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what it is
Unilever sells everyday consumer brands across food, personal care, and home care in more than 190 countries.
how it gets paid
Unilever reports in euros: FY2024 turnover €60.8B. The ~$65.5B headline on this page is an approximate USD translation for sizing—do not mix it with euro EPS without converting consistently.
why it grew (FY2024)
Underlying sales growth ~4.2% (volume-led, per FY2024 overview) with underlying operating margin ~18.4%—still check IFRS diluted EPS separately for one-offs.
what just happened
FY2024: underlying EPS €2.98 (+14.7%) and diluted EPS €2.29 (−10.6%)—the gap is largely non-operating items (disposals, productivity program costs) per the FY2024 announcement.
At a glance
A+ balance sheet — rock-solid finances — built to survive anything
80/100 earnings predictability — you can trust these numbers
18.2x trailing p/e — priced about right
3.6% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
20.5% return on capital — every dollar works hard here
xvary composite: 79/100 — average
What they do
Unilever sells everyday consumer brands across food, personal care, and home care in more than 190 countries.
Unilever wins on brand breadth, retail distribution, and everyday repeat purchase across beauty, personal care, home care, nutrition, and ice cream. Emerging markets were about 57% of 2024 group turnover—so currency and local growth still move the consolidated euro numbers you see in filings.
How they make money
~$65.5B
approximate USD sizing of FY2024 turnover (reported €60.8B)—segment rows below are shown in USD-style billions for layout consistency; verify euros in the annual report.
Beauty & Wellbeing
$13.3B
Personal Care
$13.9B
Home Care
$12.6B
Nutrition
$13.9B
Ice Cream
$8.8B
The products that matter
beauty, skincare, prestige
Beauty & wellbeing
~$13.3B shown · ~21% of sized total
Aligned to the revenue row above—not the old fabricated $24B card. Growth and margin live in Unilever’s euro segment disclosures and “underlying sales growth” commentary.
segment
deodorant, skin cleansing, hair care
Personal care
~$13.9B shown · ~22% of sized total
Matches the “how they make money” row; any global share stats must be sourced to Unilever category releases, not placeholder percentages.
segment
home cleaning & hygiene
Home care
~$12.6B shown · ~20% of sized total
Third pillar in the five-segment layout; nutrition and ice cream are separate rows in the same grid—don’t collapse them into one misleading “nutrition only” story.
segment
Key numbers
23.0%
operating margin
Operating margin → money left after running the business → so what: Unilever keeps about $23 from every $100 of sales before interest and taxes.
20.5%
return on capital
Return on capital → profit earned on the money put into the business → so what: each $1 reinvested produces about $0.21 in operating profit.
3.6%
dividend yield
Dividend yield → cash paid to you each year relative to the stock price → so what: you are getting paid while you wait, but not enough to ignore valuation risk.
18.2x
trailing p/e
P/E is on translated/trailing ADR earnings—Unilever’s headline FY2024 operating story was ~4.2% underlying sales growth and margin expansion in euros.
Financial health
A+
strength
- balance sheet grade A+ — near the highest rating possible
- risk rank 1 — safer than 95% of stocks
- price stability 100 / 100
- long-term debt $27.1B (13% of capital)
- net profit margin 12.2% — keeps 12 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 41% — $0.41 profit for every $1 investors have put in
A+ with balance sheet grade and risk rank standing out. your money faces less risk here than at most public companies.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in UL 3 years ago → it's now worth $14,640.
The index would have given you $14,540.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
FY2024 reported
FY2024 turnover €60.8B; underlying EPS €2.98 (+14.7%) vs. diluted EPS €2.29 (−10.6%).
Unilever’s public filings and newsflow are euro-denominated—map to UL ADR quotes with the correct period and FX. Underlying operating margin expanded +170 bps to 18.4% per the FY2024 results overview.
€60.8B
FY2024 turnover
€2.98
underlying EPS
18.4%
underlying op. margin
the number that mattered
The split between underlying earnings power and IFRS diluted EPS tells you whether the market is pricing operating execution or one-off/disposal noise.
-
unilever adrs recently traded at a fresh all-time high.
-
the stock had been rangebound for most of 2025 but, earlier this year, the adrs jumped to record highs.positive investor sentiment likely stemmed from a combination of strength from the broader market averages, as well as recent news related to the implementation of ai-driven technology across the business (discussed in more detail below).
-
all told, since our december review, the stock is up roughly 20% in value.
-
core operations should continue to perform well.management has been focused on driving growth within its power brands, namely beauty & wellbeing and personal care. moreover, the previously announced demerger of the magnum ice cream company was completed in december of 2025, and is now a separate entity. elsewhere, while unilever is likely to continue to gain market share in primary geographies (north america and europe), the company’s strong emerging markets presence should prove to be a secular growth driver.
-
the company is making a strong push on the technology front.first, as mentioned above, unilever recently inked a deal with google cloud to accelerate the company’s technology transformation. specifically, the five-year partnership will utilize google’s advanced ai platforms to drive data utilization and marketing capabilities for unilever’s primary brand products.
sources: Unilever FY2024 results / annual report materials (unilever.com) · Form 20-F / SEC filings for ADR mapping—euros are the accounting currency.
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is emerging-market currency exposure hitting reported results from a business with more than half its sales tied to those markets.
high
emerging-market currency exposure
More than half of sales come from emerging markets. If local currencies weaken, reported revenue and earnings can look worse even when local demand holds up.
This risk touches more than half the business.
med
growth stays stuck below peers
UL has been growing around 2% annually while P&G has been closer to 4%. That gap is the reason the stock gets a discount multiple.
If the gap persists, the re-rating case stays thin.
med
portfolio simplification needs to work
The ice cream separation removed an €8B revenue business, and a new CFO is now part of the execution story. A smaller portfolio only helps if the remaining categories accelerate.
You are left with less complexity, but also fewer excuses.
Combined, these risks leave UL exposed to currency noise across more than half its sales, a peer growth gap of roughly 2 percentage points, and the pressure of replacing an €8B business with better execution in the core.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
earnings
q3 2026 trading statement
Due october 28, 2026. You want to see whether 3.5% underlying sales growth is holding, accelerating, or fading.
growth
beauty & wellbeing carrying the load
This segment is $24.0B and growing 6%. If the best category slows, the whole portfolio starts to look even more mature.
risk
currency translation
More than half of sales are tied to emerging markets. Reported numbers can get messy fast when currencies move against them.
execution
post spin-off margin trend
The cleaner portfolio should eventually help profitability. If margins keep wobbling after the december 2025 separation, the simplification story weakens.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
80 / 100
This is a reliable staple business. In human-speak: analysts think the company usually lands near expectations.
risk profile
1
Risk rank 1 means this sits on the safer end of the market. You are not being paid for drama here.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
212 buyers vs. 846 sellers in 4q2025. total institutional holdings: 0.2B shares.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$50
$84
$71
current price
$67
target midpoint · 6% from current · 3-5yr high: $80 (+10% · 6% ann'l return)
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