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Reckitt Benckiser (RKT.L)

Consumer Defensive Dividend payer

Reckitt is a household name behind everyday essentials like Dettol, Nurofen, and Durex that people keep buying regardless of the economic weather.

£52.40

Is Reckitt Benckiser a good stock for a UK beginner?

The honest version: Reckitt is a household name behind everyday essentials like Dettol, Nurofen, and Durex that people keep buying regardless of the economic weather.

No rating · no target price · nothing for sale here
Price+20.4%
52-week range-4% past year
£52.40
Low £36.64High £65.23
Where today's price sits versus its past year - context, not a signal.
If you had put £1,000 into Reckitt Benckiser
£1,204+20%

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'.
£33.28B
Avg volume: How many shares change hands on a typical day. Higher means it's easy to buy or exit without moving the price.
1.76M
Day range: The lowest and highest price the shares traded at during the latest day.
£51.92 – £52.90
52-week range: The lowest and highest the shares have traded over the past year - a sense of how wide the swings have been.
£36.64 – £65.23
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.
11.8
Dividend yield: The yearly dividend as a percentage of the share price - roughly the income you'd earn from dividends alone.
4.1%
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.
0.25
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. 0.25
Calm
Wild
Steadier than most

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 · ▼ -4% 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

Global expansion and sustained pricing power

The bear case

Long-term decline in brand relevance or major regulatory issues

What does Reckitt Benckiser do?

Reckitt makes the cleaning products, medicines, and health items that fill cupboards across the globe. Revenue comes from selling these branded goods to supermarkets and shops, banking on the fact that people rarely stop buying soap or painkillers even when money is tight. Watch how well they keep their brands popular while wrestling with the costs of making and shipping their products.

VQGMI
Factor profile

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

Value: How cheap the stock looks versus profits, sales and assets (higher = cheaper). 37Quality: How profitable and financially healthy the company is (higher = stronger). 64Growth: How fast revenue and earnings are growing (higher = faster). 11Momentum: How the share price has been trending recently (higher = stronger recent run). 33Income: The dividend income on offer and how sustainable it looks (higher = more/steadier). 68
Quick checks
What's strong
  • Strong portfolio of trusted, everyday household brands
  • High profit margins suggest efficient operations
  • Reliable demand for products regardless of the economy
What to watch
  • Growth screens low (11/100)
  • Rising costs of ingredients and packaging could squeeze profits
  • Potential for legal or regulatory challenges in the health sector
  • Changes in global supply chains could disrupt product availability

What do Reckitt Benckiser's numbers mean?

P/E
10.1
This shows you are paying roughly ten pounds for every pound of profit the company makes, which is a way to see how much the market is currently valuing those earnings.
Gross margin
60.8%
This tells us that for every pound of sales, over 60 pence is left over after paying for the raw materials to make the products.
Dividend yield
4.3%
This is the annual cash payout to shareholders as a percentage of the share price, representing a slice of the profits returned to investors.
Beta
0.2
A low number like this suggests the share price tends to be much steadier and less jumpy than the wider stock market.

Does Reckitt Benckiser pay a dividend?

Yes - Reckitt Benckiser currently pays a dividend of about 4.1% 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 Consumer Defensive

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Appears in
Big UK shares, explainedEveryday-essentials shares, explainedUnilever vs Reckitt

What are the scenarios for Reckitt Benckiser?

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

£66£52£43today · £52▲ Bull · £56• Base · £52▼ Bear · £48in 1 yearILLUSTRATIVE · NOT A PREDICTION OR PRICE TARGET
Bull
+5% to +10%Stronger sales growth in health and hygiene brands
Base
-2% to +2%Steady demand for core household products
Bear
-5% to -10%Rising costs for raw materials eating into profits

What are the pros and cons of Reckitt Benckiser?

4bull points
6bear points

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

The bull case4
  • Strong portfolio of trusted, everyday household brands
  • High profit margins suggest efficient operations
  • Reliable demand for products regardless of the economy
  • Attractive dividend history for income-focused portfolios
The catch3
  • Faces stiff competition from cheaper supermarket own-brands
  • Recent share price performance has been sluggish
  • Large companies can be slow to adapt to changing consumer trends
Key risks3
  • Rising costs of ingredients and packaging could squeeze profits
  • Potential for legal or regulatory challenges in the health sector
  • Changes in global supply chains could disrupt product availability
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.