Future plc owns about 170 specialist media brands, from tech and gaming sites to magazines, plus the Go.Compare insurance comparison site. It earns most of its money from advertising and shopping-link commissions. After returning to growth in 2024, it slid back to falling sales in 2025 and 2026. Profit margins shrank and the shares fell from around 900p to about 310p, while the company kept paying out cash until September 2026, when it paused its buyback to cut debt.
170 specialist brands, three ways to earn
Future calls itself a platform for specialist content. It publishes websites, newsletters, video, magazines and live events. It earns money from advertising, from affiliate commissions on products readers buy through its links, and from direct sales such as subscriptions and newsstand magazines.
It reports three divisions. B2C is the largest, with £235m of half-year revenue. Go.Compare is the FCA-regulated insurance comparison site, with £90m. B2B, which serves business audiences, is small at £24m.
The company sorts its brands into four groups. Destination brands, 9% of revenue, are growing. Brands in transition, 45%, are shrinking. Non-diversified brands, 15%, depend on Google and are shrinking fastest. Portfolio brands, 31%, are run for cash. Management says only 16% of revenue depends directly on website visits. 14 May 2026 4 Dec 2025
Spending to grow, and a return to growth
In December 2023 Future had just reported a 10% organic revenue fall for FY23. The US fell 19%. It launched a two-year, £25m-£30m Growth Acceleration Strategy. It also set a target: mid-single-digit organic revenue growth a year over three years, with a 28-30% adjusted operating margin. The margin fell from 32% to 28% as the spending began.
Revenue returned to organic growth in the second quarter of 2024 and rose 1% for FY24. Go.Compare grew 28%. The shares rose from about 613p in March 2024 to 1,060p in May. In September 2024 the company began closing weak assets, including its external video production unit and some events. Those assets earned about £15m a year in revenue. 7 Dec 2023 16 May 2024 5 Dec 2024 26 Sep 2024
A new CEO and a guidance cut
Chief Executive Jon Steinberg said in October 2024 that he would leave to relocate to the US. Kevin Li Ying, a Future insider of over 20 years, took over on 31 March 2025. That month, weaker US direct advertising hit the second half of the year. In May the company cut its FY25 outlook to a low single-digit organic revenue decline. The shares fell from 913p in February to 672p in May.
FY25 revenue fell 6% to £739m. Even so, the company spent £96m on buybacks and raised the dividend five times to 17.0p. In July 2025 it issued a £300m bond at 6.75%, due 2030.
In December 2025 management guided to modest organic growth for FY26 and a margin of about 30%. It also gave a medium-term growth range of 2-4%, down from the mid-single-digit figure of December 2023. 18 Oct 2024 16 May 2025 4 Dec 2025 4 Jul 2025
“So, with that in mind, the AI risk is lower than most people assume.” 4 Dec 2025
Search volatility, a purchase and falling margins
In January 2026 Future bought SheerLuxe, a UK lifestyle publisher with 6m audience, for £39.9m up front. It said then that leverage would be 1.1x by September 2026.
On 31 March 2026 it warned that Google search volatility was squeezing margins. It cut its FY26 outlook. The shares fell from 541p in January to 297p at the end of March.
H1 revenue fell 8% to £349m and the EBITDA margin dropped from 29% to 24%. Management blamed lower programmatic advertising and affiliate revenue, which carry high margins. Net debt rose to £314m. 22 Jan 2026 31 Mar 2026 14 May 2026
High-margin revenue was the exposed part
Management said that most revenue did not depend on website visits. Yet the part that did, programmatic ads and affiliate links, supplied a large share of the profit. When it shrank, the margin fell faster than revenue.
The 2023 growth plan produced a recovery that did not last. Organic revenue fell again in FY25 and H1 FY26. Cash generation stayed strong, with free cash flow at 109% of EBITDA in H1. The company paid out cash to shareholders at the same time as leverage rose. 4 Dec 2025 14 May 2026 31 Mar 2026
New leaders, and a changing board
Kevin Li Ying is CEO. Sharjeel Suleman became finance chief in September 2024. Chair Richard Huntingford stepped down in February 2026 and was succeeded by Mark Brooker. In July and August 2026 three new non-executive directors joined, one to chair the audit committee from February 2027. Investec and Peel Hunt were named joint advisers and brokers.
The record is mixed. Targets of December 2023 and December 2025 were later cut. The March 2026 warning came about four months after the FY26 growth guidance. The CEO bought 9,029 shares in December 2025. Later share sales by the CEO and finance chief were to cover tax on vested awards. 31 Mar 2025 3 May 2024 4 Dec 2025 21 Jul 2026 3 Aug 2026 31 Jul 2026 15 Dec 2025 23 Dec 2025 15 May 2026
Shrinking sales, higher debt, buyback paused
Sales trends improved in the second quarter. Go.Compare was down 3% and B2B down 2%. Management is selling new products: Future Optic, an AI-visibility advertising package with £10m booked for the year, plus a membership scheme, a data product called Helix and a creator network. A £20m efficiency programme targets savings by FY28, with £5m due in FY26.
On 30 September 2026 the company said FY26 would match market expectations of about £707m revenue and £180m EBITDA. It paused the buyback after about £24m of a planned £30m, to focus on cutting debt. Consensus leverage is 1.7x, against the 1.1x it forecast in January. FIL held 14.8% of the shares by September and JPMorgan about 7%. 14 May 2026 30 Sep 2026 22 Jan 2026
“Where brands and assets don't deliver the platform effect, the Board will look to unlock value from them.” 14 May 2026
A fall in FY26, then deleveraging
The FY26 guidance given in May 2026 is a mid to low single-digit organic revenue decline, an adjusted EBITDA margin of 25-27% and cash conversion of about 90%. That replaces the December 2025 guidance of modest growth, a 30% margin and 95% cash conversion. In March 2026 the company expected a low single-digit decline in the second half and growth in Go.Compare and B2B from new products.
Management plans to cut debt towards 1x over time. It will keep its dividend policy. It says its strategy will return the company to sustainable growth. The company has not restated the 2-4% medium-term growth range. Full-year results are due on 3 December 2026. 14 May 2026 31 Mar 2026 30 Sep 2026 4 Dec 2025
Written by AI from Future's own announcements since Oct 2023 · every paragraph links to its sources