Companies which miss earnings forecasts or lower their full-year outlook are feeling the full wrath of the market this summer, as construction materials group Marshalls (MSLH) found out last week.

Having said the market would ‘strengthen progressively’ this year when it posted its 2024 results in March, and having talked up its performance over the first four months at its trading update in May, investors were understandably miffed when the Yorkshire-based group lowered its guidance for 2025 (25 July).

At one stage the shares were down as much as 66p or 25%, and they ended the day down 53p or 20% at an 18-month low of 210p on more than 10 times the normal daily volume of shares traded.

Although first-half sales were better than the previous year, it was all down to pricing as volumes and product mix were worse, with the firm flagging a slowdown in its key end markets from the end of May and ‘no sign of any immediate catalyst for improvement for the remainder of 2025’.

UK landscaping end markets in particular are ‘challenging’ due to structural overcapacity, while inflation in other building materials is driving contractors to use cheaper products where they can, which means a worse product mix and a worse outlook for the full year. 

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