London, March 17, 2026, 13:14 GMT
GSK slipped Tuesday, after the company reported fresh stock buybacks as part of its £2 billion repurchase effort. Shares last traded at 2,015 pence at 12:47 GMT, off roughly 0.5% on lagging London data. GSK confirmed it picked up 628,000 shares on March 16, raising the running total since Feb. 17 to 10.55 million.
This filing comes into play now with the fourth tranche of the programme still underway, set to last until April 24. The buyback lets the company purchase its own shares, trimming the market float and potentially boosting per-share profit. This round? It’s capped at £450 million, part of a wider £2 billion plan stretching through the end of Q2.
GSK kicked off 2026 on stronger footing. The company posted 2025 sales reaching £32.7 billion, stuck to its outlook for 3% to 5% turnover growth this year, and pointed to 7% to 9% gains in both core operating profit and core earnings per share—their preferred profit metric. The 70 pence full-year dividend was reiterated. GSK also noted it has completed £1.4 billion so far under its planned share buyback.
Guidance paired with hefty cash returns pushed the stock to its highest level in 26 years following the February numbers. Shares on Tuesday were trading comfortably above the 1,242.5 pence low for the year, though still under the 2,282 pence high.
Investors are eyeing GSK’s push to expand revenue streams from Arexvy, its RSV vaccine. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared the shot last week for adults 18 to 49 at higher risk — opening access to a younger demographic. In that space, Arexvy faces rivals like Pfizer’s Abrysvo and Moderna’s mRESVIA. The shot still needs a green light from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for use in this group.
Sanjay Gurunathan, who leads vaccines and infectious diseases R&D at GSK, pointed to a “significant medical need” that a broader label could help meet. According to GSK, each year RSV sends roughly 17,000 adults aged 18 to 49 in the U.S. to the hospital, prompts about 277,000 ER visits, and results in 1.97 million outpatient appointments. GSK
The buyback, though, won’t resolve the underlying growth concerns by itself. GSK warned vaccines and general medicines might be flat or slip by a low-single-digit percentage this year. Barclays analysts flagged that February’s guidance landed a bit under consensus, citing foreign-exchange headwinds.
GSK filed transaction-in-own-shares notifications on Monday, Tuesday, and multiple times earlier in March, flagging the consistent pace of its buyback effort.
