London, June 29, 2026, 12:01 BST
- Diploma PLC (LON:DPLM) was up 0.07% at 7,100p in a delayed 11:44 BST quote, while the FTSE 100 was down 0.18% in a delayed 11:47 BST quote.
- The London Stock Exchange was in its normal Monday window, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. BST.
- At 7,100p, Diploma trades at about 30.0 times company-compiled FY26 adjusted EPS consensus of 236.9p.
- Controls supplied 58% of H1 revenue; its £165.7 million sector adjusted operating profit equalled 79% of group adjusted operating profit.
Diploma PLC (LON:DPLM) edged higher in London on Monday, with a delayed quote at 7,100p, up 5p, or 0.07%. The FTSE 100 was down 19.43 points, or 0.18%, at 10,488.59 in a delayed MarketWatch quote. The London Stock Exchange was operating in BST, with regular weekday trading hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The headline change was small. The set-up is not. Diploma’s share price was 2.7% below its 7,300p 52-week high, and the same delayed quote showed volume of 158,020 shares, just 29% of the 65-day average. The stock is still up 45.25% over one year, against a 19.72% one-year rise for the FTSE 100.
| Instrument | Latest delayed level | Day move | Range / performance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diploma PLC (LON:DPLM) | 7,100p | +0.07% | 52-week range: 4,794p-7,300p; 1-year: +45.25% |
| FTSE 100 | 10,488.59 | -0.18% | 52-week range: 8,726.92-10,934.94; 1-year: +19.72% |
The cleaner investor read is valuation. Company-compiled consensus dated June 9 puts FY26 adjusted EPS at 236.9p and FY27 adjusted EPS at 255.0p. At 7,100p, that implies about 30.0 times FY26 adjusted earnings and 27.8 times FY27 adjusted earnings. Broker data from Hargreaves Lansdown showed a trailing P/E of 40.31 and a market value of £9.52 billion.
| Company-compiled consensus | FY26 | FY27 | Implied change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | £1.803 bln | £1.975 bln | +9.5% |
| Adjusted operating profit | £454 mln | £483 mln | +6.4% |
| Adjusted EPS | 236.9p | 255.0p | +7.6% |
| P/E at 7,100p | 30.0x | 27.8x | — |
That matters because analysts have already chased the guidance. Diploma’s May half-year release said FY26 adjusted operating profit growth of more than 30% was a 6% upgrade to the £428 million consensus at May 18. The June 9 consensus is £454 million, a £26 million lift, or 6.1%.
The profit mix is the sharper angle. In the first half, Diploma revenue rose 17% to £851.1 million and adjusted operating profit rose 33% to £208.9 million. Controls did most of the heavy work: £495.3 million of revenue, 26% organic growth and a 33.5% adjusted operating margin.
| H1 2026 sector | Revenue | Organic growth | Adjusted operating profit | Adjusted operating margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controls | £495.3 mln | +26% | £165.7 mln | 33.5% |
| Seals | £224.9 mln | +2% | £42.5 mln | 18.9% |
| Life Sciences | £130.9 mln | +4% | £25.9 mln | 19.8% |
| Group | £851.1 mln | +15% | £208.9 mln | 24.5% |
The stock can absorb a weak index day while Controls grows at 26% organically and runs a margin one-third of revenue. It becomes more exposed if demand in aerospace, defence, datacentres or energy cools faster than the FY27 consensus assumes. Diploma said those end markets helped Controls in the first half.
Chief Executive Johnny Thomson said in May, “It’s been a great first half.” He also said, “The second half has started well,” and said the company was confident in its upgraded full-year guidance. Diploma PLC
The acquisition math is also part of the valuation. Diploma said it had done 15 deals in the last 12 months for about £310 million at an average multiple of 8 times, with those businesses expected to add about £40 million of annualised operating profit. Seven deals since the Q1 update cost about £180 million at an average 9 times multiple, including CDM, a U.S. interconnect business with about $80 million of revenue, subject to regulatory approval.
That spread is useful only while deal quality holds. Buying operating profit near 8-9 times can support a share rating near 30 times forward adjusted EPS, but the market will test whether acquired profit lands without pulling down Controls margins.
Diploma’s regulatory-news list showed no fresh RNS after the June 1 appointment of a non-executive director. The next scheduled company test is the Q3 trading update on July 16, followed by preliminary results on Nov. 17.
