London, Jan 20, 2026, 09:46 GMT — Regular session
- Ashtead shares fell roughly 3% in early trading, deepening Monday’s losses
- Company revealed an additional tranche of its $1.5 billion share buyback programme
- European stocks slipped further, weighed down by ongoing U.S. tariff threats that are rattling investors
Ashtead Group shares slid 3.1% to 4,952 pence by 0946 GMT, extending losses from a steep decline in the prior session amid renewed risk-off sentiment in European markets. So far Tuesday, the stock has fluctuated between 4,941.6 and 5,078.0 pence, down from Monday’s close of 5,110 pence. 1
The London-listed equipment rental company closed Monday 3.62% lower at 5,110 pence, hitting that level as its session low after starting the day at 5,252 pence, market data shows. Roughly 770,000 shares changed hands. 2
European shares hit their lowest point in nearly two weeks on Tuesday, dragged down as investors fretted over U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threat related to Greenland. By 0925 GMT, the STOXX 600 was down 1.3%, with London’s FTSE 100 off by the same margin. TD Cowen analysts described the move as “the most unusual and potentially serious shift in USA foreign policy we’ve seen. There’s no playbook for this.” David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation, added that the tariff news has landed at a sensitive moment, as global policymakers convene in Davos. 3
London shares slipped further Monday after Trump announced new tariffs starting Feb. 1 on imports from Britain and seven other European countries. He warned duties would rise again unless the U.S. gets the green light to purchase Greenland. The FTSE 100 closed down 0.4%. 4
Ashtead revealed in a regulatory filing that it repurchased 74,000 ordinary shares on January 19, paying an average of 5,188.2968 pence per share. J.P. Morgan Securities served as the broker for the deal. Following the buyback, Ashtead reported 416,096,962 shares outstanding, excluding treasury stock, and 35,257,871 shares held in treasury. 5
A buyback happens when a company uses cash to buy back its own shares, cutting the total number of shares outstanding. This, assuming everything else stays the same, boosts earnings per share. Treasury shares are those repurchased stocks the company holds onto—they can be either cancelled or sold again down the line.
Right now, that support is getting drowned out by broader macroeconomic noise. Ashtead’s fortunes track construction and industrial activity closely, so any dip in confidence or a pullback in project spending tends to hit the share price quickly.
There’s a catch, though. Should tariff threats fade, cyclicals could rebound sharply, and the company’s steady buyback pace might turn into a boost once more. But if the political standoff results in actual levies starting Feb. 1, investors will zero in on the impact on growth forecasts, not the volume of shares bought back.
Ashtead’s timeline for its U.S. transition is next on investors’ radar: the current buyback should wrap up by the end of February, with a fresh $1.5 billion programme kicking off March 2, 2026, coinciding with the planned NYSE relisting.
