- Price
- $65.01
- Fair value
- $70.00
- Discount
- 7.1%
- Uncertainty
- Medium
- LSEG rating
- 1.83
- Moat
- Wide
- Next earnings
- 2026-10-28
- Next earnings is estimate
- No
- Company name
- Unilever
- Sector
- Household & personal products
- About
- Unilever sells branded consumer goods around the world. It reports four business groups: Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care and Foods. Its brands include Dove, Knorr and Hellmann's. It makes money from the sale of these products to retailers and, more and more, through online channels. In the first half of 2026, turnover was €25.6 billion and the underlying operating margin was 20.3%. Emerging markets such as India, Indonesia and Latin America give a large part of sales. Unilever demerged its ice cream business in December 2025, and on March 31, 2026 it agreed to combine its Foods business with McCormick. After that deal, Unilever will be a home and personal care company with about €39 billion of sales.
- Thesis
- The market holds Unilever's price down while its Foods business is in a slow and complex separation. On March 31, 2026, Unilever agreed to combine Foods with McCormick. Unilever gets $15.7 billion in cash, its shareholders get 55.1% of the new company, and Unilever keeps 9.9%. The deal closes only by mid-2027, Unilever shareholders do not vote on it, and the UK, EU and US antitrust reviews can ask for sales of brands. Investors also expect that many Unilever shareholders will sell the McCormick shares they receive, and Unilever plans to sell its own stake after a one-year lock-up. The London share price fell about 14% from March 17 to April 14, 2026 on this news. A strong euro adds pressure, because currency cut turnover by 4.9% in the first half of 2026. For the gap to close, three things must be true. Underlying sales growth must stay in the 4% to 6% range, with the second half at 4% to 5% as guided on July 28, 2026. The underlying operating margin must rise above the 20.0% of 2025. The Foods deal must pass its steps on time: the McCormick registration statement, the McCormick shareholder vote, the antitrust approvals and the closing by mid-2027. The first checks are the Q3 2026 trading statement on October 28, 2026 and the Unilever investor event in New York on November 4, 2026. If growth holds and the deal closes on plan, the gap can close over the next two to four quarters.
- Risks
- The Foods combination with McCormick is long and complex. It needs a McCormick shareholder vote, antitrust approvals in the UK, EU and US, and other approvals, and it is expected to close only by mid-2027. Regulators can ask for brand sales, and delays can keep the uncertainty on the share price. Unilever expects to give transition services to the combined company for about two to three years.
Sales of the new McCormick shares can press on prices. Unilever shareholders will own 55.1% of the combined company, and many may sell. Unilever plans to sell its 9.9% stake after a one-year lock-up.
Currency changes reduce reported results. Currency cut turnover by 4.9% and underlying EPS by 6.0% in the first half of 2026. A large part of sales comes from emerging markets with weak currencies.
Unilever expects growth in the second half of 2026 to come mostly from higher prices. Weak consumers or strong competition in home and personal care can make price increases harder, and the macroeconomic environment is uncertain, as the CEO said on July 28, 2026.
- Balance sheet
- Cash: €6.0B
Debt: €32.1B
Net debt: €26.0B
Net debt / EBITDA: 2.3× (medium)
Interest cover: 16×
Debt due within 12 months: €8.1B
Ratings: S&P A+, Moody's A1
Unilever reports in euros. At June 30, 2026, total financial liabilities were €32.1 billion, of which €8.1 billion was current. Cash is cash and cash equivalents of €4.7 billion and other current financial assets of €1.3 billion. Net debt, as Unilever defines it, was €26.0 billion, up from €23.1 billion at December 31, 2025, because of dividends and the €1.5 billion buyback. Net debt was 2.3 times underlying EBITDA over 12 months, and Unilever expects about 2 times at the end of 2026. Interest cover is operating profit of €4.9 billion divided by net finance costs of €302 million in the first half of 2026; net finance costs were 2.5% of average net debt. Unilever had undrawn 364-day bilateral credit facilities of $5.2 billion and €2.6 billion, and access to €2.0 billion more. The ratings are from the 2025 annual report on Form 20-F; Unilever aims to keep at least A/A2. The Foods deal will bring $15.7 billion in cash at closing, expected by mid-2027, which supports €6 billion of buybacks from 2026 to 2029.
As of 2026-06-30.
- Checkpoints
- Oct 28, 2026: Q3 2026 trading statement: sales growth. Pending. Watch: Underlying sales growth of 4% or more with positive volume, and the full-year outlook kept, pass; growth below 4% or a cut to the outlook fails.
Nov 4, 2026: Investor event in New York. Pending. Watch: Clear medium-term targets for the home and personal care company, with margin growth above the 20.0% of 2025, pass; lower targets or more spending with no margin gain fail.
Q2 2027 (estimate): Foods and McCormick deal closing. Pending. Watch: The McCormick vote, the antitrust approvals and the closing by mid-2027 with no large brand sales pass; a delay past mid-2027 or large required sales fail.
- Recent events
- 2026-09-09: At a Barclays conference, McCormick presented its plans for the integration, the cost savings and the debt reduction after the combination with Unilever Foods. The deal still needs the McCormick shareholder vote, antitrust approvals and an effective registration statement.
2026-07-28: Unilever reported first-half 2026 results. Underlying sales growth was 4.8%, with 4.2% from volume, and Q2 growth was 5.8%, with 5.5% volume, the best volume quarter in more than ten years. Turnover was €25.6 billion, up 0.5% after a 4.9% currency loss. Underlying EPS rose 2.4% to €1.61. Unilever raised its 2026 outlook to underlying sales growth within 4% to 6%, with about 3% volume, and a small rise in the margin.
2026-07-23: McCormick announced the planned operating model and the executive team of the company that will combine McCormick and Unilever Foods, with a secondary listing in London.
2026-06-05: Unilever completed its €1.5 billion share buyback, which started on April 30, 2026. It bought back 30,703,780 shares. It plans a total of €6 billion of buybacks from 2026 to 2029, funded partly by the Foods deal.
2026-04-30: Unilever reported Q1 2026 underlying sales growth of 3.8%, with 2.9% volume, ahead of analyst estimates. Turnover fell 3.3% to €12.6 billion because of currency. It raised the quarterly dividend by 3% to €0.4664.