Games Workshop shares led the FTSE 100 on Wednesday as investors cheered yet another upgrade to earnings expectations from the high-flying tabletop games maker.
The group joined the FTSE 100 at the end of last year following a remarkable run of form since the pandemic, driven by the booming popularity of the Warhammer hobby, an Amazon Prime TV series and bumper branded video game royalties.
Games Workshop told investors in a short statement that trading in January and February had been ahead of expectations across is core and licencing businesses.
It now expects pre-tax profits to come in ahead of expectations in the year to 1 June.
Games Workshop shares were up 8.1 per cent to £148.70 in early trading, bringing 2025 gains to 11.8 per cent.
The shares are up almost 60 per cent over the last 12 months and more than 140 per cent over the last five years.
Superman actor Henry Cavill is primed to star in and produce Amazon’s new Warhammer series
It follows a forecast-beating £126.8million pre-tax profit in Games Workshop’s first half to 1 December, as the group secured record retail store orders in the UK, North America and Continental Europe.
Revenue was boosted by the release of the video game Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, while the group also agreed creative guidelines with Amazon to adapt Warhammer 40,000 into films and television shows.
Set to star Superman actor Henry Cavill, who also serves as an executive producer, it is not yet clear when the show will come out.
Analysts at Peel Hunt upgraded their Games Workshop target share price from 14,400p to 15,000p in response to Wednesday’s update.
The broker added £20million to its core sales forecast and £10million to its earnings forecast, and raised expectations for Games Workshop’s royalty income from £40million to £50million.
Peel Hunt said: ‘There is strong momentum in the business in both Core and Royalties, with the recent Amazon announcement adding to the mix.
‘The shares have performed well, but there continues to be clear momentum.’
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