Next week on the stock market

Greggs is set to release its final trading statement for the 2024 financial year next week, offering a glimpse into both year-end performance and expectations for 2025. The prior quarter ended on a strong note, so all eyes will be on whether that momentum continued into the closing months. Markets are expecting headline revenue growth of just over 12% for the year, pushing annual revenue past the £2.0bn mark.

Beyond the numbers, Greggs has made solid progress on key growth initiatives, including new delivery partnerships, menu upgrades, and extended evening hours. While these strategies are expected to gain further traction next year, the UK budget poses a challenge, with new tax changes likely to add tens of millions in costs.

Next has had a strong 2024, and the fashion retailer’s making a name for itself by repeatedly upgrading its profit guidance. Consumer spending has held up relatively well of late, with a 0.2% rise in retail sector sales in November, excluding the Black Friday shopping frenzy which will fall into December’s figure.

Given its desirable clothing proposition and recent track record, we wouldn’t be surprised to hear that Next captured its fair share of this spending in the run-up to Christmas. That could fuel yet another upgrade to full-year profit expectations in next week’s trading announcement.

Looking to the new year, we continue to see the online channel as the main growth driver despite already accounting for more than half of group sales. With overseas expansion still in its early stages, there’s a long runway here if Next can execute its expansion plans well.

A director of Hargreaves Lansdown plc is a Non-Executive Director of Next plc.

Marks & Spencer smashed its first-half profit expectations in November, thanks to strong food volume growth and continued progress on the cost-cutting programme. Management must be commended for breathing new life into the business, sharpening its food and clothing propositions and helping steal market share away from the competition.

Operational changes and efficiencies are delivering cost savings, which are being used to keep food prices down. This is helping to lure in more families, who spend more on each shop on average. That’s especially helpful in the run-up to Christmas when consumers typically splash out and shopping trollies get piled even higher than usual. We expect there will be plenty for M&S to be jolly about when it releases its Christmas trading update next week. Markets are pencilling in revenue growth of around 5.6% to £13.8bn over the full year, so we’ll be keeping an eye out to make sure everything remains on track.