Asos has overtaken high street bellwether Marks & Spencer in market value, and it’s set to continue racing ahead to cement itself as one of the UK’s most valuable retailers.
According to Reuters data, the online retail giant – which was founded only 17 years ago – reached £5.06 billion in market value at closing last night, exceeding heritage retailer M&S’s £4.89 billion.
Meanwhile, the London Stock Exchange (LSE) estimated Asos’ market cap at £5.048 billion, while M&S was £4.89 billion.
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The historic moment comes after Asos and M&S were almost on par with each other last weekend, according to Reuters, when Asos was valued at £4.891 billion compared to M&S’s £4.896 billion valuation.
Analysts now predict that the gap between the heritage retailer and young fashion retailer will widen, with Asos set to power ahead in 2018 and possibly overtake Sainsbury’s, which is valued at £5.3 billion and £5.023 billion according to Reuters and LSE respectively.
While a company’s stock market value is an indication of its expected future earnings, when it comes to sales and profits Asos is still behind M&S.
Asos recorded £1.9 billion of sales and £80 million in profit in the year August 31, compared M&S’s £10.6 billion of sales and £176.4 million in profits for its recent fiscal year ending April 1.
