A consumer-goods giant whose products sit in kitchens, bathrooms, and freezers around the world, Unilever makes everyday household names like Dove soap, Knorr and Hellmann's foods, and Ben & Jerry's and Magnum ice cream. It was born in 1930 from a merger between British soap maker Lever Brothers (creator of Sunlight Soap, founded in the 1880s) and the Dutch margarine group Margarine Unie. The portmanteau name "Unilever" stitches together "Unie" and "Lever"—a pairing that makes sense since both businesses cooked with the same fats and oils.
Unilever reports H1 2026 USG of 4.8%, upgrades full-year outlook
Underlying sales growth (USG) was 4.8% in H1 2026, with 4.2% volume and 0.6% price; Q2 USG accelerated to 5.8% with 5.5% volume growth.
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Turnover was €25.6 billion, up 0.5% versus H1 2025, with operational performance and net acquisitions offsetting adverse currency effects.
Underlying operating margin was 20.3%, up 10 basis points; underlying EPS rose 2.4% to €1.61, while diluted EPS fell 2.5% to €1.38.
The €800 million productivity programme was completed ahead of plan; a €1.5 billion share buyback was completed and the quarterly dividend was raised 3% to €0.4664 per share.
The Unilever Foods separation with McCormick is on track; McCormick announced its planned operating model, executive team, and a London secondary listing on 23 July 2026.
Unilever completes €1.5 billion share buyback, repurchasing 30.7 million shares.
Unilever PLC completed its 2026 share buyback of up to €1.5 billion, purchasing 30,703,780 ordinary shares for an aggregate market value of €1,499,999,891.
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The buyback, announced on 30 April 2026, was executed through Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC across multiple trading venues.
As of 30 June 2026, Unilever had 2,185,205,247 ordinary shares in issue, with 30,703,780 held in treasury and 2,154,262,326 shares carrying voting rights.
Non-Executive Director Ruby Lu purchased 8,915 American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) at $56.055 each, totaling $499,730.33, on 8 June 2026.
The notification for the director's transaction was provided late due to an administrative oversight.
Unilever announces US$25bn Debt Issuance Programme with Information Memorandum approved by FCA
The issuers are Unilever Finance Netherlands B.V., Unilever Capital Corporation, and Unilever PLC.
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Unilever PLC published an Information Memorandum dated 15 May 2026 for a US$25,000,000,000 Debt Issuance Programme.
Unilever PLC and Unilever United States, Inc. act as guarantors for the programme.
The Information Memorandum was approved by the Financial Conduct Authority and is available on the London Stock Exchange's RNS and the National Storage Mechanism.
The notes under the programme are not registered under the U.S. Securities Act and are not offered for sale in the United States.