Unilever

Unilever Plc engages in the manufacture and sale of consumer goods. It operates through the following segments: Beauty and Personal Care, Foods and Refreshment, and Home Care. The Beauty and Personal Care segment offers skin cleansing, hair care, skin care, and deodorants categories. The Foods and Refreshment segment sells ice cream, savory, dressings, and tea. The Home Care segment includes fabric category and a wide range of cleaning products. The company was founded by Antonius Johannes Jurgens, Samuel van den Bergh, and William Hulme Lever on January 1, 1930 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

Unilever Plc engages in the manufacture and sale of consumer goods. It operates through the following segments: Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care, Nutrition, and Ice Cream. The Beauty & Wellbeing segment offers hair care, skin care, and prestige beauty and health & wellbeing. The Personal Care segment consists of sales of skin cleansing, deodorant, and oral care products. The Home Care segment comprises of sales of fabric care and a wide range of cleaning products. The Nutrition segment refers to sales of scratch cooking aids, dressings, and tea products. The Ice Cream segment covers primarily ice cream products. The company was founded by Antonius Johannes Jurgens, Samuel van den Bergh, and William Hulme Lever on January 1, 1930 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

Unilever significantly underperformed the market in the past 3 years, down -11% while the S&P500 is up almost 28%. The action plan presented by new CEO Hein Schumacher is expected to drive 3-5% annual revenue growth while modestly improving margins, which is fairly reflected in the $50 stock price. Despite solid Q4 2023 results with a return to positive volume growth and margin improvements, Unilever lacks catalysts for market-beating returns.

Unilever: Don't Expect Market Beating Returns

Unilever's trading update contained several pleasant surprises according to Deutsche Bank, which has tweaked its numbers and stuck with a ‘buy' recommendation. “Gross margin surprised to the upside as did volume growth and this before the new management have fully mobilised their action plan,“ said the bank.

Unilever impresses Deutsche bank with latest update

Shares of Unilever Plc (UL) advanced as the consumer products giant boosted its stock buyback program, and its CEO argued that the company has to do better.

Unilever Unveils New Stock Buyback Plan as Its CEO Calls for Better Performance

Unilever PLC (UL) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Unilever shares increased on Thursday after the consumer goods giant vowed to buy back another €1.5 billion worth of its own shares from shareholders, despite posting what company CEO Hein Schumacher described as “disappointing” results for the fourth quarter of 2023.

Unilever slows price hikes after loss of market share in Europe and North America

Unilever (LON: ULVR) share price popped on Thursday after the blue-chip company unveiled strong financial results. The stock surged by more than 3% in London and the trend is expected to continue in New York when the market opens.

Unilever share price forecast: turnaround is underway

Unilever posted a better-than-expected operating profit for 2023, with underlying sales growth of 7%, and launched a buyback to start in the second quarter.

Unilever Operating Profit Rises, Plans Buyback

Unilever PLC (LSE:ULVR) reported underlying sales growth in the fourth quarter as it launched a new $1.5 billion share buyback. The FTSE 100-listed firm which makes Hellmann's mayonnaise and Dove soap said underlying sales in the fourth quarter rose 4.7% to €14.2 billion, although on a GAAP reported basis sales fell 3.0%.

Unilever makes new buyback as sales rise but profit falls

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Unilever, the maker of Dove soap and Ben & Jerry's ice cream, struggled to defend fourth-quarter grocery store market share across most of its categories in Europe and the United States, data shows, as it ceded some of its turf to private labels and cut products.

Unilever's US, European market share slips as private label booms

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Unilever PLC (LSE:ULVR) faces another spat with subsidiary Ben & Jerry's after the ice cream brand's board called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.   Anuradha Mittal, chair of Ben & Jerry's independent board, told the Financial Times that “peace is a core value” to the business, a principle it has stood for in previous conflicts such as Iraq and Ukraine.

Unilever brand Ben & Jerry's Calls for permanent ceasefire in Gaza

Unilever, the world's third-largest consumer goods company, is shifting its focus from quantity to quality, prioritising its top 30 brands. Despite a downward trend in EPS in recent years, Unilever's gross profit margin is improving, and the company is in a stable financial position with promising top and bottom line. With a new CEO and management team, Unilever is implementing strategic changes, including business restructuring and partnerships, aiming for 3-5% annual sales growth.

Unilever: From Quantity Of Brands To Quality Of Brands

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Unilever's shares have underperformed the market for the past few years but may be at a turning point towards recovery. The company's valuation and normalized P/E ratio suggest that Unilever hasn't been this cheap for more than a decade, also compared to its peers. Commodity inflation has cooled down and UL's 2-year revenue growth has been in line with most of its peers.

Unilever Hasn't Been This Cheap Since More Than A Decade

Unilever is set to sell Q-Tips and a number of its other personal care and beauty brands. The consumer packaged goods giant on Monday (Dec. 18) announced it had reached an agreement to sell its Elida Beauty unit to Yellow Wood Partners.

Unilever Sells Q-Tips and Other Brands to Yellow Wood

British consumer goods giant Unilever has finalized the sale of its non-core beauty and personal care unit, Elida Beauty, to US private equity firm Yellow Wood Partners. The deal, anticipated to conclude by mid-2024, encompasses iconic brands like Q-Tips, Brut, Caress, Timotei, and Tigi, contributing around $1.02 billion in revenues for 2022.

Unilever sells Elida Beauty to American PE firm Yellow Wood Partners

Fourth brand carve-out over four years adds Q-tips®, Impulse, Caress, Tigi, Timotei, Monsavon, Brut, and Alberto Balsam to Yellow Wood Portfolio BOSTON , Dec. 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Yellow Wood Partners LLC ("Yellow Wood"), a Boston-based private equity firm focused on investing in consumer brands and companies, today announced a binding offer to acquire Elida Beauty, a portfolio of brands from Unilever (NYSE: UL). The Elida Beauty portfolio includes Unilever brands Q-tips®, Impulse, Caress, Tigi, Timotei, Monsavon, Brut, Moussel, Alberto Balsam, and VO5.

Yellow Wood Partners Announces Acquisition of Elida Beauty from Unilever

Consumer goods giant Unilever on Monday said it would sell Elida Beauty, its non-core beauty and personal care division, to U.S. private equity firm Yellow Wood Partners.

Unilever to sell Q-Tips maker Elida Beauty to Yellow Wood

Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL ) Barclays Fireside Chat Conference December 14, 2023 10:00 AM ET Company Participants Hein Schumacher - CEO Conference Call Participants Warren Ackerman - Barclays Warren Ackerman Hello, everybody. I am Warren Ackermann, Head of Consumer Staples at Barclays.

Unilever PLC (UL) Presents at Barclays Fireside Chat Conference (Transcript)

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News today that Unilever PLC (LSE:ULVR) is facing a greenwashing probe adds unwanted extra pressure on new chief executive Hein Schumacher, who reportedly has 18 months to turn things around for the underperforming owner of Hellman's, Ben & Jerry's and Persil.  Schumacher, who was appointed in July, in October unveiled his new strategy: faster growth, greater productivity and simplicity from stepping up investment behind the company's existing ‘power brands'.

Unilever greenwashing probe adds to pressure on new CEO as investor patience already thin

Britain's competition regulator on Tuesday said it's opened a probe into the environmentally-friendly claims put forward by household products giant Unilever, the latest example of corporate green claims getting scrutinized by regulators.

News for Unilever Stock (UL)