London, March 11, 2026, 15:50 GMT
Unilever PLC slipped 1.37% to 4,840 pence in London trading by 1546, having dipped as low as 4,824 pence earlier. Shares followed the FTSE 100 lower, with the index down 0.6%. Oil price volatility, driven by ongoing Middle East tensions, kept pressure on the market.
The timing isn’t great. Back in February, Unilever flagged that underlying sales growth for 2026 — excluding currencies and M&A — would probably come in at the lower edge of its 4% to 6% target, and that gains in operating margin would be limited. Now, with Brent crude climbing above $90 a barrel, holding that line won’t get any easier.
The stock hasn’t managed to claw back to its late-December highs, despite Unilever’s planned 1.5 billion euro buyback, set to kick off in the second quarter. As of Wednesday, shares still sat about 13% below the Dec. 19 peak of 55.42 pounds. “There are signs of progress at Unilever … however we think it will take time,” RBC Capital Markets analyst James Edwardes Jones wrote following the February update. Unilever
Tuesday gave markets a breather. London’s blue-chip index notched its sharpest daily gain in close to a year after U.S. President Donald Trump’s remarks sent oil tumbling almost 11%. But by Wednesday, the bounce was gone—Brent clawed back some losses and most FTSE 350 sectors slipped into the red.
Magnum Ice Cream Company wrapped up its separation from Unilever back in December. Fourth quarter numbers show North America sales rising just 2.8%, while Europe barely moved—up 0.1%. “Cost of living pressures continue to impact in developed markets,” said Quilter Cheviot analyst Chris Beckett. Unilever
Other consumer staples haven’t fared much better. Reckitt dropped over 6% last week, despite a sales beat, as vague margin and EPS forecasts took the spotlight. JPMorgan pointed to packed trades in defensive stocks—think Unilever, Nestle, the usual go-tos for risk-averse investors.
Late Tuesday, a regulatory filing revealed that Unilever handed out performance-share awards back on March 6 to several top executives—among them Home Care chief Eduardo Campanella, Personal Care boss Fabian Garcia, and Richard Slater, who heads up Research & Development. These transactions, the filing noted, took place off-market.
Unilever’s next move might hinge more on how it handles costs than regulatory filings. On Wednesday, Citigroup’s Beata Manthey flagged the threat to margins as supply-chain snags and pricier commodities bite—she called them “hard to protect” if input costs don’t ease. The company has already told investors to expect price hikes around 2% this year, lagging the average of the past ten years. That means the stock could take a hit if demand in the U.S. and Europe remains sluggish and energy costs climb. Reuters
