Unilever (NYSE:UL) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $1.00 EPS

Unilever (NYSE:UL) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by ($1.00), FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $29.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.39 billion.

Here are the key takeaways from Unilever’s conference call:

• Portfolio reshaped — completed the ice‑cream demerger and rotated 15% of the portfolio with bolt‑ons (Minimalist, Wild, Dr. Squatch) and targeted disposals to concentrate on Beauty & Wellbeing and Personal Care.
• Financial resilience — underlying operating margin expanded to 20%, underlying EPS rose to EUR 3.08 (up 0.7%) and free cash flow was EUR 5.9bn (100% cash conversion), despite a significant negative FX drag.
• Investment behind winners — brand & marketing investment increased to 16.1% of turnover, with 100% of incremental spend allocated to Power Brands, which grew ahead of the group (Power Brands +4.3% for the year, +5.8% in Q4).
• Productivity and capital discipline — the productivity programme is ahead of schedule (≈EUR 670m saved, target EUR 800m in 2026), overheads fell 50 bps and >50% of CapEx is directed at productivity/margin initiatives, supporting sustained margin expansion.
• Outlook and market dynamics — management guides 2026 underlying sales at the lower end of the 4%–6% range with volume growth of at least 2% and modest margin improvement, while emerging markets show sequential recovery but LatAm and currency risks remain.

Unilever Stock Performance

Unilever stock traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $73.61. The stock had a trading volume of 2,982,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,178,000. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $66.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.81. Unilever has a 52 week low of $61.11 and a 52 week high of $73.87.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Unilever by 9.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,665,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,054,973,000 after acquiring an additional 2,935,227 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Unilever by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,537,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,336,048,000 after purchasing an additional 959,269 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Unilever by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,773,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $342,261,000 after buying an additional 91,049 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new position in Unilever during the 4th quarter worth $268,704,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Unilever by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,001,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,183,000 after buying an additional 133,776 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UL. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Unilever from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $60.10 price objective on Unilever and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Unilever from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Unilever currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.55.

About Unilever

Unilever PLC is a global consumer goods company with roots dating back to the early 20th century, formed from the merger of the British firm Lever Brothers and the Dutch company Margarine Unie. The company develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of branded products in personal care, home care and foods and refreshments. Unilever’s corporate structure and listings reflect its long history in both the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and it operates at scale across diverse consumer markets worldwide.

Unilever’s business is organized around major product categories—Beauty & Personal Care, Home Care and Foods & Refreshment—and includes numerous well-known consumer brands across those categories.