Watches of Switzerland Group – First-Half Trading Update next Tuesday, shares up 56% in last 11 months, more to come?
Mark Watson-Mitchell – 06.11.2026
The shares of the Watches of Switzerland Group (LON:WOSG) were up to 801.50p in mid-July this year, they are currently 747p, valuing the business at around £1.72bn.
Ahead of announcing its Interim Results on Thursday 10th December, the company will issue its First-Half Trading Update next Tuesday, 10th November.
Following on from corporate comments on its AGM in early September, the statement should be positive in its content.
SQC Research has seen a 56% improvement in the WOSG share price in the last eleven months – the question now is will that strength continue?
The Business
The Watches of Switzerland Group is the UK's largest luxury watch retailer, operating in the UK and US comprising eight prestigious brands; Watches of Switzerland (UK and US), Mappin & Webb (UK), Goldsmiths (UK), Mayors (US), Betteridge (US), Deutsch & Deutsch (US), Analog:Shift (US) and Hodinkee (US), with a complementary jewellery offering.
The group also owns the exclusive distribution rights for Roberto Coin in the US, Canada, Central America and the Caribbean.
It has 186 showrooms across the UK and US including 75 dedicated mono-brand boutiques in partnership with Rolex, OMEGA, TAG Heuer, Breitling, TUDOR, Longines, Grand Seiko, Roberto Coin, BVLGARI and FOPE and has a leading presence in Heathrow Airport with representation in Terminals 3, 4 and 5, as well as seven retail websites.
The group is the UK's largest retailer for Rolex, OMEGA, Cartier, TAG Heuer and Breitling watches.
AGM Trading Update
On Thursday, 3rd September, the group reiterated its full-year 2027 guidance, anticipating 5-10% revenue growth at constant currency and a 40-80 basis point expansion in adjusted EBIT margin.
The company reported consistent trading momentum in the 17 weeks to August 30, 2026, with strong performance in the US and improving UK market conditions, supported by growth in luxury jewellery, certified pre-owned, and e-commerce.
Showroom development is on track, with several new openings and refurbishments planned, including in Avalon, Georgia, and Chelmsford and Watford in the UK. Capital expenditure is projected between £60-£7m, with free cash flow conversion expected around 70%.
The Equity
There are some 233.3m shares in issue.
Institutional investors own around 79.5% of the group’s equity.
The larger holders include Capital Research & Management (5.28%), BlackRock Investment Management (4.65%), Schroder Investment Management (4.16%), Vanguard Capital Management (3.84%), Hugh Duffy (3.65%), Alberta Investment Management (3.18%), Aegon Asset Management (2.52%), UBS Asset Management (2.44%), Jupiter Fund Management (2.32%), Select Equity Group (2.21%), JP Morgan Asset Management (2.20%), Legal & General Investment Management (2.08%), T Rowe Price Group (2.07%) and Barclays Bank (2.04%).
Broker Views
There are nine analysts closely following the group, four of whom rate the shares as a Buy, one looks for them to Outperform, while the balance four class the shares as a Hold.
The consensus average Target Price is 662p, with the Lowest at 430p and the Highest at 850p.
The Highest TP was set by UBS, having raised it from 600p previously, switching their upgrade to Buy (neutral) – noting there has been an accelerating demand for luxury timepieces in the US.
UBS analyst Zuzanna Pusz suggested that there was a resilient demand for Rolex, which accounts for more than half of group sales, and by accelerating trends across other high-end brands such as Cartier.
Pusz now forecasts constant-currency sales growth of 10% in the financial year to April 2027, ahead of both the market consensus and company guidance.
UBS believes the discount to the company's historical valuation is no longer justified.
The bank's new target restores a price-to-earnings multiple of around 15 times, broadly in line with the stock's long-run average.
Consensus estimates for the current year to end April 2027, are for revenues of £1,994.5m (£1,827.9m), with adjusted EBIT of £180.9m (£154.8m) and adjusted earnings of 53.6p (45.2p) per share.
For the 2028 year, the estimates are for £2123.6m sales, £197.3m EBIT and 59.3p earnings per share.
My View
I have a strong fancy that this group will make a good showing over the next couple of years.
Investors should sit tight even if the markets wobble somewhat.
(Profile 02.12.25 @ 478p set a Target Price of 550p*)
(Profile 02.02.26 @ 518p set a Target Price of 600p*)
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