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Video games Workshop‘s (LSE:GAW) share price is ripping higher right now. At £181 per share, the FTSE 100 company’s soared one other 12.5% on Thursday (20 November) after releasing first-half buying and selling numbers that trumped forecasts.
The tabletop gaming colossus is now up a whopping 36% since 1 January.
Video games Workshop’s one of many FTSE‘s biggest success tales — with capital good points and dividends mixed, its shares have delivered a mean annual return of 31.7% since 2015.
What can we anticipate subsequent from the area of interest retailer?
Estimates topped
In a short market replace, Video games Workshop stated it expects “core revenue of not less than £310m” at precise change charges for the six months to 30 November. That’s up from the £269.4m it generated in the identical 2024 interval.
Because of this, Video games Workshop stated half-year revenue earlier than tax “is estimated to be not less than £135m.” That’s up from £126.8m beforehand.
Licensing income is tipped at £16m, down from £30.1m a 12 months earlier. Final 12 months’s outcomes have been boosted by the launch of the blockbuster Warhammer 40,000: House Marine 2 online game.
Crowning off one other sturdy buying and selling replace, the Nottingham-based firm introduced one other £1 per share dividend to be paid in January.
That takes whole dividends up to now this monetary 12 months to £3.25 per share. That’s up from £1.85 at this stage final 12 months.
Spectacular numbers
It’s no shock to this Video games Workshop investor that demand for its fantasy merchandise retains ripping increased. Merchandise like these in its Warhammer 40k universe are the trade gold normal and command a loyal worldwide following.
Russell Pointon, analyst at Edison described first-half buying and selling as “impressive… following the two preceding years that included launches of new editions of its main intellectual properties.”
Whereas licensing revenues got here in as predicted, gross sales of core merchandise (like fashions, cube, books and paints) as soon as once more beat Metropolis estimates. But it surely’s not simply sturdy gross sales that appear to be powering Video games Workshop’s earnings.
In keeping with Pointon, the agency’s first-half revenue rise “implies a good improvement in the core operating margin versus H125.” He added that “it takes the achieved H126 profit to just over 60% of our FY26 profit estimate.”
What now?
So what can we anticipate subsequent from Video games Workshop? Whereas buying and selling has remained sturdy of late, additional success isn’t assured given robust shopper circumstances in lots of its areas.
On high of this, it faces rising competitors from different corporations in search of a slice of the profitable fantasy gaming market.
But I’m optimistic it could actually ship a brand new section of explosive progress, pushed by new product releases and an acceleration of licensing exercise. International growth continues and the agency has began work constructing a fourth manufacturing unit to maintain up with breakneck demand.
I’m particularly excited by the corporate’s TV and movie licensing cope with Amazon. This might may supercharge long-term core gross sales and ship gigantic revenues in its personal proper.
Video games Workshop’s share worth has surged 4,160% since 2000. I believe there’s numerous scope for additional good points, making it price critical consideration.
