Online-only furniture retailer Temple & Webster has lifted prices across its catalogue and wound back heavy discounting after warning that underlying earnings in FY26 will undershoot forecasts. The ASX-listed group now expects EBITDA of $20 million to $22 million versus analyst consensus of $30.2 million.
Revenue guidance has been set at $665 million to $675 million, roughly 6% under market expectations. Shares slid as much as 12% on Wednesday before recovering some ground to trade around $4.95, well below peaks near $30 reached in August.
Guidance follows what the company describes as its most profitable April, helped by a new margin optimisation programme rolled out after consumer confidence slumped to “historic lows” post its February half-year result. The retailer generated EBITDA of $2.5 million in April alone, showing the immediate impact of tighter promotions, price resets and more disciplined marketing spend.
Management says the programme includes a fully repriced range, a revamped promotional schedule, deeper supplier backing and a deliberate slowdown in fixed cost growth. Those changes are intended to support double digit revenue expansion of 11 to 12% in FY26 and an EBITDA uplift of 6 to 17% year on year, even off a lower than expected base.
Markets remain wary despite the improved monthly profitability. Temple & Webster shares were down about 5.5% to near $5.03 early on Monday afternoon as investors digested the weaker than hoped FY26 outlook.
RBC Capital Markets kept an “outperform” recommendation and a $10 price target while flagging that revenue guidance sits 6% below consensus and EBITDA is 30% light. The broker’s stance shows a split view, with short-term earnings under pressure yet the business still growing sales at a double digit clip and expanding margins month to month.
Longer term, the retailer continues to talk up its ambition to reach $1 billion in annual revenue by FY28 and scale into a larger, more profitable online homewares platform. Strategy now looks more balanced, with management openly prioritising margin and cash generation over breakneck growth while economic conditions stay fragile.
The recalibration responds directly to recent doubts over the company’s earlier, more aggressive growth push, which had coincided with a sharp share price slide. Investors are weighing whether the new playbook can restore confidence without stalling Temple & Webster’s push for market share in a softer Australian consumer landscape.
