Unilever plc (UL)
NYSE:UL
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Unilever
(NYSE:UL)
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Rating:69Neutral
Price Target:
$61.00
▼(-9.71% Downside)
Action:DowngradedDate:02/18/26
The score is driven primarily by solid underlying financial performance (durable margins and cash generation) and a supportive earnings outlook (volume-led growth, modest margin improvement, and shareholder returns). The biggest constraints are balance-sheet leverage and the reported revenue decline, while technicals show an uptrend but with overbought conditions and valuation that is reasonable but not cheap.
Positive Factors
Cash generation
Consistently strong free cash flow (100% cash conversion in 2025) underpins dividends, regular buybacks and planned productivity reinvestment. Reliable cash conversion provides durable funding for growth, shareholder returns and working-capital needs despite demerger-related timing effects.
Negative Factors
Elevated leverage
A materially higher leverage profile reduces financial flexibility to pursue large-scale M&A or absorb shocks without cutting buybacks/dividends. Elevated net debt increases interest and refinancing risk, making the balance sheet more sensitive to adverse macro or commodity cycles over the medium term.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Cash generation
Consistently strong free cash flow (100% cash conversion in 2025) underpins dividends, regular buybacks and planned productivity reinvestment. Reliable cash conversion provides durable funding for growth, shareholder returns and working-capital needs despite demerger-related timing effects.
Read all positive factors
Unilever (UL) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$120.33B
Dividend Yield3.74%
Average Volume (3M)4.98M
Price to Earnings (P/E)12.8
Beta (1Y)<0.01
Revenue Growth-0.30%
EPS Growth-14.60%
CountryUS
Employees115,964
SectorConsumer Defensive
Sector Strength42
IndustryHousehold & Personal Products
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)1.75
Shares Outstanding2,185,205,300
10 Day Avg. Volume7,389,935
30 Day Avg. Volume4,976,257
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio0.78
Price to Book (P/B)7.83
Price to Sales (P/S)2.41
P/FCF Ratio19.44
Enterprise Value/Market Cap1.08
Enterprise Value/Revenue2.58
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit2.58
Enterprise Value/Ebitda11.73
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$69.00Price Target Upside2.13% Upside
Rating ConsensusModerate Buy
Number of Analyst Covering2
EPS Forecast (FY)3.7
Revenue Forecast (FY)$59.67B
Unilever Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
Unilever PLC operates as a fast-moving consumer goods company. It operates through Beauty & Personal Care, Foods & Refreshment, and Home Care segments. The Beauty & Personal Care segment provides skin care and hair care products, deodorants, and s...
How the Company Makes Money
Unilever makes money by selling branded fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) to customers worldwide, generating revenue primarily from product sales across its operating divisions: Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care, and Foods & Ice Cream. ...
Unilever Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Any
Sales Growth by Segment
Analyzes sales increases in various product segments, highlighting areas of strong demand and potential for future expansion.
Analyzes sales increases in various product segments, highlighting areas of strong demand and potential for future expansion.
Data provided by:
The Fly
The FlyUnilever Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Feb 12, 2026
(Q4-2025)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Jul 23, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call presented a predominantly positive operational story: broad-based sequential improvement, Power Brands and premium innovations delivering above-market growth, margin expansion, strong productivity progress, solid cash generation and a clearer, sharper portfolio following the Ice Cream demerger. Key challenges remain — notable FX headwinds that materially reduced reported turnover and EPS, regional softness in parts of Latin America and a flat China performance for the year, category-specific execution issues (hair care, deodorants in Brazil) and demerger-related cash impacts. Management provided constructive guidance (underlying sales ~4%, volumes at least 2%, modest margin improvement) and clear priorities (volume-led growth, reinvestment in Power Brands, productivity), suggesting confidence in continued improvement.Positive Updates
Underlying Sales and Volume Improvement
Full-year underlying sales growth of 3.5%, with volumes up 1.5% and price contribution of 2.0%. Sequential improvement through the year with Q4 underlying sales growth of 4.2%, volumes 2.1% and price 2.0%.
Negative Updates
Significant Currency Headwinds
Turnover fell to EUR 50.5bn, down 3.8% year-on-year, primarily driven by FX which reduced turnover by 5.9%. Currency hit underlying EPS by -8.8%; on a constant currency basis underlying EPS grew +9.5%.
Read all updates
Q4-2025 Updates
Positive
Negative
Underlying Sales and Volume Improvement
Full-year underlying sales growth of 3.5%, with volumes up 1.5% and price contribution of 2.0%. Sequential improvement through the year with Q4 underlying sales growth of 4.2%, volumes 2.1% and price 2.0%.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Unilever guided 2026 underlying sales growth at the bottom end of its 4–6% multiyear range (c.4%), with underlying volume growth of at least 2% and a further modest improvement in underlying operating margin; management expects overall inflation to be lower than 2025 but selective commodity pressure (notably palm, canola and surfactants) and some currency headwinds. Capital allocation guidance included a new €1.5bn share buyback, continued sustained/growing dividends (maintaining a roughly 70:30 dividend:buyback balance), continued elevated brand & marketing investment (16.1% of turnover in 2025), CapEx at about 3.1% of turnover with >50% directed to productivity, and completion of the €800m productivity program in 2026 (c.€670m delivered to date, ~€130m remaining). Balance-sheet/ cash priorities were reiterated — having generated €5.9bn free cash flow in 2025 (100% cash conversion), with year‑end net debt €23.1bn and net debt/EBITDA ~2x — while the company reiterated its focus on volume-led growth, positive mix and gross‑margin expansion to drive hard‑currency EPS.Unilever Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
72
Positive
Balance Sheet
54
Neutral
Cash Flow
76
Positive
| Breakdown | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | |||||
| Total Revenue | 50.50B | 60.76B | 59.60B | 60.07B | 52.44B |
| Gross Profit | 23.71B | 60.76B | 25.18B | 24.17B | 22.18B |
| EBITDA | 11.52B | 13.01B | 11.06B | 10.58B | 11.38B |
| Net Income | 9.47B | 5.74B | 6.49B | 7.64B | 6.05B |
Balance Sheet | |||||
| Total Assets | 70.44B | 79.75B | 75.27B | 77.82B | 75.09B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 5.06B | 7.63B | 6.11B | 5.52B | 4.50B |
| Total Debt | 29.59B | 30.66B | 28.59B | 28.44B | 29.67B |
| Total Liabilities | 52.86B | 57.20B | 54.50B | 56.12B | 55.35B |
| Stockholders Equity | 15.52B | 19.99B | 18.10B | 19.02B | 17.11B |
Cash Flow | |||||
| Free Cash Flow | 6.25B | 7.78B | 7.92B | 5.83B | 6.86B |
| Operating Cash Flow | 7.61B | 9.52B | 9.43B | 7.28B | 7.97B |
| Investing Cash Flow | -3.57B | -625.00M | -2.29B | 2.45B | -3.25B |
| Financing Cash Flow | -5.57B | -6.94B | -7.19B | -8.89B | -7.10B |
Unilever Technical Analysis
Negative
67.56
Price Trends
66.83
Negative
65.43
Negative
64.87
Negative
Market Momentum
-3.13
Positive
22.40
Positive
13.03
Positive
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For UL, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 67.56 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 61.43, above the 50-day MA of 66.83, and above the 200-day MA of 64.87, indicating a bearish trend. The MACD of -3.13 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 22.40 is Positive, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 13.03 is Positive, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative 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.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
Unilever Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (62)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
74 Outperform | $331.80B | 20.05 | 31.23% | 2.92% | 1.23% | 17.97% | |
69 Neutral | $120.33B | 12.84 | 26.01% | 3.74% | -0.30% | -14.60% | |
68 Neutral | $33.16B | 24.95 | 13.94% | 4.85% | -2.94% | 34.54% | |
62 Neutral | $20.33B | 14.63 | -3.31% | 3.23% | 1.93% | -12.26% | |
61 Neutral | $67.75B | -429.64 | 431.59% | 2.67% | -0.05% | 2.49% | |
61 Neutral | $32.19B | 16.63 | 155.28% | 5.03% | -10.04% | -23.41% | |
47 Neutral | $25.65B | 58.52 | -4.41% | 1.30% | -6.36% | -554.84% |
* Consumer Defensive Sector Average
UL
Unilever
56.03
-3.99
-6.64%
CL
Colgate-Palmolive
84.53
-2.52
-2.89%
EL
The Estée Lauder Companies
70.91
18.79
36.05%
KMB
Kimberly Clark
96.99
-31.82
-24.70%
PG
Procter & Gamble
142.77
-13.18
-8.45%
KVUE
Kenvue, Inc.
17.30
-3.57
-17.11%
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.