WHERE TO INVEST: Bell Equipment’s share price is being propped up by buyout hopes

Bell Equipment’s share price has remained above R40 despite a sharp deterioration in the company’s financial results, largely because investors still hope the founding family may return with a buyout offer.

The South African industrial company’s share price has fallen 3% over the past year. That decline looks modest beside the 74% drop in headline earnings per share recorded in the six months to June 2026.

The earnings decline reflects a weaker business across several measures. Group revenue fell 12.4%, while the gross profit margin dropped from 21.94% to 19.99%. Gross profit consequently fell 20.2%, and operating profit declined 60.3%, even after a 9.8% reduction in total expenses. Cash generated from operations fell 80%.

The article traces the share price support to July 2024, when Bell’s shares rose from R29 to more than R50 after news that the Bell founding family was seeking to acquire the company. The proposed price was R53 a share, a substantial premium, but minority shareholders blocked the transaction while seeking a higher offer.

Two years later, the shares trade at just over R40, about 24% below the proposed offer price. The Bell family remains associated with the company, and the market’s expectation of another offer has created what the article describes as an effective floor under the price. Without that expectation, the shares could face greater pressure as the company’s results deteriorate.