Unlike no other

In many respects, the industry is unique. Its customers are fiercely loyal and, in their eyes, this gives them the right to have a say in how their club is run. For example, it’s common to see fans protesting about rising season ticket prices. In contrast, if Tesco’s customers were upset about the price of baked beans, they would go and shop elsewhere.  

And football’s business model doesn’t always make sense. On-field success requires huge amounts to be spent on players and their wages. This means there’s often little left over to return to shareholders.

Under these circumstances, conventional financial metrics are largely meaningless. Celtic warns that its earnings are “materially impacted” by its football success but also by its own “assessment of playing registration carrying values”. Expenditure on new players is recorded on the club’s balance sheet and then periodically reviewed for impairment depending on 10 factors. These include a player’s injury record as well as an assessment of the finances of the wider football industry.

The unusual nature of the industry probably explains why many of the world’s largest teams are privately owned. This ownership structure removes the pressure to deliver the ever-improving financial performance expected of a listed business.

Doing well

But a look at Celtic’s share price performance shows that it’s been steadily increasing. Since the end of the 2024/25 season in May – when it won the Scottish Premiership for a record-equalling 55th time — it’s up nearly 20%. And since September 2020, it’s risen over 50%.

Domestically, the club’s started this season well. After four games, the men’s team is top of the league and yet to concede a goal. It’s women are also unbeaten.

However, in August its men were knocked out of the Champions League. Losing on penalties to Kazhakstan’s Kairat Almaty was a major blow. It now means they must play in the UEFA Europa League, the continent’s second-tier competition.

Limited earnings growth

And in my opinion, how Celtic performs in Europe is going to have the single biggest influence on its share price. That’s because you don’t have to be much of a football pundit to know that the team will probably finish either first or second in the league this year. It’s topped the table during 13 of the past 14 seasons (including the last four). And you have to go back to 1984/1985 to find a club other than Celtic or Rangers that has won the league.

But this success is a double-edged sword for potential investors. The loyalty of fans means its home matches are nearly always sold out. The scope for earning more prize money in Scotland and for generating additional gate receipts is limited. And with two teams dominating the country’s domestic competitions, the opportunity to secure better TV deals seems remote.

In my opinion, it’s Europe that really matters. But according to the bookies, Celtic are 14th favourites to win the Europa League. Therefore, success seems unlikely. And for this reason, I don’t want to invest.

The post With the football season under way, is it time to consider this FTSE stock? appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

Let’s take a look at an overview of the sports market, the individual sports stocks available, and what you need to know about investing in the sports sector.

What are sports shares?

Sports stocks are companies with both a significant involvement in the sports industry and shares that can be bought and sold on the stock market, such as the London Stock Exchange. 

There are many sub-categories in the sports market. They include professional sports teams, manufacturers and retailers of sporting goods, and bookmakers. Certain food and nutrition stocks are also closely associated with the sports economy.

There are some big companies with sports-related divisions that we don’t generally think of as sports stocks, mostly because the size of the rest of the business eclipses the sports element.

When it comes to investing in sports stocks, it can fairly be said that the number available to us depends on how widely we cast the net.

Top sports shares in the UK

Here are the top UK sports stocks by market cap  as of February 2026 in their respective sub-categories:

Flutter Entertainment

Flutter Entertainment is the biggest of a number of betting and gaming companies listed on the London Stock Exchange (although its primary listing is in New York), and the UK’s biggest sports stock bar none.

The group owns multiple brands, including:

• Paddy Power, a central brand within its UK & Ireland division
• Betfair, the world’s biggest betting exchange
• Sportsbet, Australia’s top online betting destination
• FanDuel, the number-one sports book in the US

The group also owns gaming brands, such as tombola, Britain’s biggest bingo site. Sports betting accounts for a large chunk of the group’s revenue in 2025, with the remainder coming from gaming.

JD Sports Fashion

Retail sports stocks are a prominent part of the sports market. FTSE 100 firm JD Sports Fashion is the largest of these listed in the UK.

JD is a multichannel retailer of branded sports and casual wear under a number of fascias around the world. It sells globally recognised brands, including Nike, adidas, and Puma. It also sells a wide range of own-label brands. 

The vast majority of its revenue comes from sports fashion. Goods sold under its ‘outdoor’ banners — associated with rock climbing, cycling, camping, and so on — contribute a single-digit percentage to the group’s revenue.

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings

No UK sports share can match the glamour of Aston Martin. The company’s state-of-the-art headquarters and main production facilities are in Warwickshire, and its Formula One team is headquartered in Silverstone. With its motor racing heritage and as James Bond’s marque of choice, Aston Martin has long been a symbol of quintessential British style and derring-do.

Although this FTSE 250 firm generates a negligible amount of its revenue from motorsport, its association with Formula One is invaluable for accessing cutting-edge technology and the global promotion of the brand.

Yet, this relationship seems to be changing from a fully-owned identity to a licensed one as management announced plans to sell the naming rights to the Aston Martin F1 team in February 2026 in a move to raise liquidity as part of its ongoing efforts to fix its financials.

Celtic

Celtic is not only a powerhouse of Scottish football but also a perennial participant in European competitions. It famously became the first British team to win the European Cup in 1967. The club also enjoys a passionate global following. Although it’s important to highlight the financial sensitivity the company has to the competitions it participates in.

Among the sports stocks listed on the London Stock Exchange, Celtic is the only football club. Its shares trade on the exchange’s junior AIM market.

Since the post-pandemic return of fans to matches, about half the company’s revenue has come from its football and stadium operations. The remainder has come from merchandising, multimedia, and other commercial activities.

Investing in sports shares on foreign stock markets

Venturing beyond the London Stock Exchange opens up a greater range of sports shares. 

For example, a host of European football clubs, including Manchester United, can be traded on the US market. And, of course, this market’s also home to a number of notable US sports stocks:

• Nike
• Liberty Media Formula One
• Dick’s Sporting Goods
• Madison Square Garden Sports

Are sports stocks right for you?

Sports stocks map onto a range of business sectors. As such, investors need to consider the characteristics of these sectors.

Sports betting is considered what’s termed a ‘defensive’ business. Gambling behaviour doesn’t tend to vary much through the economic cycle, so earnings should be fairly resilient. Of course, these stocks won’t be right for investors with a moral objection to gambling.

The consumer goods sector also has some resilient qualities. Meanwhile, retailers — particularly those reliant on discretionary consumer spending — tend to be more vulnerable in economic downturns.

Owning shares in a sports team comes with some unique features. Among other things, competition success or failure, the hiring or firing of a manager, and a significant player transfer in or out of the club can all impact the share price — for better or worse. Also, in some cases, the priorities and interests of a majority owner of a club may not be the same as those of minority shareholders and fans.

Investing in sports stocks requires consideration of the various sub-categories and individual companies within them, then, assessing how well they align with your investment goals and appetite for risk.

Not all sports stocks will be suitable for all investors. However, with the sports industry as a whole growing faster than global GDP, it’s certainly a sector worth investigating.

The post Investing in Sports Shares: Top UK Sports Stocks of 2026 appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

Surprisingly, given the wide universe of megacaps available, Train’s concentrated portfolio includes two little AIM-listed companies. Even more surprising, one of them is a football club.

A flaky investment?

Train has been a long-term investor in Celtic (LSE: CCP), which released its annual results just after the market closed yesterday. The company reported a 74% rise in revenue to £91m and a jump in profit from £0.5m to £6.9m. With the shares currently trading at 131p, the business is valued at £123m and the P/E is 17.8 (or 24 on a fully diluted basis).

On the face of it, this looks expensive given Celtic’s bumper haul of domestic trophies last season and the fact that the results also reflect, as management admits, “the paramount importance to the company of participation in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League.” What about bad years? Isn’t a football club a flaky investment that’s sure to go wrong sooner or later?

Rare and valuable brands

Train has a fascinating take on the intrinsic value of Celtic, Juventus (held by his global fund), as well as New York-listed Manchester United, where he’s recently been “delighted” to pick up a block of shares from the owning Glazer family. He was previously a shareholder during its spell on the London Stock Exchange in the 1990s, making a return of 30 times his initial investment – the single best investment of his career, he’s said.

His take on these football clubs is that they’re among an elite with “deeply entrenched and storied franchises” that make them brands every bit as rare and valuable as, say, Diageo’s Johnnie Walker whisky. Train reckons that the exponential rise in the value of TV sporting rights is set to continue. He said recently: “It will not be long now before an internet giant bids against an incumbent football rights holder. The ramifications for traditional media companies will be massive, but through the turmoil we expect the value of strongly-franchised football clubs to rise.”

It’s an interesting view and I’m certainly reconsidering my aversion to the idea of investing in football clubs.

A rewarding pint

The other AIM-listed stock Train owns is pubs group Young & Co (LSE: YNGA). London-focused and the owner of many well-known hostelries, Train has every hope that the next quarter of a century will prove every bit as rewarding for shareholders as the last, telling the Telegraph a few years ago: “Its real estate is likely to offer protection against inflation while its focus on the capital means that shareholders get a ‘proxy’ participation in the growth and vitality of London.”

Again, this is not an obviously cheap stock on a P/E of 20.4 (at a share price of 1,357p), but the P/E comes down to a more reasonable 15.6 on Young’s non-voting shares (ticker YNGN) at 1,033p, which Train also holds.

The post 2 surprising small-caps owned by Britain’s Warren Buffett appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.