eToro
By eToro

Stock market backs the sofa over the pub ahead of football packed summer

  • Supermarkets are the standout performers of the past five years with M&S up 123% and Tesco up 105%
  • Classic football stocks are struggling: pubs, betting firms and sportswear brands all deep in the red
  • Fans face record costs with an England shirt costing £134.99 and the average pint £5.50

LONDON, 4 June 2026: The companies you’d expect to win from a summer of football are not the ones the stock market has been backing. New analysis from trading and investing platform eToro shows that over the past five years, supermarkets and drinks brands have dramatically outperformed the pubs, bookmakers and sportswear names most closely associated with the game. As the 2026 World Cup approaches, the question is whether the tournament season can change that.

Fans are feeling the cost

The bill for watching England this summer has never been higher. The official match shirt now costs £134.99, up from £114.95 at Qatar 2022 and around £90 at the 2014 tournament in Brazil. The average UK pint has climbed nearly 30% since Qatar 2022, from £4.24 to £5.50, with London fans paying an average of £6.75. With England potentially playing seven matches on the road to the final, the costs add up fast. This time fans are arriving at the tournament having absorbed more than five years of cost pressure, with UK consumer prices having risen over 20% since 2021.

The traditional football stocks are struggling

Against a backdrop of record costs and persistent inflation for fans, the traditional ‘football stocks’ have also had a difficult five years. Sportswear brands have struggled: Puma is down 70%, Nike down 66%, Adidas down 47% and JD Sports down 58%. Hospitality has fared little better, with J D Wetherspoon down 55%, Mitchells & Butlers down 28% and Fuller Smith & Turner down 22%. Betting has been the hardest hit, with Evoke down 91%, Entain down 67% and Flutter down 45%.

The sofa is winning

The standout performers over the same period have been closer to the kitchen than the pub. Marks & Spencer is up 123% over five years, Tesco up 105% and Sainsbury’s up 21%. Drinks names have also held up, with Coca-Cola up 49% and AB InBev up 17%.

“England shirts are at record price levels and pints have never cost more. Many football fans have spent the last five years dealing with a cost-of-living crisis, so the supermarket has become a serious competitor to the pub, and the stock market returns reflect that shift. In periods of high inflation and squeezed household budgets, investors often favour defensive businesses that sell everyday essentials. Food retailers and drinks companies may not have the glamour of pubs, bookmakers or kit brands during a football tournament, but they have offered something the market values, repeat demand, pricing power and resilience.” said Sam North, Market Analyst at eToro.

Sector

YTD

1 year

3 years

5 years

Hospitality

J D Wetherspoon

-18%

-16%

-15%

-55%

Mitchells & Butlers

-12%

-19%

11%

-28%

Young & Co

3%

-19%

11%

-28%

Fuller Smith & Turner

-10%

5%

20%

-22%

Betting

Flutter

-54%

-59%

-54%

-45%

Entain

-30%

-26%

-62%

-67%

Evoke

57%

-37%

-52%

-91%

Groceries

Tesco

5%

21%

75%

105%

Sainsburys

-5%

11%

16%

21%

Marks & Spencer

5%

-7%

93%

123%

Ocado

-13%

-22%

-50%

-90%

Sports clothing

JD Sports

-8%

-6%

-49%

-58%

Frasers Group

7%

4%

8%

27%

Adidas

-6%

-26%

2%

-47%

Nike

-30%

-27%

-58%

-66%

Puma

25%

26%

-38%

-70%

Drinks companies

Diageo

0%

-21%

-54%

-53%

AB InBev

32%

19%

36%

17%

Coca Cola

17%

15%

35%

49%

 

Share price data taken at market close 25/05/2026 Performance calculated in USD terms. Data from Refinitiv. Past performance is not an indication of future results.

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

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