Deutsche Bank has maintained its 'hold' rating on JD Sports Fashion PLC (LSE:JD., OTC:JDSPY) , the sportswear retailer, with a 95p price target after weaker second-quarter sales.

The bank said deteriorating trends in the US, JD Sports' largest market, were outweighing operational improvements and limiting the retailer's ability to offset weaker industry growth.

Deutsche cut its forecast for JD Sports' financial year 2027 pre-tax profit by 6% to £725 million, placing it towards the lower end of the company's £700 million to £800 million guidance range.

The bank said recent commentary from sportswear brands and retailers pointed to greater promotional activity, excess inventory, limited excitement around new product launches and weaker consumer demand across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Deutsche said the weaker second-quarter sales performance did not appear to reflect poor execution by JD Sports, but noted that industry-wide weakness reduced the scope for the retailer to improve results through operational changes.

It expects JD Sports to accelerate its shift towards apparel, newer footwear brands, exclusive products and performance-inspired lifestyle products, while continuing to invest in its loyalty programme and digital offering.

The bank expects like-for-like sales, which exclude the effects of new stores and acquisitions, to decline 2.0% in the second half, compared with a 2.8% fall in the first half.

Deutsche said JD Sports continued to offer robust free cash flow generation and traded on about eight times calendar 2026 earnings, but maintained its cautious stance because industry conditions remained difficult.