LONDON, March 30, 2026, 20:04 BST
Haleon reported Monday it’s snapped up 8.94 million shares for cancellation, marking progress on the £500 million buyback drive the consumer health group kicked off earlier this month. Shares gained 2.53%, trading at 376.2 pence in London’s delayed session.
Haleon is turning to buybacks as it works to rebound from a weaker-than-expected start to 2026. Back in February, the Sensodyne maker projected organic revenue growth of 3% to 5% for 2026—shy of its medium-term target range of 4% to 6%. “We feel confident the U.S. will grow this year,” CEO Brian McNamara told Reuters at the time. Investors will get their next update on April 29, when Haleon releases its trading statement. Reuters
The filing on Monday listed 8.920 billion voting shares. Since it kicked off, Haleon has disclosed buybacks totaling roughly 19.5 million shares, according to its March 16, March 23, and March 30 updates.
Not much momentum showing up in the short run. According to Proactive, which referenced Monday notes from UBS and Citi, both banks are looking for first-quarter organic sales growth to come in at roughly 2.2%—that’s a touch below consensus. The reason: Europe and North America didn’t see much of a cough-and-cold season, which dragged on respiratory product sales. UBS’s numbers have reported revenue at around £2.86 billion, nearly unchanged from last year, with currency shifts putting a lid on growth.
Doubts linger. In February, following Haleon’s earnings, Jefferies analyst David Hayes put it bluntly: “This is not good enough we fear,” after seeing the company trim its guidance to a 3%-5% range, down from the previous 4%-6% medium-term target. Investing
Navigating consumer health hasn’t been simple. Earlier this month, Reckitt shares tumbled over 6%—investors weren’t impressed by the cloudy margin and earnings projections for 2026, even with quarterly sales topping expectations. Over at Kenvue, the over-the-counter competitor, fourth-quarter results in February cleared forecasts, but the company said it would cut jobs globally while revamping its operations.
Bottom line for Haleon: Should respiratory demand lag and Latin America fail to pick up, the buyback could stabilize sentiment but won’t move the needle on sales in the short run. That’s the scenario several brokers expect heading into the first-quarter update.
Haleon, the maker behind Sensodyne, Panadol, Advil, Centrum, and Otrivin, has been ramping up its focus on oral health and pushing further into emerging markets. Earlier this month, Reuters said the firm is putting 65 million pounds into an oral-health facility in Shanghai, with Parodontax set to reach over 30 cities across China before 2027 wraps up.
