Currys – take advantage of the price pull-back on CEO stepping down news, shares 119p, on just 8.9 times earnings, SQC TP 190p

Mark Watson-Mitchell
Mar 31
3 min read

Mark Watson-Mitchell – 31.03.2026

Last Thursday 26^th March, there was something of a shock announcement from Currys (LON:CURY).

The £1.2bn capitalised electricals retailer declared that Group Chief Executive Alex Baldock will step down after eight years to pursue a new external opportunity, with the board initiating a search for his successor.

The company confirmed that trading remains in line with expectations, and it continues to anticipate Group adjusted profit before tax between £180m and £190m, representing an 11-17% year-on-year increase.

Furthermore, it stated that it expects net cash to be above its £100m target by the year-end on Saturday, 2^nd May.

In reaction to the news, the company’s shares fell from 137p to as low as 116.70p, before recovering slightly to 119p – around which level I consider that buyers could be expected to pick up cheap stock.

Management Comment

Group Chairman Ian Dyson stated that:

"On behalf of the Board, I want to thank Alex for his exceptional contribution to Currys.

During his eight years here, he has achieved a huge amount, transforming the business in the face of some difficult headwinds.

Currys is very well positioned for future success with a strategy that is clearly working, great financial health and a very strong leadership team.

On behalf of everyone at Currys, I wish Alex all the best in his future endeavours."

Group CEO Alex Baldock stated that:

"My eight years at Currys have been simply the best of my career, and I'll always be a loyal Currys customer, advocate and shareholder.

I'm immensely grateful to the thousands of amazing colleagues I've been privileged to work with, and proud of what that team is building, a world class Currys for colleagues, customers and shareholders.

Currys' next chapter can be its most exciting yet.

But it's time for someone else to steer the business there, and time for me to move on to a new opportunity.

I'll be here to ensure our progress doesn't skip a beat and to ensure a smooth transition to my successor."

Current trading update

Since the Peak Trading Update announced on Wednesday 21^st January, the Group has traded in-line with expectations and continues to expect Group adjusted profit before tax of £180-190m, +11-17% YoY.

For the year-end to Saturday 2^nd May, it expects net cash to be above the £100m target.

Broker’s View

Panmure Liberum analysts Wayne Brown, Ben Hunt and Anubhav Malhotra reiterated their Buy rating on the Group’s shares, with a 200p Target Price.

They stated that Baldock steps down at a time when Currys has never been in better shape.

“He leaves Currys a significantly stronger business than the one he inherited in 2018, when his turnaround strategy was first introduced.

During his tenure, he oversaw the exit of the Carphone Warehouse business, the sale of the Greece operation, and the successful transition to a fully omnichannel model.

He also steered the company through both the Covid crisis and the cost‑of‑living crisis, strengthening its resilience and accelerating market‑share gains profitably.

As a result, Currys has delivered a substantial reduction in the pension deficit, moved from a net‑debt to a net‑cash position, and restored margins back to pre-covid levels in the face of tough macroconditions.

Today, the business benefits from stickier revenues, strong new growth prospects, and a capable leadership team ready to execute the next phase. Importantly, trading since the Peak update has remained in line with expectations.”

Their estimates for the current year are for sales of £9,070m (£8,706m), with pre-tax profits of £184.9m (£162.0m), lifting earnings to 13.4p (11.3p) and its dividend per share to 2.6p (1.5p).

For the coming year, their figures suggest £9,287m sales, £195.0m profits, 14.4p earnings and 2.8p per share in dividends.

My View

This cash-rich group’s shares look to be extremely undervalued at the current 119p, trading on just 8.9 times current-year earnings.