London, April 27, 2026, 14:01 BST
- Unilever shares slipped in London on Monday, just ahead of the Dove maker’s first-quarter trading update, which lands in three days.
- Investors will get a look at how Chief Executive Fernando Fernandez’s overhaul is progressing, with the planned Unilever Foods and McCormick deal in focus.
- Energy and commodity prices are climbing again, squeezing consumer goods makers. Procter & Gamble and Nestlé have either flagged or logged the hit this quarter.
Unilever PLC shares fell in London on Monday, with investors eyeing the upcoming first-quarter update. The focus: whether the consumer goods giant can keep sales growing as the sector faces pressure from rising oil and input costs.
Unilever is set to release results April 30. Analysts surveyed by the company are looking for first-quarter underlying sales growth at 3.6%. This metric tracks comparable revenue, excluding effects from currency swings and portfolio shifts.
This is relevant right now as Unilever looks to convince investors a slimmer company can deliver quicker growth. With ice cream spun off and the foods unit set to merge with McCormick, Fernandez has steered the owner of Dove soap, Rexona deodorant and Hellmann’s mayonnaise deeper into beauty, wellbeing, personal care and home care.
Unilever shares in London traded at 4,248p on the sell side and 4,249p to buy, a 0.74% dip from the prior close, according to AJ Bell. The stock is still feeling the heat after tumbling sharply following last month’s McCormick deal news.
The proposed McCormick deal puts a $44.8 billion price tag on Unilever Foods, handing Unilever and its shareholders a 65% slice of the new entity, plus $15.7 billion in cash. Unilever expects the spin-off to leave it with roughly €39 billion in 2025 sales across beauty, wellbeing, personal care, and home care.
Fernandez described the deal as “another decisive step” toward refining Unilever’s portfolio. Over at McCormick, CEO Brendan Foley argued the move would strengthen the company’s dedication to flavour. Structurally, the deal employs a Reverse Morris Trust—this lets Unilever spin off the business and merge it with another firm in a tax-efficient way. Unilever
Right now, price is the main sticking point, not strategy. Reuters said Monday that consumer-facing companies are bracing for another round of pricing pressure as increased energy and commodity bills ripple through packaging, plastics and supply chains. “This time round, consumer staples companies will try their best to pass on any extra costs, but they might struggle,” AJ Bell head of markets Dan Coatsworth told Reuters. Reuters
P&G, which competes with Unilever in both household and personal care, posted 3% organic sales growth for its fiscal third quarter on Friday and stuck with its full-year outlook. Looking ahead, the company flagged a roughly $150 million after-tax hit from commodity costs in fiscal 2026, plus about $400 million in additional tariffs.
Nestlé reported last week that first-quarter organic sales were up 3.5%, fueled by stronger demand for coffee and pet food. Growth was more pronounced in emerging markets. “Early signs of reigniting volume growth,” according to Vontobel analyst Jean-Philippe Bertschy. Reuters
Unilever finds itself weighing up whether gains from emerging markets and its more profitable personal care segment will be enough to balance out sluggish demand across developed economies. Back in February, the company flagged that 2026 sales growth would likely land at the bottom of its 4% to 6% multi-year guidance, citing softer numbers out of both the United States and Europe.
Volume’s grabbing analysts’ attention alongside price moves. Back in February, RBC Capital Markets’ James Edwardes Jones flagged some progress at Unilever, but he cautioned, “we think it will take time.” Chris Beckett at Quilter Cheviot pointed out that with cost-of-living issues weighing on developed economies, the consumer’s still “far from firing on all cylinders.” Reuters
The worry: if prices go up again, just as sector volumes start to rebound, demand could take a hit. According to Reuters, big names like Unilever, Coca-Cola, Kimberly-Clark, and Mondelez haven’t yet detailed how they’re handling the surge in energy costs. Zavier Wong, analyst at eToro, flagged that companies could soon face tougher calls between sticking with higher prices or betting on sales volumes, especially if energy costs continue rising.
Labour remains a wild card as the group shifts. According to Reuters, Unilever’s European workforce is pushing for job safeguards in the McCormick merger discussions—protections like those hammered out during the Magnum ice cream spin-off. The company said it’s in consultations with works councils and aims to cut down on uncertainty over the coming months.
Thursday’s statement won’t resolve the McCormick integration, the labor negotiations, or the energy-cost issue. Still, it should give investors a sharper sense of whether Unilever’s strategy after its exit from foods and ice cream is picking up steam—or if the familiar challenge holds: convincing shoppers to spend more, without pushing price hikes too far.
