London, June 26, 2026, 10:02 BST
- Unilever PLC (LON:ULVR) traded at 4,606p, rising 0.58% at 09:33 BST. The FTSE 100 was down roughly 0.4% at that point in delayed trade.
- McCormick & Company (NYSE:MKC) reported a 17% jump in second-quarter sales. Organic sales edged up 2%. Consumer volume and product mix dropped 2%.
- Unilever and its investors will get 65% of the combined company’s equity after the food deal, tying McCormick’s base growth to Unilever’s valuation.
- McCormick faces a test in pushing its 2025 combined growth base of 2.4% up to the 3%-5% target for year three.
London Stock Exchange opened as usual Friday, trading from 0800 to 1630 BST. Unilever PLC (LON:ULVR) gained while the broader market slipped. The move followed new data from McCormick & Company (NYSE:MKC), which aims to take over Hellmann’s, Knorr, and other Unilever food brands.
Unilever traded at 4,606p, up 26.5p, as of 09:33 BST, according to Davy. The day’s range sat between 4,586.5p and 4,621p. Meanwhile, FT Markets showed the FTSE 100 at 10,488.11, down 0.40%. Unilever stayed close to a percentage point ahead of the index in early dealing.
McCormick’s second quarter numbers kept the stock steady after the gap up. The company reported a 17% gain in sales, while adjusted EPS moved up to 80 cents, against 69 cents last year. Most of the sales jump was from McCormick de Mexico, which gave 12 percentage points, and currency impact, which tacked on 3 points. Organic sales inched up 2%.
Unilever isn’t just selling its food business for the $15.7 billion in cash. There’s also the equity stake. Under the March deal, Unilever and its shareholders will own 65.0% of the fully diluted combined equity, splitting out to 55.1% for Unilever shareholders and 9.9% held by Unilever.
McCormick’s Consumer segment sales jumped 23%, but stripping out currency and acquisitions, organic growth was just 1%. The company lifted prices 3%, though that was pulled down by a 2% drop in volume and mix. Flavor Solutions delivered 3% organic growth. Unilever investors face a tougher goal: McCormick expects the combined company to post 3% to 5% growth by year three, compared to around 2.4% at McCormick and Unilever Foods for 2025.
McCormick CEO Brendan Foley said the company is “advancing integration planning” for the Unilever Foods tie-up. That’s notable since deal risk has shifted from announcement to execution. TradingView
Investors spotted this problem earlier. Chris Beckett, a consumer staples analyst at Quilter Cheviot, said back in March that Unilever holders would retain a big stake in the combined food group, describing it as an “overhang for a time to come.” RBC’s James Edward Jones questioned why Unilever was selling a wholly owned business with just a “minimal control premium,” and still leaving its shareholders with 55% of the new company. Reuters
Unilever’s numbers show why McCormick news can sway the shares. First-quarter underlying sales were up 3.8%. Volumes climbed 2.9%, prices added 0.9%. Power Brands was up 5.0%. Home Care gained 6.1%. Foods rose 2.2%.
Pricing is still an issue. CFO Srinivas Phatak told analysts in April that the company would see “frequent price increases but in small doses” as cost inflation topped what they expected. Beckett said it’s tough to push through higher prices in developed Europe. “Not easy to take pricing,” he said. Reuters
The morning move in the stock is helped by cash returns. Unilever wrapped up a €1.5 billion buyback on June 5, taking in 30,703,780 shares. The McCormick deal is set up to back €6 billion more in buybacks between 2026 and 2029. With that, the stock is part bet on capital return for now as investors wait for the food merger to clear.
The deal is expected to close by mid-2027, pending both McCormick shareholder and regulatory sign-off. For now, McCormick’s organic sales, Consumer volumes, and debt moves give a better week-to-week read on what Unilever’s food exit is worth than Unilever’s pipeline.
