UK profit warnings reach highest quarterly total since 2024

UK-listed companies issued 65 profit warnings in the third quarter of 2026, the highest quarterly total since the end of 2024, according to an analysis by EY. The count rose from 59 in the second quarter but remained below the 71 warnings recorded in the fourth quarter of 2024. EY’s analysis found that policy change and geopolitical uncertainty were cited in 54% of the third-quarter warnings, the largest share for that category in more than 25 years of the firm’s data. Rising costs featured in 35% of warnings, while 38% specifically referred to the conflict in the Middle East. The figures describe factors cited in companies’ warnings; they do not establish that any one factor caused an individual company’s results. The analysis also found that 17% of UK-listed businesses issued at least one profit warning in the 12 months to the end of the third quarter. A profit warning is an announcement that a company expects its earnings to fall short of previous market expectations. Household goods and home construction recorded eight warnings during the quarter, including six from listed housebuilders. Those builders issued 14 warnings in 2026 through the third quarter, compared with 10...