LONDON, July 3, 2026, 20:01 BST
- Smith & Nephew plc (LON:SN) ended at 1,127p, just 0.04% higher. The stock trailed the FTSE 100, which gained 0.25%.
- The company picked up 1.59 million shares between June 26 and July 2. Since May 8, it has used $160.4 million, roughly 64% of its initial $250 million buyback.
- The July 2 block admission covers 150,000 shares for the employee plan, or 9.4% of last week’s buyback volume, and roughly 0.018% of the total voting shares.
- Median analyst target is 1,337.38p for 18.7% upside, though most keep a hold rating.
Smith & Nephew plc (LON:SN) finished Friday little changed, but trading screens saw more action in the buyback column. The medical tech firm said in a Friday RNS it repurchased 1,592,090 shares between June 26 and July 2, paying a volume-weighted average price of £11.1447 on the London Stock Exchange. Since May 8, the company has bought back 10,668,678 shares, spending $160.4 million.
That leaves about $89.6 million on the first $250 million piece of the buyback, now 64% used up. The tranche is tied to the $500 million repurchase laid out with first-quarter earnings, which Smith+Nephew said they would finish inside 12 months using free cash flow and existing cash.
By Friday’s close, the 150,000 shares set aside from Thursday’s block admission were valued at around £1.69 million. That comes to 9.4% of what Smith+Nephew bought over the last five trading days through July 2, and about 0.018% of the 843.4 million voting shares outstanding after its latest buybacks.
| Capital-flow item | Latest figure | Read-through |
|---|---|---|
| Shares bought, June 26-July 2 | 1,592,090 | That’s 10.6 times the shares in the recent block admission |
| Cost since May 8 | $160.4 mln | Used 64.2% of the planned $250 mln buyback so far |
| Block admission for employee plans | 150,000 shares | Makes up 0.018% of total voting stock |
| Voting shares after latest buyback | 843.4 mln | Becomes the new base for disclosure filings |
That’s what’s happening on share count for holders. The employee plan is a minor factor. The real capital move is the buyback, and the market is watching to see if it’s enough to balance soft ortho growth ahead of the second-half product ramp-up.
Traders didn’t put much premium on that backing. Smith+Nephew ended at 1,127p, up just 0.50p or 0.04%. The FTSE 100 gained 0.25% and finished at a four-month high.
Investors point to the segment breakdown for the tempered tone. First-quarter sales gained 3.1% on an underlying basis to $1.50 billion. Orthopaedics managed just 0.8% growth. Sports Medicine & ENT jumped 6.7%. U.S. knee sales slid 10.3% as the market waited for the LANDMARK knee rollout.
| Q1 business unit | Revenue | Underlying growth | Investor issue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orthopaedics | $599 mln | 0.8% | U.S. knees fell 10.3% |
| Sports Medicine & ENT | $491 mln | 6.7% | Business led growth |
| Advanced Wound Management | $411 mln | 2.2% | Skin-substitute slump still a problem |
| Group | $1.50 bln | 3.1% | Second-half recovery needed |
CEO Deepak Nath said first-quarter results matched the company’s forecast and said Smith & Nephew is still “on track to deliver on our full year guidance.” The outlook for this year remains unchanged: about 6% underlying revenue growth, 8% organic trading profit growth, around $800 million in free cash flow, and adjusted ROIC above 10%. Smith & Nephew
The timing is the issue. Back in May, Reuters said CFO John Rogers expected first-half sales growth around 3.5%, lower than the 4.2% consensus. He saw growth picking up to about 8% in the second half. ODDO BHF analyst Oliver Metzger told Reuters, “a back-end phasing is often not so attractive for investors.” Reuters
Analysts are divided. Investors Chronicle data from July 2 had 3 buy ratings, 4 outperform, 11 holds and zero sells. The median 12-month target price was 1,337.38p, up 18.7% from the last price of 1,126.50p. But with most analysts stuck at hold, there’s not much buffer left for another soft update.
Smith+Nephew is set to report second-quarter and half-year numbers on Aug. 4. The market wants evidence that the buyback is doing more than just providing a floor, and that the LANDMARK knee rollout, better skin-substitute trends, and product ramps are enough to hit the second-half growth goal.
