Deutsche Bank: Zara Owner Inditex Logs Solid Fiscal Q3; Consensus Upgrades, Higher Shares Expected

06:49 AM EST, 12/03/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Inditex (ITX.MC) on Wednesday posted fiscal third-quarter results that reinforced the quality of the Spanish retail group, with Deutsche Bank Research saying it expects some forecast upgrades and the stock trading in the green. As of midday in Madrid, the stock was 8% higher. "This is a strong print and with the current trading running c.1-2ppt ahead of 4Q cons cFX forecasts and gross margin gains, there will likely be consensus upgrades of LSD-MSD% today. Trading on c.22x Cal 26 PE (or c.20x ex-cash), we would expect to see the shares up MSD-HSD% today," the note said. The research firm noted that the Zara owner posted a 5% beat on quarterly EPS and that its current trading is stronger than anticipated. Fiscal 2026 sales growth, meanwhile, is expected to be supported by the narrowing gap between gross space growth and net store closures. "Inditex have released a strong 3Q release that reinforces the quality of the business and will make investors question whether the right peer group for this company is Luxury rather than Retail in our view," analysts wrote. "There are some questions on the timing of Black Friday (Cyber Monday in the base for this year but not last year) but even the preBlack Friday week was up +9%."