London, June 29, 2026, 16:05 BST
- Reckitt was up roughly 0.6% in delayed London trade, ahead of a softer FTSE 100.
- Shares were just 2.2% over the £48.55 average that buyers paid in the last buyback round.
- The next buyback signal comes with half-year results on July 29.
- Q1 growth was mixed. Emerging Markets rose 7.6%, but Europe dropped 4.2% and North America slipped 0.9%.
Reckitt Benckiser Group plc LON:RKT climbed late Monday, building on Friday’s gains. Shares in the Dettol and Durex maker moved back over the average purchase price from its last buyback tranche—a slim difference that’s in focus before July results.
The stock changed hands at 4,962.00p on the sell side and 4,963.00p to buy in delayed AJ Bell data, up 32.00p, or 0.65%. The FTSE 100 index (INDEXFTSE:UKX) slipped 0.18% to 10,489.06, according to Investing.com figures for June 29. London markets were still open at that point, with the exchange listing trading from 08:00 until 16:30.
| Reckitt vs FTSE | Friday, June 26 | Monday, June 29 |
|---|---|---|
| Reckitt | rose 2.15% to £49.31 | edged up 0.65% to around £49.63 at the midpoint |
| FTSE 100 | fell 0.21% to 10,508.02 | dipped 0.18% to 10,489.06 |
| Two-session read | up roughly 2.8% | down about 0.4% |
Two straight sessions of gains is the story for now. Reckitt isn’t moving on new earnings, but on whatever capital-return floor buyers are willing to price in ahead of next month’s management update. Shares gained 2.15% Friday to £49.31, MarketWatch said, even as the FTSE 100 lost 0.21%.
Reckitt said it finished its £1 billion share buyback on June 16. In tranche three, it repurchased 11.12 million shares from March 9 to June 15, paying an average of £48.55 each, and kept all shares in treasury. The company said it will give an update on its buyback plans, including any new programme, with half-year results due July 29.
| Valuation marker | Latest figure | Investor read |
|---|---|---|
| Monday bid/offer mid | 4,962.5p | Roughly 2.2% higher than the final buyback level |
| Final-tranche average buyback price | 4,855p | Used as a capital return benchmark |
| Year high | 6,522.92p | Monday still trades about 24% under the high |
| Year low | 3,664.00p | Price up about 35% from the year’s low |
| Market value | £31.57 billion | Seen as a defensive large-cap |
| P/E ratio | 9.46 | Trades at a low multiple vs. staple peers |
| Dividend yield | 4.66% | Yield offers income, depends on payout split |
So July 29 shapes up as a clearer gauge than the latest share move alone shows. If Reckitt launches another buyback, the shares aren’t trading much lower than the last buy-in. But if it waits, focus moves to the operations split: emerging markets still drive the growth story, while Europe, North America, and Mead Johnson lag.
Core Reckitt’s like-for-like net revenue was up 1.3% in Q1 to £2.60 billion, according to the last trading update. Emerging Markets net revenue rose 7.6% to £1.09 billion. Europe dropped 4.2% to £873 million, North America slipped 0.9% to £638 million. Group net revenue came in at £3.25 billion, up 0.6% like-for-like but down 11.8% on an IFRS basis after the Essential Home disposal.
Chief Executive Kris Licht said in the Q1 release that Core Reckitt sales growth came under pressure from “very low seasonal incidence, weak categories in Europe and geopolitical disruption.” The company saw 3.1% growth when stripping out seasonal over-the-counter products. Licht said 2026 like-for-like net revenue guidance is unchanged. Investegate
Margin concerns remain an issue. Back in April, Reuters said Reckitt missed the 2.9% analyst forecast for core like-for-like revenue growth, and flagged its first-half margins should come in roughly 200 basis points below last year’s level thanks to higher oil prices and low cold-and-flu demand. Harsharan Mann at Aviva Investors pointed to “broad-based muted growth” in the numbers, while JPMorgan’s Celine Pannuti called the Q2 outlook for emerging markets a disappointment. Reuters
The shares still trade well below where analysts see them going. MarketScreener’s consensus lists 19 analysts with an average “outperform” and a mean target of £61.80, while the last close was just £49.31. That leaves roughly 25% potential upside to targets. MarketScreener
Reckitt’s 2025 investor page shows Core Reckitt like-for-like net revenue up 5.2% last year, with group adjusted operating profit up 5.3% at constant currency. Shareholder returns hit £2.3 billion. “We have more work to do,” Licht said at the time. The comment still fits the stock. Reckitt
