Rightmove (3JD0) Q4 2025 Earnings Report

The call presented a strong set of operational and financial highlights (9% revenue and profit growth, double-digit EPS growth, robust returns to shareholders, significant product and AI progress, and strong audience engagement). These positives are tempered by near-term headwinds: a weaker H2 2025 driven by budget-related market hesitancy, ongoing New Homes supply weakness, higher operating costs from stepped-up investment and hiring, and a conservative profit growth outlook for 2026 (3%–5%). Strategic growth areas performed strongly (c.25% growth) and management signalled confidence in AI and data-driven product opportunities. Overall, the balance of demonstrated growth, cash returns, and strong platform/AI/product execution outweighs the near-term challenges and planned investment-driven profit moderation.

Rightmove reconfirmed November guidance for 2026: group revenue growth of 8–10% (H1 expected to be below full‑year), Core membership growth of ~1% and blended ARPA growth of £110–£120 (Estate Agency toward the lower end, New Homes higher), Strategic Growth Areas revenue up ~20–30%, and underlying operating profit growth of 3–5% with an underlying margin no lower than 67% (longer‑term profit growth to track revenue). CapEx is guided to c.£16m (<4% of revenue) with increased labour capitalisation and a post‑capitalisation incremental investment of ~£12m in 2026; the company expects to hire over 100 people. Rightmove remains highly cash generative (cash conversion 107% of operating profit) and will continue returning surplus cash: a £90m buyback to 31 July, while last year it returned £220m to shareholders (£141m buybacks, £79m dividends, +21% y/y), announced a final dividend of 6.59p (total 10.64p), reduced share count by 2% (c.40% of issued shares repurchased) and plans to reduce cash balances from ~£43m at Dec to ~£20m by H1.