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J Sainsbury

SBRY.L
54
Grocery Stores · Consumer Defensive
Exchange
London Stock Exchange
Winston Score
54
Winston is curious
Mixed quality — meaningful strengths and weaknesses.
Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through Feb 28, 2026
How the score breaks down
Quality
Mixed
Growth
Mixed
Cash Flow
Strong
Stability
Strong
Valuation
Strong
Dividends
Exceptional

Winston Score History

The full picture

J Sainsbury plc is one of the largest supermarket chains in the United Kingdom, operating hundreds of grocery stores under the Sainsbury's brand. It sells food, household goods, and clothing to everyday shoppers across the UK. The company also owns Argos, a catalogue-style retailer selling electronics, toys, and home products, which sets it apart from pure-play grocers.

Sainsbury's makes money primarily through in-store and online grocery sales, with additional revenue from Argos, financial services, and its Nectar loyalty program. It operates almost entirely within the UK, generating roughly £30 billion in annual revenue, making it the second-largest grocery retailer in the country behind Tesco. Its Nectar loyalty scheme and the Argos store-within-a-store format provide some differentiation, but grocery retail is intensely competitive, with discount chains like Aldi and Lidl continuing to take market share from traditional supermarkets, which remains the key ongoing risk to the business.

Growth Profile

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

Revenue Growth

+2.9% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow revenue growth

EPS Growth

+17.4% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Steady EPS growth

Insider Activity

23.9%ownership

Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

£1.2B cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

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

Growth context

J Sainsbury is growing revenue at 3% 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

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Quality

Profit per sale
Gross Margin
6.2%
Thin — 6.2% gross margin
Profit after running costs
Operating Margin
2.9%
Thin — 2.9% operating margin
Return on the money invested
ROCE
12.4%
Good — 12.4% 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
+2.5%
Nearly flat sales (+2.5% YoY)
Profit growth
EPS YoY
+13.0%
Earnings growing (+13.0% YoY)

Healthy double-digit earnings growth — what compounders look like.

How steady the profit is
EPS Consistency
5/8 quarters
Mixed — about half the quarters showed growth

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash
Cash Conversion
468%
Turns 468% of profit into real cash
Spare cash per sale
FCF Margin
3.5%
Thin free cash flow (3.5%)

FCF margin between 0% and 10%. Some cash from sales, but not a lot.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns
Debt / Equity
0.17
Conservative — low debt load (0.17)
Covers its interest
Interest Cover
2.70x
Tight — interest eats into profit (2.7x)

Interest coverage between 1 and 3. Profits cover interest, but with little room to spare.

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Valuation

Price vs profit
P/E Ratio (TTM)
19.8x
no trend
Fair value — P/E 19.8

P/E in the normal range. Price is roughly $15 for every $1 of yearly profit.

Cheaper or dearer next year
P/E vs Forward
+7.3
GROWING
Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (19.8 → 12.4)

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Dividends

Dividend
Dividend Yield
6.87%
no trend
Healthy income — 6.87% yield

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

Dividend record
Dividend Growth
+46.2%
no trend
Dividend growing fast (46.2% YoY)

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