Unilever PLC stock has entered a “new era” of sorts as 2025 closes out. The consumer staples giant—known for brands like Dove, Vaseline, Hellmann’s, Domestos, and Axe—has just completed one of its biggest structural moves in years: the demerger of its ice cream business into The Magnum Ice Cream Company (home to Magnum, Ben & Jerry’s, Wall’s/Cornetto), paired with an 8-for-9 share consolidation designed to keep per-share metrics comparable. [1]
As of Sunday, December 21, 2025, markets are closed in most major venues, but the newsflow around Unilever shares (and the logic investors are using to value them) is very much “open for business.” The short version: Unilever is trying to look less like a sprawling pantry and more like a focused, higher-growth personal care and beauty engine—while still behaving like the steady dividend-paying staple investors expect. [2]
Below is a full, current snapshot of the latest news, forecasts, and analyst takes shaping Unilever PLC stock right now.
Unilever stock price today: what’s the latest reading?
Unilever’s US-listed ADR (NYSE: UL) last traded around $65.10, according to the latest available pricing feed (timestamped Dec. 20 UTC).
One important “gotcha” for anyone casually comparing prices week-to-week: Unilever’s London-listed shares (LSE: ULVR) have recently been consolidated 8-for-9, meaning the share count is lower and the price per share is mechanically higher than it would have been otherwise. In other words, a “jump” on a chart around early December can be accounting optics, not a sudden burst of investor joy. [3]
The big December catalyst: Magnum spin-off + Unilever share consolidation
1) The Magnum Ice Cream Company demerger is now completed
Unilever completed the separation of The Magnum Ice Cream Company on December 6, 2025, with listing and trading commencing December 8, 2025 across Amsterdam, London, and New York. Unilever also retained a minority stake of under 20%, intended to be sold down over time to support separation-related costs and capital flexibility. [4]
For Unilever shareholders, the mechanics mattered:
- Distribution ratio: Unilever indicates a ratio of one TMICC (Magnum) share for every five Unilever shares (or ADSs) (with rounding down of fractions). [5]
- Accounting: From Q4 2025, Unilever plans to report Ice Cream as a discontinued operation. [6]
2) The 8-for-9 share consolidation is not “value creation”—it’s comparability plumbing
On December 8, 2025, Reuters reported Unilever would consolidate shares at 8 new shares for every 9 existing shares, with consolidated shares expected to begin trading December 9 in London. Reuters also noted post-consolidation nominal value of £0.035 per share. [7]
Separately, Eurex corporate action documentation confirmed the 8-for-9 ratio and noted an ISIN change (from GB00B10RZP78 to GB00BVZK7T90) tied to the consolidation. [8]
Unilever’s own explanation is basically: after spinning off a chunk of the business, they want the remaining Unilever share price, EPS, and DPS to remain broadly comparable “so far as practicable.” [9]
3) How big is Magnum now—and why does it matter to Unilever stock?
Right after listing, Reuters reported Magnum began trading in Amsterdam at €12.96 per share, implying a market capitalisation around $9.24 billion (at that moment). [10]
A Reuters deep-dive on Dec. 12 framed the spin-off as a stress test for Unilever: without the cold-chain-heavy ice cream unit (and its operational complexity), investors now expect Unilever to prove that its pivot toward faster-growing categories can actually deliver. [11]
Why investors think the spin-off “turns up the heat” on Unilever
Reuters’ Dec. 12 analysis captured the market mood: once ice cream is gone, Unilever has fewer excuses—and a clearer identity. The company is explicitly betting more on brands in personal care, beauty, and wellbeing, citing names like Vaseline, Liquid I.V., and Nutrafol. [12]
A Redburn analyst told Reuters that, for the underlying Unilever business, ice cream had been a “drag on volumes” and was fundamentally a different kind of business versus beauty and wellbeing. [13]
This sets up a very clean investor debate heading into 2026:
- Bull case: a simpler portfolio + stronger innovation + better margins = a “higher quality” Unilever deserving of a better valuation multiple. [14]
- Bear case: portfolio reshuffling doesn’t automatically create growth; staples are still fighting price-sensitive consumers, FX swings, and category competition—so expectations may get ahead of reality. [15]
Fresh corporate news affecting Unilever shares: divestments, M&A spending, and “what even is Food now?”
Unilever sells Graze to Katjes International (Dec. 1)
On December 1, 2025, Unilever announced it would sell British snack brand Graze to Katjes International for an undisclosed sum, as part of its strategy to streamline the portfolio and focus more on beauty and wellbeing. Reuters reported the deal is expected to close in the first half of 2026. [16]
Unilever’s own statement added color: it described Foods as now focused on three global categories—Condiments, Cooking Aids & Mini Meals, and Unilever Food Solutions—and framed the Graze disposal as “pruning the portfolio where relevant.” [17]
Why this matters for the stock: investors tend to reward consumer goods firms when disposals look like part of a coherent strategy (not panic selling). The market will judge whether Unilever is sharpening its Food business into a smaller, stronger unit—or setting up future exits. [18]
Unilever is reportedly considering selling legacy UK food brands (Nov. 20)
Reuters reported on November 20, 2025 that Unilever is considering selling historic British brands including Marmite, Colman’s, and Bovril, according to people familiar with the matter. The package was estimated at about £200 million in revenue, and Reuters reported that Pot Noodle was not part of the package (per sources). [19]
Again, the stock relevance is straightforward: large legacy food brands can be emotionally iconic but financially “meh.” If Unilever can redeploy capital toward higher-margin categories (or simply reduce complexity), it may support the valuation story management is pitching. [20]
Unilever’s CEO: ~€1.5 billion per year for M&A, with a US focus (Dec. 9)
On December 9, 2025, Reuters reported CEO Fernando Fernandez said Unilever is allocating about €1.5 billion a year for mergers and acquisitions, focusing heavily on the United States. [21]
In the same report, Fernandez indicated Unilever’s second-half operating margin after the separation would be at least 19.5%, up from 18.5% including ice cream. [22]
Stock takeaway: the market is hearing two promises at once—more growth investment (M&A) and higher profitability (margins). Pulling off both is how you get re-rated; failing at either is how you get stapled back into the “slow, safe, kind of boring” bucket. [23]
The Ben & Jerry’s governance fight: why Unilever investors still care
Even though Ben & Jerry’s now sits under Magnum—not directly under Unilever—the saga still matters for two reasons:
- Unilever retains a minority stake in Magnum. [24]
- Governance and legal fights can spill into reputation, distractions, and headline risk across related entities.
On December 18, 2025, Reuters reported Ben & Jerry’s independent board said additional directors faced training and other requirements—described by the board as including an “allegiance pledge”—or they could face removal by December 23. The board alleged the changes violate the 2000 merger agreement and said it would seek to add Magnum as a defendant in litigation originally involving Unilever. [25]
For Unilever stock watchers, the practical question is: does the spin-off actually ring-fence this controversy, or does Unilever remain indirectly tethered through its Magnum stake and historical involvement? The market doesn’t need a catastrophic outcome for this to be a drag; sometimes the mere existence of a recurring governance headache is enough to shave enthusiasm. [26]
Unilever’s latest operating performance and 2025 guidance: the numbers investors are anchoring on
Unilever’s most recent operating update (Q3 2025) showed:
- Underlying sales growth:3.9% in Q3 2025
- Underlying volume growth:1.5%
- Underlying price growth:2.4%
- Power Brands: contributing 78% of turnover, with 4.4% underlying sales growth
- Developed markets:3.7% underlying sales growth, led by North America with 5.5% volume-led growth
- India: underlying sales growth of 2%, with a transitory negative impact from GST reforms; Unilever said conditions were expected to normalize from November [27]
On outlook, Unilever reiterated that for full-year 2025 it still expects:
- Underlying sales growth in the 3%–5% range
- An improvement in underlying operating margin, with second-half margins of at least 18.5% (or at least 19.5% excluding Ice Cream) [28]
This guidance is central to the current investment narrative because it’s the “bridge” between the pre-spin Unilever and the post-spin Unilever. If the company delivers on growth and the margin step-up, the spin-off starts to look like a clean upgrade to business quality. If not, critics will argue the spin-off mainly created a nicer slide deck. [29]
Dividend and buybacks: what income investors are looking at now
Dividend: most recent declared payout
Unilever’s official dividend history indicates the last dividend declared for Q3 2025 was:
- €0.4528 per ordinary share, ex-dividend 6 November 2025, record date 7 November 2025, paid 5 December 2025 [30]
For US ADR holders, Unilever’s dividend history page also shows a Q3 2025 ADR dividend of $0.5258, paid December 5, 2025. [31]
Buybacks: the latest completed program
Unilever’s investor materials state that with its full-year 2024 results (announced February 13, 2025), the company launched a share buyback program for up to €1.5 billion, intended to complete on or before June 6, 2025, executed via non-discretionary instructions to Goldman Sachs International. [32]
Buybacks matter for valuation because, in a stable staples business, capital returns are often a significant part of the total shareholder return story—especially when organic volume growth is hard-earned. [33]
Analyst forecasts and price targets: where expectations sit heading into 2026
Analyst views on Unilever stock are notably mixed right now—less “everybody agrees it’s a safe defensive” and more “defensive, yes—but what should we pay for the post-ice-cream version?”
US ADR (NYSE: UL) forecasts
- TipRanks shows an average price target of $68.37, with a high forecast of $74.00 and a low of $60.10. [34]
- MarketBeat shows an average target of $71.11, with a stated forecast upside versus the then-current price, and a wide target range (high and low targets vary by analyst). [35]
Recent analyst action (example): An Investing.com report said TD Cowen lowered its price target (headline framing it at $70) and also cited a weaker growth outlook tied in part to reduced growth in India after a GST rate revision, alongside revisions to its Q3 and FY 2025 organic growth forecasts. [36]
London listing (LSE: ULVR) forecasts
- TipRanks lists an average target around 5,314p, with a high forecast above that and a low forecast around 4,000p. [37]
- MarketBeat’s snapshot of recent ratings shows a split stance (buys vs sells), resulting in a consensus view it labels “Hold.” [38]
More bullish notes in the mix: MarketScreener reported a Bernstein analyst maintained a Buy rating with a target price of 5,900 GBX (as published via their analyzer feed). [39]
What this dispersion tells you: the market hasn’t fully settled on what Unilever “should be” after the portfolio surgery. Bulls see a cleaner, faster-growing mix (and margin upside). Bears see execution risk, emerging-market volatility, and the possibility that the re-rating story outruns reality. [40]
A quick timeline of the news driving Unilever shares into late December 2025
To make the recent narrative easier to track:
- Nov. 20: Reuters reports Unilever is considering selling Marmite/Colman’s/Bovril (package ~£200m revenue, per a source). [41]
- Nov. 26: Reuters reports Magnum raised €3 billion in a debut bond issue ahead of the spin-off. [42]
- Dec. 1: Unilever announces sale of Graze to Katjes; Reuters reports expected close in H1 2026. [43]
- Dec. 6–8: Magnum demerger completed and trading begins; Unilever proceeds with 8-for-9 share consolidation. [44]
- Dec. 9: Reuters reports Unilever’s annual M&A budget (~€1.5bn) with US focus; margin outlook reiterated post-separation. [45]
- Dec. 12: Reuters analysis says the spin-off increases pressure on Unilever to deliver growth and margins in its remaining portfolio. [46]
- Dec. 18: Reuters reports Ben & Jerry’s board dispute continues under Magnum, with legal and governance flare-ups. [47]
What Unilever investors are watching next
As of Dec. 21, 2025, the “next questions” for Unilever stock tend to cluster into five themes:
- Can Unilever sustain volume growth now that price-led growth has cooled? Q3 showed positive underlying volume growth, and management emphasized innovation-led performance in developed markets. [48]
- Do margins actually step up as promised post-separation? Management has pointed to at least 19.5% in H2 excluding ice cream. [49]
- Is the company truly “done” with food reshaping—or is more coming? Reuters reporting on potential Marmite/Colman’s/Bovril sales keeps this theme alive. [50]
- How will Unilever deploy its ~€1.5bn/year M&A budget—especially in the US? Deals can accelerate growth or destroy value; the market will judge on quality and integration. [51]
- Will the Ben & Jerry’s dispute remain contained within Magnum, or keep spilling into the broader story? Even indirect ties can matter for sentiment. [52]
Bottom line on Unilever PLC stock as of Dec. 21, 2025
Unilever stock is being repriced—intellectually as much as financially. The Magnum spin-off and share consolidation have effectively asked the market to re-answer an old question with new inputs:
Is Unilever primarily a slow, defensive dividend compounder—or is it becoming a sharper, higher-growth consumer health-and-beauty platform that deserves a higher multiple? [53]
Right now, analysts aren’t singing in perfect harmony, but the shape of the debate is clear: execution on growth and margins in 2026 is likely to matter more than any single headline—unless that headline involves a major deal, a major disposal, or a legal/governance surprise that changes risk perception overnight. [54]
References
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