London, May 14, 2026, 15:29 BST
Cevian Capital bumped its holding in Smith & Nephew plc to a little above 11% of voting rights, according to a regulatory notice released Thursday. The move ramps up activist pressure on the British medical technology company, which has faced a sluggish opening stretch this year.
Cevian Capital II GP Limited upped its stake in Smith & Nephew, according to a TR-1 filing, after pushing past a key threshold on May 11. The firm alerted Smith & Nephew two days later, with its position now at 11.013663%, up from 10.094356%. That’s 94.1 million voting rights.
That’s important for Smith & Nephew right now as it works to persuade investors its orthopaedics division—historically the laggard—can turn things around. With Cevian increasing its stake, management faces mounting pressure to make good on its pledge for a second-half rebound.
Smith & Nephew stock edged 0.3% higher to 1,106 pence in London as of 15:28 BST. That puts the market value of Cevian’s disclosed voting stake at roughly £1.04 billion—not an exact purchase figure, but a ballpark based on current pricing.
Smith & Nephew posted first-quarter revenue of $1.50 billion last week, marking a 3.1% underlying increase. The 2026 forecast stays put. A fresh $500 million buyback is set to wrap up over the next year. The company said gains in Sports Medicine made up for weaker U.S. knee implant sales.
Chief Executive Deepak Nath called the quarter “in line with our expectations,” highlighting “anticipated softness in US knees.” He expects growth to pick up later this year, citing ramping product launches, stabilization in U.S. skin substitutes, and improvement in U.S. knees.
Investors weren’t entirely sold. According to Reuters, first-quarter underlying growth landed just under the company’s own consensus of 3.2%. Finance chief John Rogers told analysts to expect around 3.5% sales growth for the first half, then a jump to about 8% in the back half. But as ODDO BHF’s Oliver Metzger put it, “a back-end phasing is often not so attractive for investors.” Reuters
This isn’t about the buyback—the real dispute centers on execution. Smith & Nephew points to competition in hip and knee implants with Stryker, Zimmer Biomet, and DePuy Synthes, the Johnson & Johnson orthopaedics division, all chasing a worldwide market they peg at $17.6 billion for 2025.
After the Q1 update, Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, noted that Smith & Nephew’s sales numbers showed “didn’t raise any major red flags.” Still, he flagged the need for “further acceleration” if the company plans to deliver on its full-year guidance. On U.S. knees, Nathan pointed to ongoing underperformance as Smith & Nephew transitions from legacy products to newer implants. Hargreaves Lansdown
There’s a chance the hoped-for recovery in the second half drags—or never materializes. Smith & Nephew has already pointed to roughly $60 million in tariff costs coming in 2026, plus another $20 million to $40 million blow tied to a U.S. reimbursement change for skin substitutes, which fall under wound care.
Cevian’s new filing stopped short of detailing fresh demands. Still, with a larger position, the activist carries more influence at a company that’s hinging its 2026 outlook on a smoother U.S. knee rollout, stronger orthopaedics numbers, and steady cash flow.
