LONDON, March 9, 2026, 21:51 GMT
Reckitt Benckiser Group plc kicked off its third share buyback tranche on Monday, targeting as much as 540 million pounds in purchases before July 27. The company behind Durex and Lysol said it plans to hold these newly bought shares in treasury. 1
The timing is notable, landing just days after Reckitt’s annual results rattled investors—even though sales topped forecasts. The company cautioned that Europe would remain challenging, and that softer cold-and-flu sales would weigh on first-quarter demand. Buybacks trim outstanding shares and often lift earnings per share; Reckitt pointed out last week that EPS had already gotten a boost from a reduced share count. 2
Reckitt tapped Deutsche Bank AG’s London branch to handle the buybacks, capping the overall spend at 540 million pounds. The transactions are set for the London Stock Exchange and additional venues. Repurchase updates will be posted by 7:30 a.m. the following business day, the company said. 1
Reckitt’s CFO Shannon Eisenhardt described buybacks as “a really important lever” for shareholder returns during last week’s analyst call. She added that buybacks would likely continue as “an ongoing program,” but noted the scale might shift depending on leverage and other cash demands. 3
Reckitt reported that it handed back 2.3 billion pounds to shareholders in the previous year, a mix of dividends and buybacks, and topped that with a 1.6 billion pound special dividend in February following the Dec. 31 sale of Essential Home. For 2025, core like-for-like net revenue climbed 5.2%, while adjusted operating profit was up 5.3%, according to the company. 4
Monday’s session saw Reckitt shares slide roughly 2% in London, despite the new buyback announcement. The stock kicked off at 5,528 pence before dipping to 5,442 pence, according to Hargreaves Lansdown market data. 5
Investors face a mixed set of numbers. Fourth-quarter like-for-like sales climbed 5.4%, Reuters reported Thursday, with emerging markets jumping 17.2% even as Europe slid 4.5%. CEO Kris Licht described emerging markets as “must-win” for Reckitt, but according to Quilter Cheviot’s Chris Beckett, any margin lift from the Essential Home sale is getting erased by stranded costs and currency moves. 2
The strain is cropping up throughout the sector. Back in February, Unilever flagged sluggishness in both U.S. and European markets—though emerging markets gave the quarter a lift. Then last month, Haleon projected 2026 growth coming in shy of its medium-term target, after a soft cold-and-flu season dampened U.S. sales. Both firms paired those updates with buyback announcements. 6
The buyback isn’t likely to settle the debate around 2026 earnings. Reckitt flagged ongoing challenges in Europe, and first-quarter over-the-counter medicine sales are set to feel the pinch from a softer cold-and-flu season. Stranded costs—that’s overhead left behind after asset sales—still need to be balanced by the Fuel for Growth savings plan. Add to that, forex and tax are together knocking about 7% off EPS, and leverage, Reckitt said, should climb toward 2.5 times EBITDA by mid-year before it starts to come down. 4
Reckitt’s portfolio is narrowing: after the Advent transaction, it’s holding on to a 30% stake in the Essential Home vehicle. Last week, the company said it’s still weighing what to do with Mead Johnson Nutrition, its infant formula business that’s not part of the core. Reckitt is aiming to streamline around 11 leading brands, among them Dettol, Durex, Lysol, and Nurofen. 3
