greggs share price has attracted renewed attention after the bakery chain posted a sharp profit fall and a slowdown in sales growth. Greggs said statutory pre-tax profits fell 17. 9% to £167. 4m for the year to 27 December (ET), while total sales rose 6. 8% to £2. 15bn. The company, which expanded its shop estate to 2, 739 locations and employs more than 33, 000 people, said easing inflation had dampened sales growth and that the consumer backdrop remained challenging.
Greggs Share Price outlook
The headline numbers leave a mixed picture: a 17. 9% drop in statutory pre-tax profit alongside a 6. 8% rise in total sales. Like-for-like sales at established stores increased 1. 6% over the first nine weeks of 2026 (ET), while total sales were up 6. 3% on the back of net store openings. The group opened 121 net stores in 2025 and expanded to 2, 739 locations, targeting about 120 further openings this year and flagging an ambition to grow to significantly more than 3, 000 UK shops over the longer term.
Analysts discussing greggs share price will factor in cost pressures: Greggs expects cost inflation of about 3% this year, roughly half the level in the prior year, alongside rising wage costs tied to increases in the legal minimum wage. The business also noted a drop in its business rates bill after government adjustments and that a spell of particularly hot weather had a material impact on footfall. Energy exposure has been managed by agreeing a price up front to protect the company until 2027, a point the board highlighted when outlining operating headwinds.
The combination of a profit-share bonus payment of £20m to qualifying staff (an average of around £800 for a typical 30-hour contract) and continued investment in store openings and delivery helped support total sales, but those moves also weigh on near-term profitability and will feature in commentary on greggs share price as the market digests the full-year results.
Immediate reactions
Roisin Currie, chief executive of Greggs, said the company had been resilient in a difficult market and rejected the idea that it had reached a structural peak. She commented that she did not believe the business had hit “peak Greggs” and stressed that easing inflationary pressures should provide some support to consumer spending over the current year. Currie added that “we find it challenging and the consumer finds it challenging, ” noting pressure on households’ disposable income from energy and food costs.
Darren Shirley, analyst at Shore Capital, described the trading update as offering “little to shout about as trading slows, ” highlighting the split in market views on the chain’s medium-term momentum and how those views could flow into assessments of greggs share price.
Quick context
Over the past year Greggs has faced cautious shoppers, rising tax and labour costs, and the effect of weight-loss treatments on food purchase patterns. Sales growth has been supported by more deliveries and extended opening hours into the evening even as hotter weather and broader cost-of-living pressures hit footfall.
What’s next
Greggs is targeting around 120 further openings this year and will monitor inflation, wage costs and energy-market risks closely; those variables will feed into investor and analyst focus on greggs share price in the weeks ahead. The company has signalled it expects lower cost inflation this year and a reduction in business rates, but the combination of slower like-for-like growth and continued expansion means stakeholders will be watching operational performance and margins as the next set of trading updates are released.
