials, including the “biggest Aldi Price Match in the market” and Nectar Prices across around 11,000 products, for driving footfall to bigger, weekly trolley shops. The chain also posted record customer satisfaction scores for availability in supermarkets.

Not all divisions thrived — Argos sales slipped 0.5% and General Merchandise and Clothing fell 3.7%, reflecting subdued consumer spending and a deliberate reduction in non-food space in favour of food.

Full-year guidance was maintained, with underlying operating profit expected between £975 million and £1.075 billion and retail free cash flow of more than £500 million.