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Smiths Group plc (SMIN.L)

Industrials Balanced

Smiths Group is a British engineering firm that builds high-tech components for everything from airport security scanners to medical devices and jet engines.

£26.42

Is Smiths Group plc a good stock for a UK beginner?

The honest version: Smiths Group is a British engineering firm that builds high-tech components for everything from airport security scanners to medical devices and jet engines.

No rating · no target price · nothing for sale here
Price+47.9%
52-week range+14% past year
£26.42
Low £20.88High £27.46
Where today's price sits versus its past year - context, not a signal.
If you had put £1,000 into Smiths Group plc
£1,479+48%

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'.
£7.82B
Avg volume: How many shares change hands on a typical day. Higher means it's easy to buy or exit without moving the price.
884.31K
Day range: The lowest and highest price the shares traded at during the latest day.
£26.37 – £26.91
52-week range: The lowest and highest the shares have traded over the past year - a sense of how wide the swings have been.
£20.88 – £27.46
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.
35.7
Dividend yield: The yearly dividend as a percentage of the share price - roughly the income you'd earn from dividends alone.
1.8%
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.
0.73
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. 0.73
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?▲ +4% past week · ▲ +14% 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 dominant player in high-growth industrial tech sectors.

The bear case

Obsolescence of core technologies or long-term industrial decline.

What does Smiths Group plc do?

Smiths Group operates as a collection of specialist engineering businesses that provide essential parts for global industries like aerospace, healthcare, and energy. Income flows in from selling these highly technical, often bespoke components to large corporate and government clients. How well they juggle their diverse business units to keep profits steady through global economic shifts is what really counts here.

VQGMI
Factor profile

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

Value: How cheap the stock looks versus profits, sales and assets (higher = cheaper). 25Quality: How profitable and financially healthy the company is (higher = stronger). 47Growth: How fast revenue and earnings are growing (higher = faster). 18Momentum: How the share price has been trending recently (higher = stronger recent run). 55Income: The dividend income on offer and how sustainable it looks (higher = more/steadier). 36
Quick checks
What's strong
  • Operates in essential, high-barrier-to-entry industries.
  • Lower volatility compared to the broader market.
  • Diverse revenue streams across different sectors.
What to watch
  • Value screens low (25/100)
  • Growth screens low (18/100)
  • Dependence on government and large corporate contracts.
  • Exposure to global supply chain and manufacturing slowdowns.
  • Potential for technological disruption in core engineering fields.

What do Smiths Group plc's numbers mean?

P/E
33.4
This shows how much investors are currently paying for every pound of the company's profit, with a higher number often suggesting expectations of future growth.
Forward P/E
20.7
This is a similar calculation but uses predicted future earnings, which can give a different perspective on how the company is valued compared to its past performance.
Dividend yield
1.9%
This represents the annual cash payout to shareholders as a percentage of the share price, acting as a small regular income stream.
Beta
0.7
A number below 1 suggests the share price tends to be less jumpy and volatile than the wider stock market.
Net margin
8.7%
This shows how much of every pound in sales actually ends up as profit after all the company's bills are paid.

Does Smiths Group plc pay a dividend?

Yes - Smiths Group plc currently pays a dividend of about 1.8% 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

GE VernovaGlobal Payments Inc.Delta Air LinesVertiv Holdings CoHowmet Aerospace Inc.EMCOR Group, Inc.Southwest Airlines Co.Masco Corporation

What are the scenarios for Smiths Group plc?

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

£30£26£22today · £26▲ Bull · £28• Base · £26▼ Bear · £24in 1 yearILLUSTRATIVE · NOT A PREDICTION OR PRICE TARGET
Bull
+5% to +10%Stronger demand for airport security and aerospace parts.
Base
-2% to +2%Steady performance in line with current industrial trends.
Bear
-5% to -10%Supply chain disruptions or a slowdown in global manufacturing.

What are the pros and cons of Smiths Group 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
  • Operates in essential, high-barrier-to-entry industries.
  • Lower volatility compared to the broader market.
  • Diverse revenue streams across different sectors.
The catch3
  • Recent earnings growth has been negative.
  • High valuation relative to current earnings.
  • Complex business structure can be difficult to manage.
Key risks3
  • Dependence on government and large corporate contracts.
  • Exposure to global supply chain and manufacturing slowdowns.
  • Potential for technological disruption in core engineering fields.
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.