London, July 7, 2026, 21:02 (BST)
- Rentokil was quoted around 454p after London trading had ended; the FTSE 100 was up 0.13%.
- Goldman Sachs lifted Rentokil to Buy and raised its target to 590p from 515p.
- North America was 59% of Rentokil’s first-quarter revenue, but its organic growth still lagged Rollins Inc NYSE:ROL.
Rentokil Initial plc (LON:RTO) rose on Tuesday after Goldman Sachs Group Inc NYSE:GS upgraded the stock, but the bigger number for shareholders is the target gap. At 590p, Goldman’s new target is about 30% above the after-close London quote and 16% above the 507p year high shown by AJ Bell.
At 21:02 BST, London trading had ended. Hargreaves Lansdown showed Rentokil at 454.60p bid and 454.80p offer; AJ Bell showed a session high of 458.20p and volume of 10.6 million shares.
The upgrade hit a stock that had just been sitting on its long-term line. A London Stock Exchange/FTSE Russell tearsheet dated July 6 put Rentokil at 4.45 pounds, equal to its 200-day average, below its 50-day average of 4.59 pounds, and down 16% over five years against a 43.1% rise for the FTSE 350.
| Price marker | Level | Gap versus 454.70p midquote |
|---|---|---|
| Latest bid/offer mid | 454.70p | — |
| 50-day average, July 6 | 459p | -0.9% |
| 200-day average, July 6 | 445p | +2.2% |
| 52-week high | 507p | -10.3% |
| Goldman target | 590p | +29.8% |
Goldman analyst Suhasini Varanasi, listed by Rentokil as the bank’s covering analyst, upgraded the shares to Buy from Neutral. Sharecast reported Goldman’s view that North American organic growth, which began to turn in the third quarter of 2025, can reach mid-single digits by 2027.
That is why the broker note matters. North America produced $995 million of Rentokil’s $1.68 billion first-quarter revenue, or 59%. Its 3.9% organic growth is better than the weak period that hurt the stock before, but still 2.7 percentage points below Rollins’ first-quarter organic growth. The Rollins figure is group-level, so it is not a perfect match, but it is the peer yardstick Goldman cited.
| Q1 2026 measure | Revenue | Organic growth |
|---|---|---|
| Rentokil group | $1.677 bln | 3.4% |
| Rentokil North America | $995 mln | 3.9% |
| Rentokil North America pest control | $965 mln | 4.1% |
| Rollins group | $906 mln | 6.6% |
Goldman’s case does not require Rentokil to catch Rollins at once. It requires investors to believe the North America number can move toward mid-single digits as Terminix disruption fades and branch, sales and marketing work starts to show up in revenue. Investing.com reported Goldman also expects group EBITA margin to rise to 17.1% in 2027.
Rentokil Chief Executive Mike Duffy called the first quarter “a good start” and cited “continued momentum” in North America. The same update showed North America colleague retention at 82.6% and customer retention at 80.4%, two operating data points investors will watch before paying for the Goldman target. Rentokil Initial
Rentokil also put a new executive on the U.S. problem. It named Rafael “Rafa” Carrasco as CEO, North America, from Aug. 3. Duffy called him the “ideal leader” for the unit; Carrasco said his focus would be “operational excellence.” Rentokil Initial
Chief Financial Officer Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson told the April call he wanted Rentokil to become “a nice, safe, boring stock.” The Goldman upgrade puts that aim next to a growth target. Investing
The next dated test is July 30, when Rentokil is due to publish interim results. The company lists its third-quarter trading update for Oct. 22.
