December 26, 2025 — Unilever PLC stock is ending 2025 with a simpler corporate shape, a fresh set of catalysts, and (inevitably) a new set of debates about what the company should be worth. In early December, Unilever completed the demerger of its ice cream business into The Magnum Ice Cream Company, then followed with a share consolidation designed to keep per‑share metrics comparable post-split. [1]
On December 26 (Boxing Day), markets in the UK are closed, so the headline Unilever share price in London is essentially a “holiday snapshot” rather than a live tug-of-war between buyers and sellers. [2] Still, the story investors are pricing is very much in motion: management is pushing deeper into Beauty & Wellbeing and premium Personal Care, keeping M&A spending active (especially in the US), and doubling down on digital-first marketing to reignite volume-led growth. [3]
Unilever share price today: what “Dec. 26” really means for ULVR and UL
Because UK markets are shut for Boxing Day, Unilever (LSE: ULVR) shows 4,838.00p on 26‑12‑2025, with zero volume—a reflection of market closure rather than intraday sentiment. [4]
For US-based investors tracking Unilever’s ADR (NYSE: UL), the most recent close available around the Christmas window is $65.99 (Dec. 24, 2025). [5]
One practical note for anyone comparing older headlines to today’s numbers: Unilever’s post-demerger share consolidation (8 new shares for every 9 old shares) changes the optics of historical per‑share figures and can create confusion if you compare pre- and post-consolidation charts without adjustment. [6]
The big December driver: Magnum spin-off reshapes Unilever’s growth and margin narrative
Unilever’s ice cream separation has been the defining equity story of its December. In Reuters’ post-deal analysis, the point is blunt: once the cold-chain-heavy ice cream business is out, the excuses melt faster—and the market expects Unilever to prove that a sharper focus on personal care, beauty, and wellbeing can deliver better growth and profitability. [7]
Key mechanics and implications investors are still digesting:
- Magnum’s reference price for its market debut was set at €12.80 per share, with Unilever retaining a 19.9% stake slated to be exited within five years. [8]
- Reuters also noted a technical overhang: Magnum is not eligible for FTSE indices, and the stock warned of potential downward pressure from index-tracking funds forced to sell. That dynamic matters to Unilever holders too, because Unilever still owns a meaningful minority stake whose mark-to-market can influence sentiment. [9]
- Strategically, management’s pitch is that Unilever becomes “simpler” and structurally higher margin without the complexities of keeping frozen products frozen, while reallocating attention and capital to faster-growing categories. [10]
What management is guiding to: growth, margin expansion, and a “simpler Unilever”
Unilever’s most recent formal financial update (Q3 2025) anchored expectations heading into year-end:
- Underlying sales growth:3.9% (and 4.0% excluding Ice Cream)
- Volume growth:1.5% (and 1.7% excluding Ice Cream)
- Full-year 2025 outlook: underlying sales growth expected in the 3% to 5% range
- Margin expectations: second-half underlying operating margin of at least 18.5% (or at least 19.5% excluding Ice Cream) [11]
In the Reuters December 12 analysis, CEO Fernando Fernandez framed the post-spin company as one where the portfolio tilt is not subtle: the bet is on brands in Beauty & Wellbeing and premium personal care—areas where management highlights momentum from names like Vaseline, Liquid I.V., and Nutrafol. [12]
That focus also ties into the company’s operational targets. Reuters reported Unilever expects its operating margins to be 100 basis points higher without ice cream in the second half, rising to at least 19.5% of revenue. [13]
Capital allocation: M&A stays on the table, with the US as a priority
One of the more investor-relevant December headlines wasn’t a product launch—it was a capital allocation signal.
On December 9, Reuters reported that Unilever is allocating about €1.5 billion (~$1.74 billion) per year for M&A, with a heavy emphasis on the United States, according to CEO Fernando Fernandez. [14]
This matters because it sets expectations for:
- continued “portfolio sculpting” (buying growth, selling slower assets),
- potential acceleration in premium personal care and wellness,
- and a willingness to deploy cash beyond dividends and buybacks when returns look attractive. [15]
Portfolio streamlining continues: Graze sale highlights the “less food, more beauty/wellbeing” tilt
On December 1, Reuters reported Unilever agreed to sell its British snack brand Graze to Katjes International (Candy Kittens owner), with closing expected in the first half of 2026. Reuters framed the sale as part of Unilever’s ongoing strategy to exit parts of Foods and lean further into beauty and wellbeing. [16]
For equity watchers, the Graze deal is less about the single asset and more about the pattern: Unilever is actively trying to convince the market it can be a higher-growth, higher-margin consumer company by pruning categories that don’t fit the thesis. [17]
Marketing becomes a financial lever: leadership changes and the influencer-first bet
Unilever’s “growth engine” narrative in 2025 has increasingly been tied to marketing effectiveness—especially in a world where consumer attention lives on social platforms.
Two late-December threads stand out:
- CMO/marketing leadership transition: Marketing Dive reported that Unilever’s Chief Growth and Marketing Officer Esi Eggleson Bracey will depart at the end of January, while Leandro Barreto expands his remit to enterprise-wide marketing starting in the new year—part of bringing business groups and marketing closer together. [18]
- Influencer-first strategy: Business Insider detailed Unilever’s 2025 push to work with dramatically more influencers and move a large share of ad spending toward social platforms, reporting the company reached nearly 300,000 influencer collaborations by year-end and that the strategy has meaningfully influenced the broader creator economy. [19]
Investors care about this because (when it works) marketing modernization shows up as volume resilience, better mix, and improved returns on ad spend—especially in premium categories where brand desire can defend pricing. [20]
Dividend watch: what Unilever is paying, and what shareholders are expecting
Unilever reaffirmed its dividend stance through the demerger transition. In its Q3 2025 materials, Unilever declared a quarterly interim dividend of €0.4528, and specified the equivalent amounts for different listings, including £0.3928 per Unilever PLC ordinary share (LSE) and $0.5258 per ADR, with checks mailed/paid on December 5, 2025 for holders of record in early November. [21]
Third-party dividend trackers around year-end put Unilever’s trailing dividend yield in the low single digits (around the ~3% range), though exact figures vary by methodology and timing. [22]
Analyst forecasts for Unilever stock: what the Street thinks as of late December
“Forecasts” can mean three different things in finance—company guidance, analyst price targets, and quant/algorithmic predictions. The most decision-useful category for many investors is still sell-side analyst targets and ratings, because those tend to reflect modeled assumptions about growth, margins, and cash returns.
Unilever ADR (NYSE: UL) analyst targets
MarketBeat’s compilation shows:
- Consensus rating: Moderate Buy
- Average price target:$71.11
- High / low targets:$82.13 / $60.10 (based on analysts tracked by MarketBeat over the last 12 months) [23]
With UL last near the mid‑$60s in the latest available data window, that consensus implies single-digit upside—not a “to the moon” call, but constructive positioning for a defensive staple with a dividend. [24]
Unilever London line (LSE: ULVR) analyst targets
For ULVR, MarketBeat’s December 21 write-up described a more divided stance:
- A consensus “Hold” from the firms it summarized, with an average 1‑year price target around 4,690 GBX
- Examples of divergence included JPMorgan (overweight, higher target) versus UBS/Jefferies (more cautious ratings with lower targets). [25]
Meanwhile, Fintel’s aggregated figures showed a higher average one-year target around 5,462.66 GBX, with a wide forecast range. Differences like this often come down to which analyst set is included, how targets are time-stamped, and whether older pre-consolidation figures are fully normalized. [26]
“2026 inflection point”: the bullish framing
A Proactive Investors piece citing Barclays argued that 2026 could be an inflection year for Unilever—emphasizing the post-ice-cream portfolio shift, premiumization, and the idea that non‑ice‑cream EBIT margins could approach ~20%. [27]
Whether investors buy that argument typically hinges on one thing: does volume growth stay durable while Unilever continues to premiumize and modernize marketing? [28]
Bull case vs. bear case for Unilever stock heading into 2026
The bull case
Unilever’s optimistic path is coherent:
- The portfolio is increasingly concentrated in categories with better structural growth (beauty, wellbeing, premium personal care). [29]
- Post-spin, margin structure improves, with management explicitly pointing to at least 19.5% second-half margin excluding ice cream. [30]
- Marketing transformation (including influencer-scale execution) helps defend pricing, improves mix, and supports volume. [31]
- With M&A budget earmarked, Unilever can add premium growth assets—especially in the US—without waiting for organic growth alone. [32]
The bear case
The skeptical view is also plausible:
- “Focus” stories only get paid if execution shows up consistently in volume, share gains, and margin delivery—otherwise it’s just a corporate reshuffle. [33]
- Premiumization can stall if consumers trade down in a softer macro environment, squeezing volumes even if pricing holds. (This is a sector-wide risk for staples, not just Unilever.) [34]
- Analyst targets for ULVR remain mixed across banks, highlighting uncertainty around how much margin improvement is “already priced in.” [35]
Key catalysts to watch after Dec. 26, 2025
The next major hard datapoint is Unilever’s next results cycle. In Unilever’s Q3 materials, the company listed Q4 and Full Year 2025 results for February 12, 2026. [36]
Between now and then, investors will likely focus on:
- Evidence of volume-led growth in Beauty & Wellbeing and Personal Care (not just price). [37]
- Any new M&A announcements consistent with the €1.5B-per-year budget and US emphasis. [38]
- Updates around the orderly sell-down timeline and value realization for Unilever’s 19.9% Magnum stake. [39]
- Confirmation that the marketing reorganization and influencer-scale strategy translate into measurable commercial impact. [40]
Bottom line: Unilever stock enters 2026 with fewer moving parts—and less patience from the market
On paper, Unilever’s investment story at the end of 2025 is cleaner than it’s been in years: fewer operational complications, a clearer category bet, and management explicitly targeting better margins post-ice-cream. [41]
That simplicity cuts both ways. The demerger has removed a chunk of complexity—but also removed a chunk of cover. For Unilever PLC stock (UL, ULVR), 2026 is shaping up to be a referendum on whether a sharper portfolio, heavier digital marketing, and disciplined capital allocation can produce the one thing that ultimately matters: reliable, improving fundamentals per share. [42]
References
1. www.reuters.com, 2. moneyweek.com, 3. www.reuters.com, 4. shareprices.com, 5. stockanalysis.com, 6. www.reuters.com, 7. www.reuters.com, 8. www.reuters.com, 9. www.reuters.com, 10. www.reuters.com, 11. www.unilever.com, 12. www.reuters.com, 13. www.reuters.com, 14. www.reuters.com, 15. www.reuters.com, 16. www.reuters.com, 17. www.reuters.com, 18. www.marketingdive.com, 19. www.businessinsider.com, 20. www.unilever.com, 21. www.unilever.com, 22. stockinvest.us, 23. www.marketbeat.com, 24. www.marketbeat.com, 25. www.marketbeat.com, 26. fintel.io, 27. www.proactiveinvestors.com, 28. www.unilever.com, 29. www.reuters.com, 30. www.reuters.com, 31. www.businessinsider.com, 32. www.reuters.com, 33. www.reuters.com, 34. www.unilever.com, 35. www.marketbeat.com, 36. www.unilever.com, 37. www.unilever.com, 38. www.reuters.com, 39. www.reuters.com, 40. www.marketingdive.com, 41. www.reuters.com, 42. www.proactiveinvestors.com
