Reckitt Benckiser Share Price Edges Higher After Buyback, Annual Report — Why the Stock Is Still Under Pressure
Reckitt Benckiser hovered a bit over 5,100 pence on Wednesday, barely budging as the FTSE 100 added roughly 1.4%. Despite the small lift, shares remained more than 20% under their 6,514 pence high for the year. That’s significant, with the stock still nursing wounds from a 6% slide on March 5—investors brushed off Reckitt’s fourth-quarter sales beat, focusing instead on a murky margin and profit outlook. The company, following peers like Unilever and Nestle, has been steering its portfolio toward brands with faster growth and fatter margins. “Emerging markets were absolutely a must-win set of markets for us,” CEO Kris Licht told Reuters. Still, Chris Beckett at Quilter Cheviot pointed out, some gains from the Essential Home sale are being