Shares in Zara Owner Inditex Jump on Strong Sales Growth

By Andrea Figueras

Shares in Inditex climbed after the Zara owner reported accelerating sales growth at the start of the key shopping season, pointing to strong Black Friday performance.

The Spanish fashion group, which also houses Massimo Dutti and Pull & Bear, said Wednesday that sales jumped nearly 11% at constant currency from Nov. 1 to Dec. 1 compared with the same period a year earlier.

The stock was up 8% at 53 euros in European morning trading. Over the year to date, shares have climbed 6.8%. Wednesday's share gains helped lift the Spanish IBEX 35 index to a new high, surpassing the 16,700-point mark for the first time.

Inditex made a strong start to its fiscal fourth quarter and its current operations suggest that the company had a positive Black Friday period, RBC Capital Markets analysts Richard Chamberlain and Manjari Dhar wrote in a note.

Excluding the Black Friday performance, sales climbed 9% from Nov. 1 to Nov. 24.

The growth rate was higher than the 6.2% increase that Inditex recorded in the first nine months of the fiscal year, which brought sales at constant currency to 28.17 billion euros ($32.75 billion).

For the third quarter alone, the group logged sales of 9.8 billion euros.

The group's Chief Executive Oscar Garcia Maceiras said Inditex was able to achieve sales growth in a complex market environment. Just like other fashion names, the Spanish company is grappling with intensified competition in the fashion industry from low-cost rivals such as China's Shein. Despite this, analysts at Jefferies said Inditex's results confirmed market share gains, noting that current performance exceeded expectations.

Along with fierce competition, the company is also dealing with the impact of President Trump's tariffs on imported goods to the U.S. The country is a very relevant market for the group, but Inditex's market share there is still low, the CEO said.

The group said its continuing store optimization plan should drive further gains in store productivity. It also noted that its logistics-expansion plan remained on track.

Inditex reported a net profit of 4.62 billion euros for the first nine months, up from 4.45 billion euros previously. Operating profit increased to 5.94 billion euros from 5.67 billion euros, with a margin of 21.1%.

The company maintained its guidance for the year ending January 2026. It continues to expect a stable gross margin, plus or minus 50 basis points, as well as a negative currency impact on sales of 4%.

Write to Andrea Figueras at andrea.figueras@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 03, 2025 05:38 ET (10:38 GMT)