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Unilever (UL) AI Stock Analysis

2,425 Followers
UL

Unilever

(NYSE:UL)

Select Model
Rating:70Outperform
Price Target:$70.00▲(6.42% Upside)
Action:reiterated
Date:10/29/26

The score is driven mainly by solid operating profitability and cash generation, reinforced by a positive earnings update with upgraded guidance and strong volume momentum. Offsetting this are financial risks from elevated leverage and the sharp 2025 revenue contraction, while technicals are constructive but not strongly bullish and valuation is reasonable but not cheap given the P/E despite a supportive dividend yield.

Positive Factors
Volume-led growthStrong volume growth indicates improving consumer demand and product adoption rather than performance driven only by pricing. Sustained momentum across recent quarters can reinforce market share, support operating leverage, and provide a durable foundation for revenue growth over the next several quarters.
Negative Factors
Elevated leverageHigher leverage increases the portion of cash flow committed to financing and leaves less flexibility for acquisitions, investment, or shareholder returns. The rise from the prior year also makes Unilever more sensitive to weaker operating performance and limits its ability to absorb prolonged business pressure.

Unilever Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Sales Growth by SegmentAnalyzes sales increases in various product segments, highlighting areas of strong demand and potential for future expansion.

-5.000.005.0010.0015.00Mar 21Jun 21Sep 21Dec 21Mar 22Jun 22Sep 22Dec 22Mar 23Jun 23Sep 23Dec 23Mar 24Jun 24Sep 24Dec 24Mar 25Jun 25Sep 25Dec 25Mar 26Jun 26
Chart Insights

Beauty & Wellbeing and Personal Care are the clear outperformers, lifted by Power Brands and premium innovation, while Home Care and Nutrition have largely normalized from their 2022 spikes into low-single-digit growth. Ice Cream’s volatility and the demerger have removed a cyclical swing from the group, leaving steadier but slower segment growth. Management’s push for volume-led growth, higher brand reinvestment and remaining productivity savings fits this mix, but selective commodity inflation and FX remain the main risks to reported results and near-term EPS momentum.

Data provided by:The Fly

Unilever (UL) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)

-15%-10%-5%0%5%10%15%20%UL+6.31%SPY+14.28%Dec '25Jan '26Feb '26Mar '26Apr '26May '26Jun '26Jul '26Aug '26Sep '26Oct '26Nov '26
Market Cap
$145.21B
Dividend Yield
3.38%
Average Volume (3M)
3.66M
Price to Earnings (P/E)
13.8
Beta (1Y)
-0.04
Revenue Growth
-17.45%
EPS Growth
8.84%
Country
US
Employees
96,092
Sector
Consumer Defensive
Sector Strength
62
Industry
Household & Personal Products

Unilever Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Unilever PLC operates as a fast-moving consumer goods company in the Asia Pacific, Africa, the Americas, and Europe. It operates through four segments: Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care, and Foods. The Beauty & Wellbeing segment offers hai...

How the Company Makes Money

Unilever makes money mainly by selling fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) under well-known brands to retailers, distributors, and e-commerce platforms, who then sell to end consumers. Revenue is generated across its operating groups—Beauty & Wellbeing...

Unilever Earnings Call Summary

Earnings Call Date:Jul 28, 2026(Q2-2026)|% Change Since:8.08%|Next Earnings Date:Feb 11, 2027
Earnings Call SentimentPositive

Overall the call was positive: management reported sustained, accelerating volume-led growth (best quarterly volumes in over a decade), stronger performance from power brands, robust emerging market momentum, improved cash generation and an upgraded full-year outlook. Notable challenges remain — meaningful currency headwinds, commodity-driven gross margin pressure, underperformance in Foods (U.S. condiments) and near-term risks (Brazil tax reform and potential volume sensitivity as pricing lands). On balance, the operational momentum, margin discipline and cash strength outweigh the headwinds, supporting an optimistic outlook.

Positive Updates

Strong Volume-Led Growth
Underlying sales growth of 4.8% in H1 2026, with 4.2% from volume; Q2 underlying sales growth accelerated to 5.8% with volume up 5.5% — the best quarterly volume performance since 2010.

Negative Updates

Foods Underperformance (Condiments / U.S.)
Foods grew only 1.2% in H1 (volume-driven) and slowed to ~2% in Q2; underlying operating profit for Foods down 4.3% to EUR 1.5bn. U.S. condiments underperformed due to increased competition in premium mayonnaise segments and lost share; targeted remediation plans in place.

Company Guidance

Unilever upgraded its full‑year outlook, now guiding underlying sales growth of 4–6% with around 3% volume growth (UVG) for 2026 and second‑half growth of 4–5% led by pricing; management expects pricing to build in H2 as commodity inflation lands (≈€550m in H2, ≈€850m full year, range €800–900m). Gross margins are expected to be broadly similar to H1 (≈46.8%) while delivering a modest full‑year improvement in underlying operating margin versus 2025 (H1 margin 20.3%, +10bps); H1 turnover was €25.6bn, free cash flow €1.5bn (+€0.5bn), underlying EPS €1.61 (+2.4%), brand & marketing at 16.1% of turnover (normative 15–16%), overheads improved ≈70bps and the €800m productivity program was completed. Finance costs ran at ~2.5% of average net debt (expected <3% FY), underlying effective tax rate is ~26%, and currency was a headwind in H1 (−4.9% turnover, ~−6pp EPS) but is expected to moderate to ~−3% for the full year.

Unilever Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Profitability and cash generation are solid (net margin improved to ~12.1% in 2025; free cash flow ~82% of net income), but the sharp 2025 revenue decline (-18.8% YoY) and elevated leverage (~1.9x debt-to-equity) meaningfully increase near-term risk and reduce flexibility.

Income Statement

72Positive

Balance Sheet

54Neutral

Cash Flow

76Positive
Financial statement breakdown
BreakdownTTMDec 2025Dec 2024Dec 2023Dec 2022Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue45.85B50.50B60.76B59.60B60.07B52.44B
Gross Profit46.00B50.50B60.76B25.18B24.17B22.18B
EBITDA10.52B11.04B12.49B11.68B11.24B11.38B
Net Income5.88B9.47B5.74B6.49B7.64B6.05B
Balance Sheet
Total Assets76.93B70.44B79.75B75.26B77.82B75.09B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments5.87B5.06B7.63B6.11B5.52B4.50B
Total Debt32.10B29.59B30.66B28.59B28.44B29.67B
Total Liabilities58.63B52.86B57.20B54.50B56.12B55.35B
Stockholders Equity16.19B15.52B19.99B18.10B19.02B17.11B
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow7.24B6.93B7.78B7.92B5.83B6.88B
Operating Cash Flow8.53B8.35B9.52B9.43B7.28B7.99B
Investing Cash Flow-3.87B-3.12B-625.00M-2.29B2.45B-3.25B
Financing Cash Flow-4.29B-6.81B-6.94B-7.19B-8.89B-5.90B

Unilever Technical Analysis

Technical Analysis SentimentPositive
Last Price65.78

Price Trends

50DMA63.57Positive
100DMA62.85Positive
200DMA61.97Positive

Market Momentum

MACD0.92Negative
RSI56.40Neutral
STOCH50.86Neutral

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For UL, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 65.78 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 65.58, above the 50-day MA of 63.57, and above the 200-day MA of 61.97, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 0.92 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 56.40 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 50.86 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for UL.

Unilever Risk Analysis

Unilever disclosed 14 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Unilever reported the most risks in the "Ability to Sell" category.

Higher RiskSector Avg.Lower RiskFinance & CorporateTech & InnovationLegal & RegulatoryProductionAbility to SellMacro & Political
Ability to Sell - Risks related to the company’s ability to sell goods and services

Latest Risks Added

0 New Risks

Unilever Peers Comparison

Overall Rating

UnderperformOutperform
Sector (62)

Financial Indicators

UL against its peers
NameOverall RatingMarket CapP/E RatioROEDividend YieldRevenue GrowthEPS Growth
CHDCHD78Outperform$26.38B34.3618.21%1.09%1.70%2.07%
PGPG72Outperform$390.92B24.8429.55%2.58%3.52%-3.74%
ULUL70Outperform$141.29B13.8458.26%3.38%-17.45%8.84%
KMBKMB69Neutral$67.97B10.96162.62%4.68%-8.38%67.47%
CLCL67Neutral$77.97B38.071135.82%2.15%5.91%-28.30%
Sector *62Neutral$20.33B14.63-3.31%3.23%1.93%-12.26%

* Consumer Defensive Sector Average

Performance Comparison

-10%0%10%20%30%ULCHDCLKMBPGDec '25Jan '26Feb '26Mar '26Apr '26May '26Jun '26Jul '26Aug '26Sep '26Oct '26Nov '26
UL and its peers over the selected period
Show on chartTickerCompany NamePriceChange% Change
ULUnilever plc65.782.774.39%
CHDChurch & Dwight Company112.0228.1633.59%
CLColgate-palmolive Company98.0021.0627.37%
KMBKimberly Clark108.869.509.56%
PGProcter & Gamble Company167.6723.8816.61%

Unilever Corporate Events

Unilever lifts 2026 outlook as Q3 growth accelerates and Foods spin-off advances

Oct 28, 2026

Unilever reported continued strong performance in the third quarter of 2026, with underlying sales growth of 5.2% driven by 2.9% volume and 2.3% pricing, lifting turnover 6.7% to €13.3bn versus a year earlier. Home Care, Personal Care and Beauty & We...

Unilever Announces October 2026 Board Change as Ruby Lu Resigns

Oct 26, 2026

Unilever PLC has announced a change to its board, with non-executive director Ruby Lu resigning from the Board of Unilever PLC effective 24 October 2026. Chair Ian Meakins publicly thanked Lu for her five years of service, highlighting the perspectiv...

Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.

Disclaimer

This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.

Date of analysis: Oct 29, 2026