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Kainos Group plc (KNOS.L)

Technology Balanced

Building digital government services and workplace software, this £1.0B tech group helps big organisations move smoothly into the modern era.

£8.80
≈ 880p · London-listed shares are usually quoted in pence (GBX) elsewhere; the Almanac shows pounds (£1 = 100p).

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

The honest version: Building digital government services and workplace software, this £1.0B tech group helps big organisations move smoothly into the modern era.

No rating · no target price · nothing for sale here
Price-19.8%
52-week range+18% past year
£8.80
Low £6.80High £11.90
Where today's price sits versus its past year - context, not a signal.
If you had put £1,000 into Kainos Group plc
£802-20%

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'.
£1.02B
Avg volume: How many shares change hands on a typical day. Higher means it's easy to buy or exit without moving the price.
384.69K
Day range: The lowest and highest price the shares traded at during the latest day.
£8.77 – £9.10
52-week range: The lowest and highest the shares have traded over the past year - a sense of how wide the swings have been.
£6.80 – £11.90
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.
25.2
Dividend yield: The yearly dividend as a percentage of the share price - roughly the income you'd earn from dividends alone.
3.4%
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.
0.83
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. 0.83
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?▲ +2% past week · ▲ +18% 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

Establishment as a dominant global partner for enterprise cloud software.

The bear case

Loss of key public sector framework agreements to rivals.

What does Kainos Group plc do?

Kainos is a Belfast-born technology specialist that teams up with major public sector bodies and commercial clients to overhaul clunky digital systems. It earns its crust through software development contracts and by helping businesses roll out Workday, a popular corporate platform for human resources and finance. Anyone keeping an eye on this business should watch how steadily it wins and renews those lucrative government contracts.

VQGMI
Factor profile

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

Value: How cheap the stock looks versus profits, sales and assets (higher = cheaper). 23Quality: How profitable and financially healthy the company is (higher = stronger). 73Growth: How fast revenue and earnings are growing (higher = faster). 91Momentum: How the share price has been trending recently (higher = stronger recent run). 49Income: The dividend income on offer and how sustainable it looks (higher = more/steadier). 42
Quick checks
What's strong
  • Quality screens high (73/100)
  • Growth screens high (91/100)
  • High return on equity shows efficient use of shareholder funds
  • Strong double-digit revenue and earnings growth
  • Healthy gross margin indicating pricing power in digital services
What to watch
  • Value screens low (23/100)
  • Public sector budget constraints or political shifts delaying tech spending
  • Wage inflation making skilled software engineers harder to hire profitably
  • Concentration risk if major enterprise partnerships slow down

What do Kainos Group plc's numbers mean?

P/E
25.2
This shows how much investors are paying for every pound of current earnings, reflecting past profitability.
Forward P/E
15.6
This points to expected future earnings, dropping lower because profits are projected to rise.
Gross margin
46.1%
For every pound of revenue, this is what remains after direct delivery costs, leaving a solid cushion for overheads.
Return on equity
35.6%
A strong measure of how efficiently the company turns shareholder money into actual net profit.
Dividend yield
3.4%
The cash payout relative to the share price returned to shareholders for holding the stock.

Does Kainos Group plc pay a dividend?

Yes - Kainos Group plc currently pays a dividend of about 3.4% 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.

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

Kainos Group plc is next scheduled to report on about 2026-11-09 - 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.

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What are the scenarios for Kainos Group plc?

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

£11£9£6today · £9▲ Bull · £10• Base · £9▼ Bear · £7in 1 yearILLUSTRATIVE · NOT A PREDICTION OR PRICE TARGET
Bull
+10% to +20%Stronger-than-expected public sector digital spending announcements.
Base
-5% to +5%Steady contract wins matching current market expectations.
Bear
-15% to -25%Delays or budget freezes in government IT projects.

What are the pros and cons of Kainos Group 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
  • High return on equity: How much profit the company makes for each £1 shareholders have put in. Higher usually means a more efficient business. shows efficient use of shareholder funds
  • Strong double-digit revenue and earnings growth
  • Healthy gross margin: The share of each £1 of sales left after the direct cost of making the product, before other running costs. Higher usually means more pricing power. indicating pricing power in digital services
  • Established trusted partner status with government bodies
The catch3
  • High 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 implies a steep price for net assets
  • Dependence on large public sector contracts can cause lumpiness
  • Net profit margin is modest relative to gross margin: The share of each £1 of sales left after the direct cost of making the product, before other running costs. Higher usually means more pricing power. due to operating overheads
Key risks3
  • Public sector budget constraints or political shifts delaying tech spending
  • Wage inflation making skilled software engineers harder to hire profitably
  • Concentration risk if major enterprise partnerships slow down
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 2026-08-02 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.