LONDON, July 3, 2026, 10:01 BST
- Reckitt shares were at 5,074p, off 1.05%, as of 10:01 BST. The stock opened at 5,172p.
- Reckitt’s Mead Johnson won a case in St. Louis over its preterm baby formula. But close to 1,000 other lawsuits making similar claims are still out there.
- Shares traded about 4.5% higher than the £48.55 average in Reckitt’s most recent buyback round, keeping attention on the July 29 capital-return update.
Reckitt Benckiser Group plc (LON:RKT) traded lower in London on Friday. The drop came as the stock lost momentum, despite news that its Mead Johnson infant-formula business scored another U.S. legal victory. Traders are now focused on whether the Dettol and Durex owner plans to keep buying back shares near the levels it just paid using company cash.
The London Stock Exchange traded as usual from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. BST. Shares dropped 54p to 5,074p by 10:01 BST. Earlier, the FTSE 100 (INDEXFTSE:UKX) touched a four-month high after Thursday’s rally.
Missouri jurors on Thursday cleared Mead Johnson in a suit over whether its preterm baby formula led to a serious bowel disease, Reuters reported. Nearly 1,000 similar lawsuits target Mead Johnson and Abbott Laboratories NYSE:ABT, with over 700 consolidated in Illinois federal court, according to the report. Mead Johnson said, “We strongly reject” claims linking its formula to NEC. Reuters
Reckitt’s stock didn’t hold its gains in early trading, despite a legal win. Shares closed up 2.81% at £51.28 on Thursday, but by Friday the price was trading back close to the band where the company last did buybacks.
| Market marker | Latest data | Investor read |
|---|---|---|
| Share price at 10:01 BST | 5,074p | Off 1.05% for the day |
| Intraday high | 5,236p | Stock gave up gains after the open |
| Gap to final-tranche buyback average | +4.5% | Not far from where Reckitt was buying recently |
| Gap to 52-week high | -22.1% | Still well below January’s high |
| Third-tranche buyback price | £48.55 average | Bought 11.1 million shares between March 9 and June 15 |
Reckitt wrapped up its £1 billion buyback June 16, picking up 11.1 million shares in the final round at an average price of £48.55. The company said it would update on any new buybacks with half-year results July 29.
This is probably the number traders will focus on ahead of results. At 5,074p Friday, shares traded just £2.19 over the final-tranche average. A fresh buyback would help steady the price around here, but without it, the stock looks more open to soft volume, legal risk and whatever July revenue guidance brings.
The gap in performance at Reckitt is still big. In Q1, Core Reckitt’s like-for-like revenue rose 1.3%, with volumes down 1.0% and price/mix up 2.3%. CEO Kris Licht said the company is sticking with its 2026 like-for-like revenue guidance.
| Q1 2026 Core Reckitt category | Revenue | LFL growth | Volume | Price/mix |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-Care | £831 mln | -0.1% | -3.7% | +3.6% |
| Germ Protection | £854 mln | +9.5% | +7.6% | +1.9% |
| Household Care | £524 mln | -7.6% | -5.7% | -1.9% |
| Intimate Wellness | £389 mln | +0.3% | -5.8% | +6.1% |
| Core Reckitt | £2.60 bln | +1.3% | -1.0% | +2.3% |
The 17.1 point margin between Germ Protection and Household Care can get lost in the legal stories. Dettol and Lysol sales climbed, but Finish and Vanish struggled with soft demand in Europe, promotional activity and fallout tied to Russia.
Analysts started raising doubts about the target after the April update. Reuters said Reckitt posted 1.3% core growth, missing the company-compiled analyst forecast of 2.9%. Harsharan Mann at Aviva Investors described the quarter as “broad-based muted growth.” JPMorgan NYSE:JPM analyst Celine Pannuti said Reckitt’s guidance for emerging markets growth in Q2 to be similar to Q1 was disappointing, considering how much that segment matters for core results. Reuters
Cost risk is still on the table. In June at Reuters NEXT Europe, Licht said Reckitt was just at the “beginning” of feeling inflation from the Iran crisis show up for consumers, adding that there was “a bit of a delay.” Back in April, Reckitt forecast a £130 million to £150 million gross input-cost hit if oil holds at $110 a barrel through the rest of 2026. Reuters
The Mead Johnson verdict on Thursday takes one legal concern off the table for now, but the bigger overhang from formula lawsuits still hangs over the stock. Reuters said results have been split so far in trials, and lawyers for the plaintiffs in the most recent trial were considering their next steps after the decision.
Reckitt’s next set date is July 29, when the company is expected to post half-year numbers and provide its update on potential buybacks.
