Is Marks & Spencer profitable in 2026?

Yes. For FY25/26 (year to 28 March 2026), M&S reported group revenue of £17.27bn and adjusted profit before tax of £671.4m, though that figure included £100m of cyber-insurance proceeds tied to the April 2025 cyberattack.

Did Marks & Spencer get hacked?

Yes. In April 2025 M&S suffered a major ransomware attack linked to the Scattered Spider/DragonForce collective, forcing a six-week suspension of online orders. The incident cost an estimated ~£300m in operating-profit impact before insurance mitigation.

Who owns Marks & Spencer?

M&S is a publicly traded FTSE-listed company (ticker MKS) with no controlling shareholder. Chairman is Archie Norman and CEO is Stuart Machin. Market capitalisation was roughly £7.7-8.2bn as of mid-to-late July 2026.

Is M&S clothing losing to Zara and Shein?

M&S's Fashion, Home & Beauty sales fell 7.7% in FY25/26 (year to 28 March 2026), a decline the company largely attributes to the April 2025 cyberattack disruption, while faster mid-market rivals like Shein, Zara and Primark continue taking share in the same segment.

Could AI replace jobs at Marks & Spencer?

M&S is deploying AI internally rather than replacing its retail footprint: it rolled out 11,000 Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses to store managers in March 2026 and set a 2024 target for AI to write 80% of product descriptions, per company statements.

Is M&S's food business growing?

Yes. In FY25/26 (to 28 March 2026), M&S Food sales rose 7% in value and 3.3% in volume, and M&S product sales via Ocado.com surpassed £1bn for the first time, up 17.7%, according to the company's FY25/26 earnings call.

Consumer brands · United Kingdom

Marks & Spencer Group plc

marksandspencer.com ↗

British retailer selling own-brand food and clothing through stores and Ocado.com.

Defensible for now

Assessed 23 July 2026 · Evidence as of 23 July 2026

Real protection, with named pressure against it.

On the recordSince 23 July 2026 · Checkable from November 2026 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: H1 FY2026/27 results show whether Fashion/Home/Beauty decline is temporary or lasting

The call

M&S's food business keeps growing and stays trusted, while its clothing arm keeps losing ground to faster rivals, with cyber risk and an Ocado dispute still open.

Marks & Spencer sells clothes, home goods, and premium groceries across the UK. Its food business is genuinely hard to replace because of 140 years of supplier relationships and customer trust, but its fashion and home sections are losing customers to faster, cheaper brands like Shein and Zara that move trends quicker. The company faces three near-term unknowns: a legal dispute with its Ocado grocery partner over money and control, a cyber attack that cost hundreds of millions and may have scared away shoppers, and whether it can rebuild fashion sales or if that damage is permanent.

Why

AI pressure: Shein's AI-driven trend-forecasting and pricing engine. Shein's algorithms spot and price trends in days, pulling fashion shoppers away from M&S's slower design cycle. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.

Bigger players: Zara (Inditex). Zara's global scale and faster restocking keep eating into M&S's clothing sales, now down 7.7% a year. Could a giant copy it? Probably.

What protects it. Its exclusive own-brand food suppliers and top-trusted UK brand name keep shoppers loyal even as clothing sales slip.

What would change this call

Fashion/Home/Beauty sales trend in Q1 FY26/27 results. Shows whether the 7.7% decline was cyberattack disruption or lasting share loss to Zara/Shein/Primark.
Resolution or settlement terms of the Ocado Group joint-venture dispute. Reveals size of financial overhang on M&S's profitable grocery/online food business.
Any new cyber incident disclosure or regulatory action under the UK Cyber Security and Resilience Bill. Indicates whether defences have hardened since the 2025 attack or remain exposed.

Key numbers

Food sales +7%, Fashion/Home/Beauty -7.7% (2026-03-28)
Cyberattack cost ~£300m in profit (2025-11-01)
Group revenue £17.27bn, up 25% (2026-03-28)

Named risks

Unresolved Ocado Group dispute over 2019 joint-venture performance targets creates financial overhang. Severity: high
Second material cyberattack before defences fully harden, following April 2025 incident. Severity: high
Fashion/Home/Beauty sales decline may reflect structural mid-market erosion, not just cyberattack disruption. Severity: high
New UK Cyber Security and Resilience Bill may impose added compliance costs within 6 months of April 2026. Severity: medium
Headcount reporting discrepancies (59.8K to 73.3K) obscure true workforce trend. Severity: low

Rivals, as read in July 2026

Rival	Direction	Evidence
Shein	gaining on	M&S Fashion/Home/Beauty sales fell 7.7% in FY25/26 amid mid-market fast-fashion pressure, reported 2026-05-27
Zara (Inditex)	gaining on	Cited as taking share in M&S's fashion segment during FY25/26 sales decline of 7.7%
Primark	gaining on	Named as mid-market competitor pressuring M&S Fashion/Home/Beauty, FY25/26
Tesco, Sainsbury's	contesting	Both run premium own-label lines (Finest, Taste the Difference) competing directly with M&S Food's 7% growth, FY25/26
Amazon	gaining on	M&S Food and Ocado grocery model has held ground as Amazon Fresh/Whole Foods struggled in UK fresh grocery

Questions people ask

Is Marks & Spencer profitable in 2026?: Yes. For FY25/26 (year to 28 March 2026), M&S reported group revenue of £17.27bn and adjusted profit before tax of £671.4m, though that figure included £100m of cyber-insurance proceeds tied to the April 2025 cyberattack.
Did Marks & Spencer get hacked?: Yes. In April 2025 M&S suffered a major ransomware attack linked to the Scattered Spider/DragonForce collective, forcing a six-week suspension of online orders. The incident cost an estimated ~£300m in operating-profit impact before insurance mitigation.
Who owns Marks & Spencer?: M&S is a publicly traded FTSE-listed company (ticker MKS) with no controlling shareholder. Chairman is Archie Norman and CEO is Stuart Machin. Market capitalisation was roughly £7.7-8.2bn as of mid-to-late July 2026.
Is M&S clothing losing to Zara and Shein?: M&S's Fashion, Home & Beauty sales fell 7.7% in FY25/26 (year to 28 March 2026), a decline the company largely attributes to the April 2025 cyberattack disruption, while faster mid-market rivals like Shein, Zara and Primark continue taking share in the same segment.
Could AI replace jobs at Marks & Spencer?: M&S is deploying AI internally rather than replacing its retail footprint: it rolled out 11,000 Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses to store managers in March 2026 and set a 2024 target for AI to write 80% of product descriptions, per company statements.
Is M&S's food business growing?: Yes. In FY25/26 (to 28 March 2026), M&S Food sales rose 7% in value and 3.3% in volume, and M&S product sales via Ocado.com surpassed £1bn for the first time, up 17.7%, according to the company's FY25/26 earnings call.

Timeline

2026-03-28FY25/26 year end: revenue £17.27bn, adjusted profit before tax £671.4m including £100m cyber-insurance proceeds
2026-03-25M&S rolls out 11,000 Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses to store managers and support staff
2025-11-06Times reports profits fell 99% from £136m interim cyberattack hit
2025-07-01Four UK teenagers arrested in connection with April 2025 M&S cyberattack
2025-06-10M&S reopens online orders six weeks after cyberattack
2025-04-06Ocado Retail becomes M&S consolidated subsidiary after Ocado Group surrenders certain JV rights
2025-04-01M&S hit by major ransomware attack attributed to Scattered Spider/DragonForce collective

Revision history

23 July 2026

First assessed. Defensible for now. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.

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