YouGov (YOU) H2 2026 earnings summary

Executive summary

• FY26 revenue was £396.6m, up 2% reported and underlying, marking a 16th consecutive year of revenue growth; FY27 is expected to be the 17th.

• Adjusted operating profit fell 11% to £54.3m amid a challenging market and continued Shopper investment.

• Priorities included stabilizing performance, restoring innovation, improving cost discipline, delivering the Value Delivery Plan and completing the CEO transition.

• AI was positioned as a growth opportunity through client demand, internal efficiency and AI-enabled products, alongside industry pressures on research.

Financial highlights

• Statutory operating profit was £21.2m, down 32%; adjusted operating profit was £54.3m, down 11%, and adjusted EPS was 30.2p, down 11% reported and 9% underlying.

• Adjusted operating profit margin was 14%, versus 16% in FY25; it was stable excluding Shopper investment.

• Separately reported items totalled £33.1m versus £29.3m in FY25, including £17.2m of impairment charges; amortisation was £10.1m versus £15.8m.

• H2 adjusted operating profit was marginally above the prior-year period; cash conversion rose to 76% from 71% in FY25.

Outlook and guidance

• FY27 adjusted operating profit guidance is £58m–£61m, representing stated YoY growth of 7%–12%; 49% of expected revenue was contractually secured, marginally above last year.

• FY27 starts encouragingly, with expected revenue growth across the core business and marginal Shopper growth; no formal revenue-growth figure was given.

• Shopper investment is expected to continue at broadly FY26 levels, with benefits expected to begin flowing through to revenue in H2 FY27.

• The first two Value Delivery Plan waves target a 350 bps annualized adjusted operating profit margin uplift against the H1 FY26 margin of 12.3%, expected before FY27-end.

• Research automation is in internal testing, with client-project launch expected in H2 FY27.