The past few years have been fertile for the FTSE 100. Ignoring cash dividends, the UK’s blue-chip index is up almost a quarter (+23.5%) over one year. Furthermore, it has leapt by almost two-thirds (+65%) over five years.
Of course, adding in dividends boosts these returns even further. For example, the FTSE 100 Total Return Index (TRIUKX) has jumped by 27.8% in 12 months. This easily beats growth indexes such as the US S&P 500 and even the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index.
Sadly, not all Footsie stocks have followed the market higher. Indeed, I found 24 FTSE 100 shares have lost value over the past year. But which business in particular might be primed for a powerful comeback in 2026/27?
Bunzl gets battered
Ever heard of Bunzl (LSE: BNZL)? This British business is a leading distribution and outsourcing company for food-service providers and food retailers. Its main products include safety and hygiene equipment, chemicals, packaging, disposable tableware, personal protective equipment, cleaning machinery, and first-aid kits. In other words, quite a lot of plastic gear.
The company divides itself geographically into four business units: North America (the largest), the UK and Ireland, Continental Europe, and the rest of the world (largely Australasia).
For two decades, Bunzl’s revenues and profits grew rapidly, before hitting a hurdle in 2024/25. Falling sales growth and profits saw the shares take a beating in 2025, crashing 25.6% on a single day (16 April 2025) after Bunzl released disappointing results. That day, I grabbed this potential ‘falling knife’, buying Bunzl for my family portfolio at 2,292p a share.
As I write, the Bunzl share price stands at 2,120p, valuing this group at £6.9bn. At their 2025 high, the shares briefly hit 3,488p on 13 February 2025, so they have plunged 39.2% since that date. The share price is also down 5.2% over five years, making it a full-on FTSE 100 flop.
As a value/income investor, my lifelong love of bargains often draws me to potential ‘fallen angels’ such as Bunzl. Its falling share price has pushed up the dividend yield to 3.5% a year, above the wider index’s cash yield of below 3% a year. In addition, the shares trade on a modest rating of 14.6 times earnings, delivering an earnings yield approaching 6.9% a year.
Big news (and big moves?) on 2 March
For the record, if I were vastly wealthy and could afford to buy this entire business today, I would gladly do so. Indeed, it would take a global meltdown for me to part with this stock. At least, that is, until 2 March, when the group releases its 2025 full-year results.
If these are particularly bad — say, revenues, profits margins, earnings, and cash flow all slump — then I might be tempted to change my mind and dump our stock.
Then again, Bunzl’s human-intensive markets mean that it appears largely safe from the AI gloom hitting other industries. In short, 2 March is a huge day for us and other Bunzl shareholder-owners, so mark your diaries now.
Finally, what other shares could make big moves in 2025/26? Read on to find out!
