Important information – investment values and income from investments can go down as well as up, so you may get back less than you invest.
Earnings season is heating up again. Here are five key announcements to look out for.
This article is not a recommendation to buy or sell an investment; it is purely insight into some of the companies that announce results over the next month.
Marks & Spencer
Half-year results on Wednesday 4 November
Earlier this year, Marks & Spencer re-opened its flagship store on London’s Oxford Street. The shop has been transformed, with a beautiful food hall, airy clothing departments and a new beauty section. The revamp reflects the trajectory of M&S as a business. For about a decade, it struggled to impress. Budget food retailers lured customers away, and its clothes were written off as old-fashioned.
Since the pandemic, however, it has staged an impressive turnaround, closing some stores and modernising others; strengthening its supply chain; and improving product lines. The change has been reflected in its share price, which has more than doubled in the past five years.
A cyberattack derailed its progress in 2025. However, the retailer expects to return to profit growth this year, and we will find out more in its interim results on 4 November.1
“We expect both revenue growth and profitability expansion,” Morningstar said. Analysts at Peel Hunt are slightly more cautious, saying profits could be weighted towards the second half of the year. Peel Hunt also flagged differences between departments. It said that “question marks persist in fashion”, while food is “doing a lot of the heavy lifting”.
This is arguably reflected in its valuation, however. Despite its recent success, M&S trades on a lower price/earnings ratio than rivals like Next, Sainbury’s and Tesco.
- More on Marks & Spencer
Roll-Royce
Third-quarter update on Thursday 12 November
It is a nerve-wracking time to be a Rolls-Royce shareholder. Shares tumbled in October, seemingly out of the blue, leaving investors wondering what had gone wrong at the 120-year-old firm.
Rolls Royce had not published weak profit figures or downgraded its forecasts. Its next update is not due until mid-November. Instead, events elsewhere in the market rattled investors. French engine maker Safran recently reported a slowdown in growth at its aftermarket business, which services airplane engines and supplies replacement parts.
This matters because Rolls-Royce makes a lot of its money from servicing engines, rather than selling them. Large aircraft engines can be sold at little profit, or even a loss, with the real money coming from lucrative maintenance contracts that can last for years. Rising oil prices are adding to concerns, as airlines could respond by cutting flights or delaying expansion.
Part of the nervousness also reflects Rolls-Royce's extraordinary success. Its shares have risen more than nine-fold over the past five years, leaving it trading on around 23 times forecast earnings. When a company is valued this highly, investors expect a lot, and even a hint of trouble can prompt them to take profits.
- More on Rolls-Royce
National Grid
Half-year results on Thursday 5 November
All eyes have been on energy prices since conflict broke out between the US and Iran. But National Grid occupies an unusual place in the energy sector.
Rather than producing or selling electricity, its main job is transporting it from where it's generated to where it's needed. This involves moving electricity at high voltage through a vast network of pylons, cables and substations.
National Grid’s revenue comes from us, the customers. But unlike energy suppliers, it doesn't directly benefit from higher electricity prices. Instead, it earns regulated revenues for operating and investing in the network. Put simply, the bigger its asset base, the more money it can potentially make.
The company has benefited from the surge in demand for electricity infrastructure, fuelled by decarbonisation efforts and AI data centres. In May 2024, it announced a £60bn investment push, which has since been boosted to £70bn. This is expected to drive earnings up.
There are some misgivings. National Grid is popular with income investors, but it rebased its dividend in 2024 to fund investment plans. Shareholders also have an eye on its large debt pile, given the state of interest rates.
The company will publish its half-year results on 5 November, although investors have already had some good news. In October, National Grid said annual earnings per share (EPS) growth should be slightly above its previous guidance of 13-15%, thanks to stronger interconnector performance and gains on technology investments.2
- More on National Grid
Burberry
Half-year results on Thursday 12 November
Demand for Burberry’s famous trench coats is booming - but it hasn’t been enough to shake off worries about the luxury sector.
Shares in the likes of Burberry, LVMH, Prada and Kering have struggled this year. Conflict in the Middle East is partly to blame, given it has disrupted spending in travel hubs like Dubai. There are also lingering concerns about Chinese demand, while investors have been drawn towards AI stocks rather than clothes and handbags.
Burberry will publish its interim results on 12 November and there are reasons for optimism. For the first time in three years, it reported growth across womenswear, menswear, accessories and childrenswear in the first quarter of the year. Sales in America were strong and China also delivered encouraging growth. Outerwear and scarves are proving particularly popular, which reflects Burberry’s approach of going back to what it knows best.3
Burberry only regained its place in the FTSE 100 late last year. This followed a tough period for the fashion house. An attempt to go more high-end coincided with a nasty slowdown in the luxury sector. Sales collapsed in 2024 and the company fell into a loss, prompting the departure of its chief executive. The company is now headed by Joshua Schulman, who took over in 2024. The upcoming results should reveal whether his strategy is still paying off.
- More on Burberry
BT
Half-year results on Thursday 5 November
BT has been through a huge amount of change over the past decade. It has had three chief executives, cut thousands of jobs, made billions of pounds of savings and undertaken some major acquisitions.
But the big question for investors remains: can it finally start generating more cash?
BT has poured billions into upgrading Britain's broadband infrastructure through its Openreach business. This involves replacing old copper connections with faster fibre cables and is very expensive work. But as the rollout nears completion, spending should start to fall, potentially freeing up more cash for shareholders.
This is why free cash flow - the money left after a company has covered its operating costs and investments - is such an important measure for BT. The company is targeting around £3 billion in annual free cash flow by the end of the decade, roughly double its current level.4
“BT is not a conventional revenue-growth story,” analysts at Kepler Cheuvreux argue. “It is a UK infrastructure and cash-flow inflection story, centred on whether peak fibre investment can translate into higher Openreach cash generation.”
There are complications, though. BT has a substantial debt pile and faces fierce competition in broadband - not least from “altnets”, independent broadband companies that build, own, and operate their own infrastructure. Its recent acquisition of TalkTalk could give it more firepower against these rivals, although competition regulators are keeping a close eye on the deal.
- More on BT
Source:
1 Marks & Spencer full year results, 20 May 2026
2 National Grid, Pre-Close Update Ahead of 2026/27 Half Year Results, 5 October 2026
3 Burberry First Quarter Trading Update, 17 July 2026
4 BT, results for the half year to 30 September 2025, 6 November 2025
Important information - investors should note that the views expressed may no longer be current and may have already been acted upon. When you are thinking about investing in shares, it’s generally a good idea to consider holding them alongside other investments in a diversified portfolio of assets. Reference to specific securities should not be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell these securities and is included for the purposes of illustration only. This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice.
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