London, March 6, 2026, 09:08 GMT
Shares of Reckitt Benckiser Group plc tumbled 5.8% in London on Thursday—the steepest loss in nearly a year. The selloff came even as fourth-quarter sales topped expectations, thanks to gains in China and India. Investors zeroed in on management’s refusal to set a 2026 margin target, choosing to sidestep the upbeat revenue news. Pressure on profits after the Essential Home divestment weighed on sentiment.
This shift is key for Reckitt, which has been aiming to prove that a more focused health and hygiene lineup can reliably convert top-line gains into better profit growth. The company, tracking a similar playbook to Unilever and Nestle, has been cutting underperformers and leaning heavily into brands with better margins and stronger momentum. But Thursday’s drop made it clear: investors wanted more transparency in the earnings numbers.
Reckitt expects Core Reckitt—the company’s primary segment—to post like-for-like sales growth of 4% to 5% in 2026, measured on a comparable basis. The group stopped short of offering any concrete margin guidance. Europe, Reckitt cautioned, remains a tough spot, and a lighter-than-usual cold and flu season is set to hit first-quarter sales for its OTC remedies.
Comparable sales climbed 5.4% in the fourth quarter, topping the 4.7% consensus the company pulled together. Emerging markets surged 17.2%. Europe, though, dropped 4.5%. Group volumes edged down 0.2%.
Kris Licht, the chief executive, called emerging markets a “must-win set of markets” for Reckitt in comments to Reuters, singling out China and India as the sharpest growth drivers. Both countries topped the quarter’s results, highlighting the regions Reckitt is betting on for its next phase of expansion. Reuters
Licht, in the statement, called 2025 “ahead of our expectations.” Core Reckitt delivered 5.2% like-for-like growth for the year. Group adjusted operating profit climbed 5.3%, margin moved up 40 basis points to 24.9%. Adjusted diluted EPS ticked up 1.1% to 352.8 pence. The company said it returned 2.3 billion pounds to shareholders for the year. Reckitt
After wrapping up the Essential Home sale in late December, the company handed out a £1.6 billion special dividend in February. It’s holding onto a 30% stake in Advent’s acquisition vehicle. For 2026, management expects the Fuel for Growth cost-cutting effort to mostly balance out stranded costs—those overhead expenses left after an asset sale.
But a clear route to improved earnings isn’t apparent. CFO Shannon Eisenhardt flagged a 7% drag on earnings per share from currency moves and a higher tax rate. Meanwhile, Quilter Cheviot analyst Chris Beckett pointed out, “the margin benefit from the divestiture of essential home is being offset by stranded costs and FX.” Reuters
The risk is staring them in the face. Should Europe remain subdued, a weak flu season could mean Reckitt’s health segment misses out once more, and any slowdown in emerging markets would pile on the pressure. Margin recovery might prove tough, even if revenues fall inside guidance. Reckitt itself flagged that first-quarter OTC demand will be lighter, with Europe still presenting problems.
Reckitt, following the approach of Unilever and Nestle, is shifting more weight onto higher-growth brands and emerging markets. Investors, though, didn’t see the margin boost they were hoping for on Thursday, judging by the response.
