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Ibstock plc (IBST.L)

Basic Materials Out of favour

When you walk past a row of newly built British houses, there is a very good chance the walls were built using bricks made by Ibstock.

£0.93
≈ 93p · London-listed shares are usually quoted in pence (GBX) elsewhere; the Almanac shows pounds (£1 = 100p).

Is Ibstock plc a good stock for a UK beginner?

The honest version: There's no rating here and nothing for sale. In its favour: Deeply established household name in UK construction. Worth weighing: Recent revenue growth has dipped into negative territory. Below, we lay out what it does, what its numbers mean, and the honest risks, so you can decide for yourself.

No rating · no target price · nothing for sale here
Price-49.3%
52-week range-36% past year
£0.93
Low £0.88High £1.60
Where today's price sits versus its past year - context, not a signal.
If you had put £1,000 into Ibstock plc
£507-49%

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.

How much has Ibstock plc actually fallen?

−58%

Over the last 2 years of daily prices, Ibstock plc fell as much as −58% from a high to a later low. Drops of this size are a normal part of owning a share - worth knowing in advance, so a dip doesn't come as a shock.

Worst peak-to-trough fall in the daily closing price over the period we hold. Past falls are not a forecast - it can fall further, or recover.

Market cap: The company's total value on the stock market - share price times the number of shares. Big = 'large-cap', small = 'small-cap'.
£367.96M
Avg volume: How many shares change hands on a typical day. Higher means it's easy to buy or exit without moving the price.
1.46M
Day range: The lowest and highest price the shares traded at during the latest day.
£0.92 – £0.95
52-week range: The lowest and highest the shares have traded over the past year - a sense of how wide the swings have been.
£0.88 – £1.60
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.
93.2
Dividend yield: The yearly dividend as a percentage of the share price - roughly the income you'd earn from dividends alone.
3.2%
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.
0.86
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. 0.86
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

A multi-year property boom ramps up industrial production.

The bear case

Long-term shifts away from traditional brick building methods.

What does Ibstock plc do?

This business is a heavyweight supplier of clay bricks and concrete products, quietly shaping the skyline of British construction and housing. It makes its money by digging up clay, baking it into millions of bricks, and selling them on to housebuilders. The thing to keep a close eye on is the health of the UK property market, since fewer new homes being built directly means fewer bricks being ordered.

VQGMI
Factor profile

On our factor screen it looks strongest on value and income, and weakest on momentum.

Value: How cheap the stock looks versus profits, sales and assets (higher = cheaper). 44Quality: How profitable and financially healthy the company is (higher = stronger). 30Growth: How fast revenue and earnings are growing (higher = faster). 12Momentum: How the share price has been trending recently (higher = stronger recent run). 8Income: The dividend income on offer and how sustainable it looks (higher = more/steadier). 30
Quick checks
What's strong
  • Deeply established household name in UK construction
  • Solid gross profit margin on manufactured goods
  • Meaningful dividend payout for income seekers
What to watch
  • Quality screens low (30/100)
  • Growth screens low (12/100)
  • Momentum screens low (8/100)
  • Income screens low (30/100)
  • Heavy reliance on the cyclical UK housing market

What do Ibstock plc's numbers mean?

P/E
93.2
This sky-high historical price-to-earnings ratio shows that recent profits dropped right down, making each pound of past earnings look very expensive.
Higher than most of the 27 Basic Materials shares we cover
Forward P/E
17.1
This looks ahead rather than backward, suggesting investors expect profits to bounce back nicely over the coming year.
Around the middle of the 34 Basic Materials shares we cover
Dividend yield
3.2%
This tells you the annual cash payout relative to the share price, offering a modest steady income stream for shareholders.
Higher than most of the 34 Basic Materials shares we cover
Gross margin
29.0%
This shows that after paying the direct costs of making the bricks, about 29 pence in every pound is left over to cover running costs and profits.
Around the middle of the 34 Basic Materials shares we cover

Does Ibstock plc pay a dividend?

Yes - Ibstock plc currently pays a dividend of about 3.2% 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.

What do the numbers say about Ibstock plc's dividend?

There's no rating here, and we don't judge whether the dividend will continue - that would be advice. Here are the figures income investors usually look at, and what each one means, so you can weigh it up yourself.

Dividend yield3.2%The yearly dividend as a percentage of today's price. A very high figure often means the price has fallen because the market expects a cut, so a big yield is a question to look into, not a prize.
Payout ratio500%The share of profit paid out as dividends. A lower figure leaves headroom; near or above 100% means most or all of the profit is going out as dividends.
Dividend cover0.2×Profit divided by the dividend (the payout ratio the other way up). As a rough convention many income investors like around 2× or more; below 1× means the company paid out more than it earned that year.

Figures are from the latest available data and can be distorted by one-off results. Past payments don't predict future ones, and a dividend can be cut at any time. This lays out the numbers to help you understand them - it is not a view on what will happen.

When does Ibstock plc report earnings, and how did recent quarters go?

Ibstock plc is next scheduled to report on about 2026-08-05 - dates can move, and we don't predict results; this just tells you when to look.

Each quarter a company reports its results against what analysts expected. ‘Beating’ or ‘missing’ is about that expectation, not whether the business is doing well in absolute terms.

See who else reports over the next two weeks →

Reported vs expected earnings per share (EPS) from published results; the expectation is the analyst consensus, not our view. Report dates are estimates that can move.

More in Basic Materials

CF IndustriesNewmontEndeavour MiningFresnilloNucorSteel Dynamics, Inc.Freeport-McMoRan Inc.Corteva, Inc.

What are the scenarios for Ibstock plc?

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

£1£1£1today · £1▲ Bull · £1• Base · £1▼ Bear · £1in 1 yearILLUSTRATIVE · NOT A PREDICTION OR PRICE TARGET
Bull
+10% to +20%UK housing starts pick up faster than expected.
Base
-5% to +5%Construction activity ticks along steadily without major surprises.
Bear
-15% to -25%Interest rates stay high and stall building projects.

What are the pros and cons of Ibstock plc?

4bull points
6bear points

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

The bull case4
  • Deeply established household name in UK construction
  • Solid gross profit margin on manufactured goods
  • Meaningful dividend payout for income seekers
  • Asset backing reflected in a low price-to-book: The share price versus the company's net assets per share (its book value). Under 1 can look cheap, though it varies a lot by industry. ratio
The catch3
  • Recent revenue growth: How fast the company's sales grew versus a year ago. has dipped into negative territory
  • Very thin net profit margins leave little room for error
  • Weak return on equity: How much profit the company makes for each £1 shareholders have put in. Higher usually means a more efficient business. shows sluggish profit generation from shareholder funds
Key risks3
  • Heavy reliance on the cyclical: A business whose sales and profits rise and fall with the wider economy - booming in good times, sinking in downturns. Miners, carmakers and banks are classic examples. UK housing market
  • Vulnerability to high energy costs needed to run brick kilns
  • Potential delays in large-scale national infrastructure projects
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: earnings_growth · 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 2026-08-02 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 2026-08-02. Prices may be delayed and numbers can go stale - always double-check before acting.