London, July 6, 2026, 13:04 (BST)
- Unilever traded at 4,627 pence, up 0.15% at about 13:01 BST. The FTSE 100 slipped 0.41% around then.
- Unilever’s €1.5 billion buyback cancelled 30.7 million shares, or around 1.4% of its June 30 voting shares.
- Unilever’s July 3 pre-close note didn’t include a fresh trading update. Q2 and first-half numbers are set for July 28.
- Unilever’s Q1 growth came from higher volumes, though Europe declined and price gains lost pace. The company said July’s product mix would matter more than minor share changes.
Unilever PLC (LON:ULVR) ticked higher in early afternoon trading Monday in London, outpacing the weaker FTSE 100. But for investors, the main focus is the reduced share count from a completed buyback, as the stock remains well under its one-year peak.
Unilever traded at 4,627 pence, up 0.15% as of 13:01 BST, according to Google Finance. The FTSE 100 (INDEXFTSE:UKX) was off 0.41% at 10,634.78 at 12:53 BST, after Reuters said earlier that mining stocks dragged London blue chips lower.
| Market snapshot | Latest | Day move | Intraday range | Gap to 52-week high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unilever (LON:ULVR) | 4,627p | up 0.15% | traded between 4,616p and 4,658p | off 16.5% |
| FTSE 100 (INDEXFTSE:UKX) | 10,634.78 | fell 0.41% | range was 10,635.28 to 10,733.39 | down 2.7% |
Unilever picked up 30,703,780 ordinary shares for a total market value of €1,499,999,891 as part of its 2026 buyback programme. That’s 1.43% of the voting base, based on 2,154,262,326 voting shares as of June 30. The denominator has kept ahead of the stock.
| Capital return math | Figure | Market read |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 buyback wrapped up | €1.500 bln | Done as of June 5 |
| Total shares purchased | 30.704 mln | 1.43% of voting stock as of June 30 |
| Average buyback price | €48.85/share | Just value divided by share count |
| Planned 2026-2029 buybacks | €6.0 bln | This would mean about 122.8 mln shares at that price; actual tally will swing with price and FX |
The buyback helps the per-share numbers, but it doesn’t address questions about Unilever’s growth mix. In its July 3 pre-close aide-mémoire, Unilever kept its 2026 underlying sales growth outlook at the low end of 4%-6%, and expects at least 2% volume growth. The note added there was nothing new or any trading update.
The pre-close table lined up Q1 2026 against Q2 2025, which is the base for July. Group volume growth ticked up to 2.9% in Q1, from 1.1% in the same period last year, while price growth slowed to 0.9% from 2.1%. Volume gains mostly came from Home Care. Europe stayed negative.
| Growth mix | Q1 2026 USG | Q1 2026 volume | Q1 2026 price | Q2 2025 volume | Q2 2025 price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unilever group | 3.8% | 2.9% | 0.9% | 1.1% | 2.1% |
| Beauty & Wellbeing | 3.6% | 1.9% | 1.6% | 1.0% | 2.4% |
| Personal Care | 3.7% | 1.1% | 2.5% | 0.2% | 4.3% |
| Home Care | 6.1% | 6.2% | -0.1% | 1.3% | 0.4% |
| Foods | 2.2% | 2.4% | -0.2% | 1.7% | 1.0% |
| Europe | -0.9% | -1.2% | 0.3% | 1.9% | -0.1% |
Unilever CEO Fernando Fernandez told analysts at the Q1 update the year kicked off with “volume-led growth driven by our Power Brands.” Q1 underlying sales grew 3.8%, topping the 3.6% consensus collected by the company, Reuters said in April. Unilever
Setting prices is tough. Finance chief Srinivas Phatak told analysts in April that if costs stay up, the company would go for “frequent price increases but in small doses.” Chris Beckett, a consumer staples analyst at Unilever investor Quilter Cheviot, told Reuters that pricing has limits in developed markets: “it’s not easy to take pricing.” Reuters
Unilever and McCormick & Company NYSE:MKC are moving ahead with their portfolio plans. The companies struck a deal in March to merge Unilever Foods with McCormick, putting a $44.8 billion value on the Foods unit. Unilever and its shareholders will get 65% of the new company, and Unilever will get $15.7 billion in cash.
Unilever’s pre-close note said McCormick told the market it has started integration planning, financial carve-out, and regulatory filings. McCormick is set to announce a secondary listing location by the end of July and give more detail by the end of September. Deal closing is targeted for mid-2027 at the latest, pending approvals.
