The Myer Holdings Ltd (ASX: MYR) share price is on fire today.
Shares in the S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO) department store owner closed yesterday trading for 41 cents. In morning trade on Thursday, shares are changing hands for 45 cents apiece, up 9.8%.
For some context, the ASX 300 is up 0.6% at this same time.
Here's what's spurring investor interest today.
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Myer share price surges on strong trading update
The ASX 300 department store is grabbing plenty of interest today amid the company's annual general meeting (AGM).
Perhaps the biggest tailwind helping to lift the Myer share price today is the company's trading update, covering the first 19 weeks of FY 2026.
Addressing the meeting, Myer executive chair Olivia Wirth noted, "We've had a very encouraging start to FY 2026."
How encouraging?
Well, over the first 19 weeks of the new financial year, sales were up 3% from the same period last year. Wirth credited strong sales growth in Myer Retail, up 3.4%, for driving the improved performance.
And the department store's Homewares, Womenswear, and Concessions all achieved double-digit sales growth.
"We are particularly pleased with the performance of our Myer Exclusive Brands in the Homeware and Womenswear categories supporting the delivery of the increased sales," Wirth said.
Amid improving performance for Just Jeans, with mid-single-digit sales growth year to date, Myer Apparel Brands sales were up 1.3% year on year for the period. Myer completed its acquisition of Apparel Brands earlier this year.
The Myer share price is also likely getting a lift from the record Black Friday sales, Wirth reported.
"Pleasingly, we also had a strong lead up to Black Friday for Myer Retail, achieving our biggest Black Friday sales performance on record, driven by our Homeware and Womenswear categories," she said.
And she pointed to the "very important sales period" ahead, with seven weeks of elevated sales expected in the lead-up to the company's Christmas and Boxing Day sales.
Wirth also highlighted that in FY 2026, Myer is continuing to target its Cost of Doing Business (CODB) as a percentage of sales target of around 29%. She said the company is on track to meet this target for the full year.
How had the ASX 300 stock been tracking longer term?
Despite today's welcome lift, the Myer share price remains down 63.4% in 2025.
Shares have yet to recover from the 25% plunge suffered on 23 September following the release of the company's decidedly underwhelming FY 2025 results.
Among the disappointments of the past financial year, with underlying net profit down 30% from FY 2024, the board opted not to declare a final dividend.
