Archive · 5 Nov 2025
Marks & Spencer Profits Plunge 98% After Cyberattack
Imagine a big store called Marks and Spencer that sells clothes.
They had a problem where bad people (hackers) broke into their computer system and stole customer information.
This was like a big interruption for their online store, which had to close for six weeks.
Because people couldn't shop online easily for a long time, the store made much less money, almost 98% less, than they did last year.
This caused a lot of problems and cost the company a lot of money to fix.
The company thinks they will make more money in the second half of the year, but they lost a lot of profit because of this cyberattack.
Marks and Spencer reported a 98% drop in net profit for the first half of the financial year.
The profit decrease is attributed to a cyberattack that hit the company's online service.
Online sales were halted for six weeks after customer data was stolen around Easter.
The cyberattack is estimated to have cost the company around £300 million, with £101.6 million already spent.
Despite the significant hit, Marks and Spencer anticipates profitability in the second half of the financial year.
- Who
- Marks and Spencer, a British clothes brand
- What
- A cyberattack on its online service resulted in a 98% plummet in net profit for the first half of the financial year.
- When
- First half of the financial year, with the online service halted for six weeks around Easter.
- Where
- Online service of Marks and Spencer
- Why
- Cybercriminals stole customer data, halting online sales and incurring significant costs to address the issue.
Company's Outlook
Market Analyst's View
Profitability and Impact
Company's Outlook
Marks & Spencer's CEO stated that despite the cyberattack, the business has underlying strength and robust financial foundations that provided resilience. The company expects the second half of the year to be profitable and anticipates the residual effects of the incident to continue reducing in the coming months.
Market Analyst's View
Market analysts like Dan Coatsworth noted that the profits plummeted because customers were unable to purchase desired items during the summer due to the cyberattack's impact on online sales.
- Company
- Marks and Spencer
- Net Profit (First Half)
- $8.1 million (down 98% from previous year)
- Previous Year Profit
- £282.1 million
- Cyberattack Impact
- Online sales halted for six weeks, customer data stolen
- Estimated Cost of Attack
- Around £300 million
- Spent on Addressing Issue
- £101.6 million
- Expected Losses (Second Half)
- £34 million