Imperial Brands Cancels 300,000 Shares Under £1.45bn Buyback Programme

Imperial Brands ( (GB:IMB) ) has provided an announcement.

Imperial Brands has continued executing its previously announced £1.45 billion share repurchase programme, buying back 300,000 ordinary shares on 21 May 2026 at an average price of 2,830.226 pence per share, with Barclays acting as broker. The company intends to cancel these shares, reducing the number of ordinary shares in issue to 775,036,893, a move that tightens the share base and may enhance earnings per share while providing an updated reference point for investors’ disclosure and transparency calculations under U.K. market rules.

The most recent analyst rating on (GB:IMB) stock is a Buy with a £3500.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Imperial Brands stock, see the GB:IMB Stock Forecast page.

Spark’s Take on IMB Stock

According to Spark, TipRanks’ AI Analyst, IMB is a Neutral.

The score is driven primarily by stable but mixed fundamentals: solid operating performance is offset by higher leverage and a significant decline in free cash flow. Valuation is supportive (moderate P/E and strong dividend yield), while technicals are only neutral-to-weak with negative MACD and price below longer-term averages. Earnings call commentary is constructive due to reiterated guidance, strong cash conversion, and ongoing shareholder returns, tempered by one-offs and settlement-related cash outflows.

To see Spark’s full report on IMB stock, click here.

More about Imperial Brands

Imperial Brands is a U.K.-listed tobacco and next-generation nicotine products company, best known for its portfolio of cigarette and fine-cut tobacco brands, as well as vapour and heated-tobacco offerings. The group focuses on developed and selected emerging markets, where it is pursuing a capital allocation strategy that includes significant returns of cash to shareholders through buybacks and dividends.

Average Trading Volume: 2,701,921

Technical Sentiment Signal: Buy

Current Market Cap: £22.24B

Learn more about IMB stock on TipRanks’ Stock Analysis page.