London, Feb 25, 2026, 09:36 GMT — Regular session
- Haleon shares fell about 4% in early London trade after a cautious 2026 outlook
- The Sensodyne maker flagged weak U.S. demand and a mild cold-and-flu season
- Investors are weighing cost cuts and a fresh £500 million buyback against slower sales growth
Haleon shares fell 4.0% to 389.30 pence in early London trade on Wednesday after the consumer healthcare group pointed to a softer finish to 2025 and set out a slower growth run-rate for 2026. (MarketScreener)
The Sensodyne maker forecast 3% to 5% organic revenue growth for 2026, below its medium-term target. Organic growth strips out currency moves and the impact of acquisitions and disposals. (Reuters)
That matters because the U.S. is Haleon’s biggest profit engine and the near-term backdrop is still lumpy. Investors have been leaning on predictable demand for everyday health brands; a downgrade in the growth tempo tends to land hard, even with buybacks in the mix.
Haleon said 2025 revenue slipped 1.8% to £11.03 billion, while organic revenue grew 3.0%. Adjusted operating profit was £2.53 billion and profit before tax rose to £2.15 billion; the company estimated a weak cold-and-flu season cut about 150 basis points in the fourth quarter and roughly 40 basis points for the full year (a basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point). Haleon also flagged a roughly 1% foreign-exchange headwind to 2026 revenue and profit, proposed a total dividend of 7.1 pence and said it expects to allocate £500 million to share buybacks in 2026. (Haleon Corporate)
Jefferies analyst David Hayes struck a blunt note after the print, writing: “This is not good enough.” He pointed to fourth-quarter organic sales growth of 2.1% versus a 3.5% consensus estimate cited by the broker, with volumes down 0.3%, and said the cold-and-flu drag was not telegraphed clearly enough into year-end. (Investing.com UK)
Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said management’s “price discipline” and “efficiency gains” did much of the heavy lifting on profit, but the market is still staring at the same problem: demand in the U.S. is not behaving like a steady tailwind. (Halifax)
Haleon sits in a crowded aisle. It competes for shelf space and ad spend with consumer health rivals including Reckitt Benckiser and U.S.-listed Kenvue, while supermarket and pharmacy own-label ranges keep pushing into basic oral care and seasonal remedies.
The risk case is simple enough. If U.S. shoppers keep trading down, or if the respiratory season stays muted again, Haleon may struggle to put volume back into the model even if pricing holds, and cost savings can take time to show up cleanly in the numbers.
Investors will watch early-2026 trends in North America volumes and any rebound in cold-and-flu demand, alongside the timing of the 2026 buyback. The stock is due to trade ex-dividend on April 9, with the final dividend scheduled for payment on May 14.
