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IMI plc (IMI.L)

Industrials Balanced

IMI is a British engineering firm that designs high-tech valves and motion control systems to help factories and buildings run more efficiently.

£29.36

Is IMI plc a good stock for a UK beginner?

The honest version: IMI is a British engineering firm that designs high-tech valves and motion control systems to help factories and buildings run more efficiently.

No rating · no target price · nothing for sale here
Price+55.0%
52-week range+36% past year
£29.36
Low £21.38High £30.76
Where today's price sits versus its past year - context, not a signal.
If you had put £1,000 into IMI plc
£1,550+55%

Over about 2 years to 2026-07-31. This is the share price only - reinvesting the dividends would add to it. Past performance is not a guide to the future, and it could just as easily have fallen.

Market cap: The company's total value on the stock market - share price times the number of shares. Big = 'large-cap', small = 'small-cap'.
£6.95B
Avg volume: How many shares change hands on a typical day. Higher means it's easy to buy or exit without moving the price.
1.15M
Day range: The lowest and highest price the shares traded at during the latest day.
£29.20 – £30.54
52-week range: The lowest and highest the shares have traded over the past year - a sense of how wide the swings have been.
£21.38 – £30.76
P/E ratio: Price-to-earnings: the share price divided by yearly profit per share. Lower can mean cheaper; higher often means investors expect fast growth.
23.7
Dividend yield: The yearly dividend as a percentage of the share price - roughly the income you'd earn from dividends alone.
1.2%
Beta: How bumpy the share price is versus the whole market. Above 1 swings more than the market; below 1 is calmer. It's about the ride, not whether it goes up or down.
1.05
How bumpy is it?Beta: How bumpy the share price is versus the whole market. Above 1 swings more than the market; below 1 is calmer. It's about the ride, not whether it goes up or down. 1.05
Calm
Wild
Roughly in step with the market

Based on beta - how much the price swings versus the whole market. Bumpier isn't bad; it just means a rougher ride, which matters more the sooner you might need the money.

Why has it been moving?▲ +1% past week · ▲ +36% past year

Prices move on results, news and the mood of the whole market - no single headline explains a day, and a quiet week is usually just noise, not a signal.

The bull case

Becoming a leader in sustainable industrial technology.

The bear case

Technological disruption making their products obsolete.

What does IMI plc do?

IMI makes the clever components that control the flow of liquids and gases in industrial settings, from cooling systems in data centres to precise equipment in hospitals. Selling these specialised parts to other businesses that need to save energy or improve safety is what brings in the cash. Keep an eye on whether they can hold their profit margins high while pushing into fast-growing markets like automation.

VQGMI
Factor profile

On our factor screen it looks strongest on growth and quality, and weakest on value.

Value: How cheap the stock looks versus profits, sales and assets (higher = cheaper). 22Quality: How profitable and financially healthy the company is (higher = stronger). 67Growth: How fast revenue and earnings are growing (higher = faster). 77Momentum: How the share price has been trending recently (higher = stronger recent run). 61Income: The dividend income on offer and how sustainable it looks (higher = more/steadier). 55
Quick checks
What's strong
  • Growth screens high (77/100)
  • Strong profit margins suggest a high-quality business model.
  • High return on equity shows efficient use of capital.
  • Significant recent growth in earnings.
What to watch
  • Value screens low (22/100)
  • Sensitivity to global economic cycles and manufacturing slowdowns.
  • Potential for rising costs to eat into healthy profit margins.
  • Dependence on large industrial clients for steady revenue.

What do IMI plc's numbers mean?

P/E
22.7
This shows how much you are paying for every pound of the company's profit; a higher number suggests investors expect more growth in the future.
Gross margin
47.5%
This tells us that for every pound of sales, the company keeps nearly 48 pence after paying for the direct costs of making their products.
Return on equity
28.2%
This is a measure of how efficiently the company uses the money invested by shareholders to generate profit.
Dividend yield
1.2%
This represents the annual cash payout to shareholders as a percentage of the share price, which is currently quite modest.

Does IMI plc pay a dividend?

Yes - IMI plc currently pays a dividend of about 1.2% a year (the yearly payout as a share of the price). A dividend is a slice of profit handed to shareholders; the yield moves as the price moves, and a company can cut or stop it.

More in Industrials

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What are the scenarios for IMI plc?

An illustrative range for the year ahead, with the assumption behind each case — not a prediction or a price target.

£33£29£22today · £29▲ Bull · £32• Base · £29▼ Bear · £27in 1 yearILLUSTRATIVE · NOT A PREDICTION OR PRICE TARGET
Bull
+5% to +10%Strong demand for industrial automation continues.
Base
-2% to +2%Steady performance in line with current market trends.
Bear
-5% to -10%A slowdown in global manufacturing activity.

What are the pros and cons of IMI plc?

3bull points
6bear points

How many points the write-up makes each way — a balance check, not a score or verdict.

The bull case3
  • Strong profit margins suggest a high-quality business model.
  • High return on equity shows efficient use of capital.
  • Significant recent growth in earnings.
The catch3
  • The share price has already seen a large increase over the last year.
  • The dividend yield is relatively low compared to other industrial firms.
  • High price-to-book ratio suggests the shares are not cheap by traditional measures.
Key risks3
  • Sensitivity to global economic cycles and manufacturing slowdowns.
  • Potential for rising costs to eat into healthy profit margins.
  • Dependence on large industrial clients for steady revenue.
What would flip the thesis

The write-up's own warning lights — if these start happening, the case above changes.

Confidence: medium · data: GBP · flags: none · Charts by TradingView Lightweight Charts™
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Built from public filings & market prices, checked for an education-only tone, and never a price target. How we make these →

This plain-English summary was auto-generated on 2026-08-01 from public data and checked for an education-only, no-advice tone (the figures above carry their own, usually fresher, 'as of' date). It's information, never a recommendation.

Figures as of 2026-08-01. Prices may be delayed and numbers can go stale - always double-check before acting.