Hindustan Unilever Share Price Today (5 December 2025): HUL Falls After Kwality Wall’s Demerger

Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), one of India’s most widely held FMCG stocks, is in the spotlight today as its share price slides while the market prices in the long-awaited spin-off of its ice‑cream business, Kwality Wall’s (India) Ltd (KWIL).

The move is both technical and fundamental: the stock is adjusting to the loss of a small but fast‑growing segment, while investors reassess near‑term earnings pressure from GST changes and a patchy demand environment.

Hindustan Unilever share price today: sharp adjustment after spin‑off

By late morning on 5 December 2025, HUL shares were trading around ₹2,350–2,360, down roughly 4–5% versus Thursday’s close of ₹2,462.20 on the NSE. ^[1]

Key intraday details:

Previous close (4 Dec): ₹2,462.20
Special pre‑open discovered price (ex‑ice‑cream): ₹2,422 per share ^[2]
Day’s low so far: around ₹2,286.70 ^[3]
1‑year move: HUL is down about 4.5% over the past 12 months, with a 52‑week range of ₹2,136–₹2,750. ^[4]

Economic Times and Mint both report that the stock fell as much as 7% intraday, to around ₹2,289, as the market digested the demerger record date and special price‑discovery session. ^[5]

In short: the fall is largely mechanical (de‑merging a business) plus a dose of real selling from traders reacting to uncertainty.

The key trigger: Kwality Wall’s ice‑cream business demerger

What exactly happened today?

Record date for the demerger of HUL’s ice‑cream business into Kwality Wall’s (India) Ltd (KWIL): 5 December 2025. ^[6]
The scheme became effective on 1 December 2025, after approvals from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and stock exchanges. ^[7]
BSE and NSE held a special pre‑open session to determine the fair value of HUL ex–ice‑cream business. ^[8]

Moneycontrol reports that after this session, HUL’s stock “discovered” at ₹2,422—about 2% below the prior close—and then slid further to a low near ₹2,286.70. ^[9]

Livemint’s live blog tracks the same story: HUL opened around ₹2,424 and dropped roughly 7% to its intraday low as the price adjusted for the demerger. ^[10]

How big is the ice‑cream business?

According to HUL disclosures cited by Moneycontrol and Mint, the ice‑cream business: ^[11]

Contributes roughly ₹1,800 crore in annual revenue
Accounts for about 3% of HUL’s total turnover
Houses brands like Kwality Wall’s, Cornetto, Magnum, Feast and Creamy Delight

So today’s price drop is not because HUL suddenly “lost” half its business; investors are simply re‑pricing the core HUL minus this 3% revenue vertical.

What HUL–Kwality Wall’s demerger means for shareholders

1:1 share entitlement and timelines

Both HUL and the exchanges have confirmed a clean, symmetric structure: ^[12]

Share entitlement ratio:
- 1:1 – for every 1 share of HUL, investors will receive 1 share of Kwality Wall’s (India)
Record date: 5 December 2025 – investors holding HUL at Thursday’s close qualify
Allotment date: 29 December 2025 for KWIL shares in demat accounts
Listing deadline: SEBI rules require KWIL to list within 60 days of NCLT approval, implying a listing window into early 2026

Index mechanics are a bit geeky but important: NSE has said KWIL will be temporarily added to up to 35 Nifty indices at zero price, using a dummy ticker, until proper listing and price discovery. ^[13]

Economic Times also cites brokerage Nuvama Equities, which expects: ^[14]

KWIL to list around February 2026
A potential value of ₹50–55 per share, at roughly 5x EV/sales
This is a discount to HUL’s ~9x EV/sales, reflecting the seasonal and capital‑intensive nature of ice‑cream

Does your total wealth change?

Not in theory. Mint’s explainer reminds investors that in a demerger, the total value of your holding should remain broadly unchanged, but your cost of acquisition is split between HUL and KWIL based on a ratio the company will share later. ^[15]

Put simply: you used to own one basket (HUL + ice‑cream); now you own two baskets (core HUL + KWIL). The market is currently trying to decide how much each basket is worth.

Fundamental backdrop: Q2 FY26 results – modest growth, margin squeeze

Today’s volatility sits on top of a quarter where numbers were… fine, but not fireworks.

Across multiple earnings summaries and brokerage notes, Q2 FY26 for HUL looked like this: ^[16]

Revenue: up roughly 1.5–2.1% YoY to around ₹16,000–16,400 crore
Consolidated net profit: ₹2,685–2,694 crore, up 3.6–3.8% YoY
Underlying Sales Growth (USG): about 2%
Underlying Volume Growth: broadly flat/slight positive
EBITDA margin: about 23.0–23.2%, down ~90 basis points YoY
Interim dividend: ₹19 per share declared for the quarter

The profit growth looks better than the low‑single‑digit revenue growth mainly because of a one‑off tax gain – roughly ₹270 crore from resolving legacy tax issues between UK and Indian authorities. ^[17]

Management and analysts highlight three main headwinds: ^[18]

GST 2.0 transition
- GST rate cuts on about 40% of HUL’s portfolio forced price reductions and triggered trade de‑stocking, temporarily hurting volumes and margins.
Unfavourable monsoon pattern
- Prolonged or uneven monsoons hit rural demand in some regions.
Higher investments
- Margin compression partly reflects higher spending on brand building, innovation and digital channels.

On the flip side, Home Care and Beauty & Wellbeing delivered better growth, while some personal care and foods categories remained soft. ^[19]

Valuation check: still a premium FMCG giant

Even after today’s fall, HUL is far from “cheap” in classic value‑stock terms.

Latest data from StockAnalysis and TradingView indicate: ^[20]

Market cap: ~₹5.8 lakh crore
Trailing 12‑month EPS: ~₹46.3
Price/Earnings (P/E): about 53x trailing, 51x forward
Dividend per share (TTM): about ₹43, implying a 1.7–1.9% dividend yield
1‑year price performance: roughly –4.5%, even as the broader FMCG pack has mostly moved sideways

This is classic HUL territory: the market has historically paid a structural premium for HUL’s distribution reach, category leadership and cash‑flow profile – but that premium only makes sense if mid‑to‑high single‑digit volume growth and stable margins are maintained.

What brokerages and consensus are saying about HUL

The analyst community is… divided, but leaning constructive.

Street targets and consensus

Trendlyne’s synthesis of 29 research reports from 11 analysts shows: ^[21]

Average target price: ₹2,792.36
This implies roughly 18% upside from the ~₹2,360 spot price used in the consensus
Rating mix skews towards Buy/Accumulate, with a few cautious “Hold” stances

Earlier in the year, Reuters reported a median target of ₹2,607.50 from 39 analysts, highlighting a modest but consistent upward reset in expectations as earnings recovered off a weak base. ^[22]

Post‑Q2 FY26 brokerage commentary

Economic Times’ Q2 wrap captures a flavour of big‑broker calls: ^[23]

Goldman Sachs – Buy, target ₹2,850
- Sees Q2 as soft but broadly in line; expects GST‑led disruptions to fade and margins to stabilise in the 22–23% band.
Citi – Buy, target ₹3,000
- Expects ~8–9% revenue and EPS CAGR over FY25–28, assuming demand recovery from Q3 onwards.
Elara Capital – Accumulate, target ₹2,780
- Positive on demand tailwinds and GST‑driven volume support, but flags rural recovery as a key risk.
Highest mentioned target in the ET pack: ₹3,240, from one bullish brokerage, signalling upside potential if recovery beats expectations.

From the BusinessUpturn/StockAnalysis news flow in recent weeks: ^[24]

Jefferies reiterates Buy, target ₹3,000, calling GST cuts a long‑term positive despite near‑term destocking.
Morgan Stanley stays Equal‑weight, target ₹2,335, cautious on short‑term pain from GST and elevated valuations.
CLSA remains Underperform with a ₹1,966 target, pointing to weak personal care volumes and stiff competition.

Net‑net: the consensus is positive but not euphoric. Most large brokers still like HUL longer term, but they’re trimming near‑term EPS estimates and warning about a slow, messy normalization.

Sector backdrop: FMCG at an inflection point

HUL doesn’t operate in a vacuum; the entire Indian FMCG pack is going through its own mini‑reboot.

A September Livemint piece on the Nifty FMCG index notes that the basket has mostly consolidated this year – up only about 0.7%, with HUL lagging some peers like Britannia and Dabur. ^[25]

However, both Mint and a sector review by BOBCAPS outline several structural positives for the next 12–18 months: ^[26]

GST rate cuts on many daily‑use items should:
- Improve affordability
- Narrow the price gap between branded and unbranded players
- Support formalization and volume growth
Rural demand is expected to outpace urban, helped by:
- Better monsoons
- Higher disposable income from tax rationalisation
- Government spending and MSP support
Modern trade, e‑commerce and quick commerce are growing strongly, and HUL has explicitly said its “channels of the future” are delivering competitive double‑digit growth.
Input cost inflation (palm oil, tea, packaging, etc.) appears to have peaked, with brokerages expecting a gradual margin recovery into the second half of FY26.

For HUL, this means the macro wind is starting to turn from headwind to tailwind – but the benefits will show up with a lag, and are currently being muddied by GST transition noise.

Is HUL stock attractive after the demerger drop?

Let’s put all the puzzle pieces together.

What’s going for HUL?

Category & brand strength: Dominant franchises in soaps, detergents, skincare and tea give HUL enormous pricing and distribution power. ^[27]
Structural FMCG tailwinds: GST cuts, rural income support, and premiumisation trends all favour large branded players. ^[28]
Ice‑cream spin‑off:
- Unlocks focus on core Home & Personal Care and Foods
- Gives investors a direct play on a high‑growth, impulse category via KWIL
Balance sheet & cash returns: High payout ratio and steady dividends (TTM yield near 2%) continue to make HUL a core holding in many institutional portfolios. ^[29]

What are the main worries?

Near‑term growth:
- USG at ~2% and flat volumes are not the stuff of 50x P/E legend. ^[30]
Margin pressure:
- Investments and GST destocking knocked ~90 bps off margins in Q2; markets will be hypersensitive to any further slippage. ^[31]
Valuation risk:
- At ~53x trailing earnings, HUL still trades at a fat premium to many domestic and global consumer‑staple peers. A stumble in FY26–27 growth could trigger de‑rating. ^[32]
Competition:
- Regional brands, D2C players and global peers are all active in HUL’s categories, especially in personal care and skincare, where consumers are experimenting more.

Investor takeaway: volatility now, clarity later

In market‑speak, today’s move is a bit of a “perfect storm”:

Technical factor – the demerger required a sharp price adjustment and index rejig.
Fundamental factor – GST transition and tepid volumes are already making investors nervous.
Sentiment factor – FMCG as a theme has been in a consolidation phase, so traders were primed to sell into uncertainty.

For long‑term investors who view HUL as a core India consumption holding, a 4–7% demerger‑day dip, coupled with the prospect of separate KWIL listing, may be seen as an opportunity to accumulate gradually – provided they are comfortable with a high valuation multiple and 1–2 years of “rebuild” in growth and margins.

For more valuation‑sensitive or tactical investors, the prudent stance may be to:

Wait for Q3 and Q4 FY26 prints to confirm volume recovery
Watch how the market values KWIL post‑listing
Track whether management can actually deliver on the 22–23% margin band and mid‑single‑digit volume growth that most brokers are baking into FY26–28 models. ^[33]

Either way, Hindustan Unilever remains one of the most closely watched stocks in India’s consumer universe. The demerger doesn’t end that story – it just adds another listed character to the plot.