Card Factory Company Research (CARD)

FY26 was a frustrating year as the steady progress on Card Factory’s main strategic drivers – growing market share in gifts and celebration essentials, international partnerships performing in line with expectations and the start of the integration of Funky Pigeon – were more than offset by the UK’s H2 weak trading. Management did a good job of controlling the controllables, which paid off handsomely with a significant improvement in adjusted free cash flow. This enables a further and enhanced share buyback in addition to the progressive annual dividend. Despite the ongoing challenging backdrop in the UK, management believes continued execution of the strategy will lead to profit progress in FY27. The main contributor in absolute terms will likely be the annualisation of Funky Pigeon’s profit, however store expansion and space reallocation opportunities in the UK, as well as further progress in partnerships should play their part too. Management also re-iterated medium-term guidance, with high confidence in the North American opportunity.