The FTSE 100 is home to a wide range of different businesses, ranging from banks and builders to miners and supermarkets.
To showcase this variety, here are three Footsie firms that are taking market share from rivals in their respective industries.
Supermarket giant
Let’s start with the largest, which is Tesco (LSE:TSCO). The share price has jumped roughly 85% since early 2023, which is a cracking result when dividends are also factored into the equation.
A key reason behind this has been the company’s incremental market share gains. In its recent Q3 and Christmas trading statement, Tesco said it had a near-29% market share in the UK.
This was its highest share for over a decade.
Supporting this is the powerful Clubcard, which keeps customers loyal, and its successful Aldi Price Match campaign. The latter seems to have neutralised the competitive threat from the German budget chain.
Tesco owns an even larger slice of the online grocery market, with its delivery service increasingly popular with consumers. Online sales growth was 11.2% over the 19 weeks to 3 January, including extended Christmas Eve deliveries.
Finally, its Finest range, which grew 13% over this period, continues to gain popularity. More cash-strapped shoppers are dining at home rather than in restaurants to help save money.
High street stalwart
Next is, well, Next (LSE:NXT). The company is defying the gloom among UK retailers with robust growth, which is reflected in a share price surge of 44% over the past year.
In the nine weeks to 27 December, full price sales rose 10.6%, with UK sales up 5.9%. That was both ahead of company expectations and the wider UK retail sector.
However, international is now a big part of the company’s growth story, with a 38.3% rise in sales over the period. Next plugged into Zalando’s logistics-as-a-service arm (ZEOS) last year. This has improved stock availability across Europe and improved efficiency.
Heading to Africa
Last but certainly not least is Airtel Africa (LSE:AAF), whose share price has skyrocketed 215% over the last 12 months!
The telecommunications firm operates in 14 sub-Saharan countries, where a young population and accelerating smartphone adoption are supporting super-strong growth.
Next year, earnings are expected to surge 44%.
In the six months to 30 September, Airtel Africa’s total customer base increased 11% to 173.8m. And 78.1m of these are using the internet on their phones, which is important because these customers are also more likely to use the firm’s mobile money service (Airtel Money).
This unit is gaining ground on larger rivals. In Kenya, for example, Airtel Money’s market share has hit 10%, up from less than 3% in 2023.
Which do I prefer?
Naturally, all three stocks carry risks. Tesco has warned that some customers are “counting every penny“, so 2026 could be tough going.
Next is saying something similar, guiding for slower full-year sales growth of approximately 4.5%. Meanwhile, the stock looks quite pricey at 18.3 times forward earnings.
Finally, Airtel Africa faces regulatory risk across its markets, as well as swings in local currencies that can impact earnings.
However, I like Airtel’s potential long term, as it taps into a young and rapidly growing African population, low smartphone penetration and a massive unbanked population. I think this stock is worth digging into.
