Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc (LSE: RKT) may lack the glamour of SpaceX, but it offers something far more tangible to income-focused investors right now.
SpaceX has captured widespread investor attention in recent months, driven by its spectacular rocket launches and rapid business growth that captures the public imagination.
However, excitement alone does not determine whether an investment will grow or shrink in value over time, and that distinction matters enormously to serious long-term investors.
Reckitt’s share price has fallen 14% over the past five years, meaning a £1,000 investment made five years ago would currently show a paper loss of around £140.
By contrast, the FTSE 100 gained 52% over that same period, turning a £1,000 investment into £1,520 and leaving Reckitt shareholders roughly £640 worse off on paper than index tracker investors.
The consumer goods manufacturer, which makes well-known brands including Gaviscon and Nurofen, has also faced its share of strategic missteps, including a widely criticised 2017 acquisition of an infant nutrition business.
Those past mistakes are largely priced into the stock, and Reckitt has actually gained 14% since the start of June, comparing favourably against SpaceX’s 8% decline since its own market listing that same month.
Unlike SpaceX, Reckitt pays a dividend, and the recent share price weakness has pushed the yield up to 4.3%, which is significantly ahead of the current FTSE 100 average yield of 3%.
Reckitt spent £2.4bn on dividends for ordinary shareholders in the first six months of this year alone, a figure elevated by a special payout, though the prior year’s equivalent period still saw £830m distributed to shareholders.
That level of dividend generosity is underpinned by genuine profitability, with Reckitt posting a net profit of £654m in the first half of the year, something SpaceX has not yet demonstrated it can match.
SpaceX, for all its growth credentials, currently generates no profits to speak of, making dividend payments a distant prospect for shareholders in the rocket company.
Reckitt does carry meaningful risks, including historical product liability exposure, input ingredient inflation, and the headwind of weak consumer spending across key markets.
Despite those challenges, its portfolio of premium global brands and a long track record of cash generation give it a resilient foundation that many investors may be undervaluing at current prices.
For income-seeking investors willing to look past headline-grabbing narratives, Reckitt’s combination of a above-average yield and a recovering share price makes it a stock genuinely worth examining.