Stock of the Day

August 13, 2021

Unilever (UL)

$62.35
-$0.36 (-0.6%)
Market Cap: $135.18B

About Unilever

Unilever PLC operates as a fast-moving consumer goods company in the Asia Pacific, Africa, the Americas, and Europe. It operates through five segments: Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care, Nutrition, and Ice Cream. The Beauty & Wellbeing segment engages in the sale of hair care products, such as shampoo, conditioner, and styling; skin care products including face, hand, and body moisturizer; and prestige beauty and health & wellbeing products consist of the vitamins, minerals, and supplements. The Personal Care segment offers skin cleansing products comprising soap and shower; deodorants; and oral care products, such as toothpaste, toothbrush, and mouthwash products. The Home Care segment is involved in the sale of fabric care products, including washing powders and liquids, and rinse conditioners; and fabric enhancers, and home and hygiene products. The Nutrition segment provides dressings products, such as mayonnaise and ketchup; sells scratch cooking aids consist of soups, bouillons, and seasonings; plant-based meat; beverages; and functional nutrition products, including Horlicks and Boost, as well as tea products. The Ice Cream segment offers ice cream products including in-home and out-of-home ice creams. The company provides its products under the AXE, Ben & Jerry's, Cif, Clear, Closeup, Comfort, Cornetto, Dermalogica, Domestos, Dove, Dove Men+Care, Hellmann's, Horlicks, Knorr, LUX, Lifebuoy, Liquid I.V., Magnum, Nutrafol, OMO, Paula's Choice, Pepsodent, Pond's, Rexona, Rexona, Sunlight, Sunsilk, Surf, TRESemmé, Vaseline, Wall's, Breyers, and Yasso brand names. Unilever PLC was founded in 1860 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

Today's Trend

Unilever PLC (UL) is trading higher today after a set of Q1 updates and corporate moves that investors view as earnings and capital-allocation positive. Key drivers: stronger-than-expected volume-led sales, a €1.5bn share buyback, and analyst upgrades; there’s also ongoing asset-sale interest that could free capital.

  • Q1 results outperformed expectations driven by strong volume growth and underlying sales strength — this is cited as the main reason the stock rallied. Article Title
  • Unilever reported underlying sales up ~3.8% with volumes +2.9%; management says power brands and emerging-market growth led the quarter — supports revenue momentum and margin leverage. Article Title
  • Unilever launched a €1.5bn share buyback concurrent with the Q1 release; buybacks and volume-driven sales growth are supportive for EPS and shareholder returns. Article Title
  • Equity analysts at Erste Group raised FY2026 and FY2027 EPS forecasts modestly, reflecting the stronger volume/price mix—this lifts forward earnings expectations. (MarketBeat / analyst note)
  • Seeking Alpha published the Q1 sales/trading call transcript (and a separate slideshow) — provides management commentary and detail on growth drivers and portfolio changes; useful for parsing execution but not a fresh catalyst by itself. Transcript Slideshow
  • Reports say KKR is exploring a potential ~$10bn deal for Unilever’s ex-spreads business — a sale would generate cash and sharpen focus, but terms and timing are uncertain so market impact is conditional. Article Title
  • The Wall Street Journal covered Unilever’s underlying-sales rise amid its large portfolio overhaul — confirms strategy but is more contextual than immediately catalytic. Article Title

Bottom line for investors: the stock is higher on quarter-to-date operational improvement (volume-led sales growth), an active buyback, and modest analyst upgrades. Watch follow-through in margins, guidance from management in the call transcript/slideshow, and any concrete outcomes from the potential asset sale for further upside or re-rating.

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