Asos expects to beat full-year guidance as growth rate improves

Asos PLC on Thursday raised its full-year guidance, encouraged by what it described as "a period of strong progress".

The London-based online fashion retailer said it had returned to growth in gross merchandise value in the fourth quarter.

Asos uses gross merchandise value as a primary revenue indicator. It defines GMV as adjusted retail sales plus revenue attributable to third-party brand partners, net of returns and excluding sales tax.

Asos said its GMV growth rate improved in each quarter throughout the 12 months to August 30, 2026, reaching low-single-digit growth in the fourth quarter. However, GMV in financial 2026 fell 5% compared with a year earlier.

The company previously reported GMV of £2.5 million in financial 2025.

Asos said it now expects to report a gross margin of over 50%, ahead of its previous guidance of between 48% and 50%. The improvement was driven by better sourcing, full-price inventory sales, and the expansion of its flexible fulfilment model, which allows third-party brands to deliver orders directly to Asos customers.

It also expected adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to be above the midpoint of its previous guidance range of between £150.0 million and £180.0 million.

Adjusted Ebitda was more than 25% higher in financial 2026 than a year earlier, driven by improved gross margin, lower returns rate and continued cost discipline, ASOS said.

The company estimated it had 16.4 million active customers at the end of financial 2026, down 0.6% from 16.5 million at the end of the first half of the year.

Total customers grew in the fourth quarter compared with the third, marking the first quarter of growth since 2022.

Asos said net debt fell to £110.0 million on August 30 from £184.7 million a year earlier.

Asos shares were up 8.6% at 467.00 pence in London on Thursday morning. Over the last year, Asos shares have risen 56%, although they have fallen 86% over the last five years.

The company said it will provide more details on its full-year results on November 5.

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