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Card Factory

CARD.L
58
Specialty Retail · Consumer Cyclical
Price
75.80 GBp
+0.80 (+1.07%)
Market Cap
£258.2M
Exchange
London Stock Exchange
Winston Score
58
Winston is curious
A decent business — some strong pillars, some weaker.
Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through Jan 31, 2026
How the score breaks down
Quality
Mixed
Growth
Mixed
Cash Flow
Exceptional
Stability
Exceptional
Valuation
Exceptional
Dividends
Good

Share count rising — dilution

+1.6% over 4y

The company has issued more shares over this period, which dilutes each existing shareholder’s stake.

Diluted shares outstanding: 343.6M (2022) → 349.0M (2026)

Winston Score History

The full picture

Card Factory is a UK retailer that sells greeting cards, gift wrap, balloons, and small gifts. It runs hundreds of physical stores across the United Kingdom, targeting everyday shoppers looking for affordable cards and gifts for birthdays, holidays, and other occasions. It is one of the largest dedicated greeting card retailers in the UK.

The company makes most of its money through direct sales in its own stores, which lets it keep prices low by designing and printing many of its cards in-house rather than buying from outside suppliers. It operates almost entirely in the UK, with a small and growing online and partnerships channel. That in-house production model is its main competitive edge, helping protect margins against rivals. The key risk is that physical retail foot traffic continues to decline as more people shop online or simply send digital messages instead of paper cards.

Growth Profile

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+8.6% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow revenue growth

EPS Growth

-33.1% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Earnings declining

R&D Spend

£0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (4%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

8.3%ownership

Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

£20M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Growth context

Card Factory is growing revenue at 9% year-over-year. The Winston Score measures business quality today — these growth metrics show what could matter tomorrow.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

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Quality

Profit per sale
Gross Margin
17.5%
Thin — 17.5% gross margin
Profit after running costs
Operating Margin
13.9%
Healthy — 13.9% operating margin
Return on the money invested
ROCE
13.9%
Good — 13.9% return on capital

ROIC between 5% and 15%. They earn 5 to 15 cents back per year on every dollar invested.

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Growth

Sales growth
Sales YoY
+7.4%
Steady sales growth (+7.4% YoY)
Profit growth
EPS YoY
-36.1%
Earnings shrinking (-36.1% YoY)

Earnings per share down more than 10%. Either a bad year, or a real decline.

How steady the profit is
EPS Consistency
4/8 quarters
Earnings inconsistent quarter-to-quarter

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash
Cash Conversion
341%
Turns 341% of profit into real cash
Spare cash per sale
FCF Margin
16.3%
Converts sales into free cash efficiently (16.3%)

FCF margin between 10% and 20%. Every $100 in sales becomes $10 to $20 in real cash.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns
Debt / Equity
0.24
Conservative — low debt load (0.24)
Covers its interest
Interest Cover
100.00x
Comfortably covers interest (100.0x)

Interest coverage above 8. Profits cover interest many times over.

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Valuation

Price vs profit
P/E Ratio (TTM)
8.5x
Attractive valuation — P/E 8.5

P/E under 10. The price tag is small relative to last year's profit.

Cheaper or dearer next year
P/E vs Forward
+3.1
GROWING
Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (8.5 → 5.4)

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Dividends

Dividend
Dividend Yield
6.60%
Healthy income — 6.60% yield

Yield above 6% — often a flag the market is pricing in a cut.

Dividend record
Dividend Growth
-53.1%
Dividend cut (-53.1% YoY) — warning sign

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