Universal Store Holdings Ltd (ASX:UNI) Shares Are Up Today: A Look at the Latest Update

Sonal Goyal

23 October 2026 02:45 PM AEDT

Universal Store Holdings Ltd (ASX:UNI) Shares Are Up Today: A Look at the Latest Update

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Universal Store Holdings Ltd (ASX:UNI) shares were trading 0.63% higher at $8.02 during the 23 October 2026 session.
FY26 results released on 20 August 2026 showed group sales of $376.1 million and underlying NPAT of $40.5 million.
Statutory NPAT was $18.2 million, reflecting a $23.8 million non-cash Impairment of CTC intangible assets.

Shares in Universal Store Holdings Ltd (ASX:UNI) were trading 0.63% higher at $8.02 during the Trading session on 23 October 2026. During the same session, the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary index (XDJ) was up 1.77%, or 65.10 points, at 3,742.80 at 1:31 pm AEDT, the S&P/ASX 200 (XJO) was up 0.38% at 8,760.00 and the All Ordinaries was up 0.54% at 8,868.90. Universal Store is a specialty retailer of youth casual fashion apparel. The company released its full-year results on 20 August 2026.

Latest development: FY26 group results (20 August 2026)

Universal Store reported FY26 group sales of $376.1 million, up 12.9%. Gross Profit Margin was 62.5%, up 140 basis points. Underlying EBIT was $64.0 million, up 17.2%, underlying NPAT was $40.5 million, up 16.3%, and underlying Earnings Per Share were 52.8 cents, up 16.3%. Statutory NPAT was $18.2 million, down 21.6%, after a non-cash impairment of $23.8 million relating to CTC Goodwill and the THRILLS Brand name. Net cash was $23.3 million, up 35.5%.

A fully franked final Dividend of 17.0 cents per share was determined, bringing the full-year dividend to 43.0 cents, up 11.7%, which represents 81.5% of underlying NPAT. Cost of doing Business rose 100 basis points to 34.1% of sales.

Latest development: brand and network performance

Universal Store brand sales were $313.3 million, up 11.5%, with like-for-like sales growth of 8.1%. Private brands made up 51% of sales, compared with 52% in FY25. Online sales for the Universal Store brand were $39.6 million, up 9.4%, or 12.6% of its sales. Perfect Stranger sales rose 40.8% to $35.9 million, with like-for-like growth of 13.0%. CTC sales fell 9.2% to $36.4 million, with wholesale sales down 18.9% because of reduced US exports and closures of key retail accounts, while CTC in-store like-for-like sales rose 17.8% and online sales fell 10.5%.

The group had 123 physical stores at 30 June 2026, comprising 88 Universal Store, 26 Perfect Stranger and nine THRILLS stores. Five new Universal Store and seven new Perfect Stranger stores opened during the year, with longer-term network aspirations of more than 100 and 60 stores respectively.

Latest development: FY27 trading update

For the first seven weeks of FY27, group direct-to-consumer sales were up 9.1% on the prior period. Universal Store total sales rose 5.5% with like-for-like growth of 2.9%, Perfect Stranger total sales rose 45.8% and CTC direct-to-consumer sales rose 10.1%. The company intends to open 16 to 20 stores across the group in FY27.

About Universal Store and what it does

Universal Store Holdings is a specialty retailer of youth casual fashion apparel, selling through its Universal Store and Perfect Stranger store networks and online channels. It also owns the CTC business, which includes the THRILLS and Worship brands and sells through its own retail and wholesale channels. The group sells a mix of private-label and third-party brands.

Risks and catalysts on watch

Items flagged in the release include the non-cash impairment of CTC intangibles, the decline in CTC wholesale sales, a higher cost of doing business and statutory earnings that were lower than the prior year. The company also referred to continued Investment in team capability and systems.

Items that may attract attention include the planned opening of up to 20 new stores in FY27, the reopening of a temporarily closed Universal Store location in mid FY27, store refurbishments and relocations, and further trading updates.

Closing perspective

Universal Store shares were higher on 23 October 2026 as the consumer discretionary index advanced. The company's latest results, released on 20 August 2026, showed higher sales and underlying earnings, lower statutory profit and a higher dividend. Future updates will be released through the ASX.

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