Unilever

UL

Market cap $122B

NEW HAVEN, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Unilever today unveiled plans to develop a new Global Innovation Center in New Haven, Connecticut, opening by spring 2029. The center will be a leading hub for the company's research and development for its personal care, beauty and wellbeing businesses in the U.S. and globally. The center further propels Unilever's growth strategy in the U.S. market, raising the bar for research and development in the consumer goods industry and powering the company's portfol.

The New Haven, Conn., center will mark the company's biggest U.S. R&D infrastructure investment in four decades.

McCormick & Company is rated 'Buy' due to resilient brands, margin expansion, and a compelling 4% dividend yield at depressed valuations. MKC's planned $45B merger with Unilever's food business is expected to drive 3–5% revenue growth and $600M in run-rate synergies. Despite near-term volume pressures, MKC's pricing power and alignment with health trends support durable growth and expanding operating margins.

U.S. equity benchmarks remain richly valued, and a growing chorus of strategists is reminding retail investors that single-country exposure has historically been a portfolio risk.

Almost two-thirds of the stocks in the portfolio declined during the quarter, with nearly half falling by more than 10%. Samsung Electronics, the portfolio's largest investment, pre-released its Q1 results, highlighting significant growth in its core semiconductor operations. The equities that had the largest negative impact on the portfolio during the quarter were ICON, Unilever and UBS.

With Unilever set to spin off its food unit and merge it with U.S. ​peer McCormick , some investors plan to press the combined entity to adopt the same standards against deforestation and environmental risks as ‌the UK consumer products giant.

A group of Magnum investors has ​criticised the ice cream maker over its handling of tensions around its Ben & Jerry's brand's social activism and a ‌lack of transparency over its finances, a letter from shareholders seen by Reuters showed.

Unilever PLC (UL) Q1 2026 Sales/Trading Call Transcript

Unilever PLC (LSE:ULVR) said it is launching a €1.5 billion share buyback today as it posted better-than-expected growth for the first quarter of the year, with volume growth driving a rise in underlying sales. The owner of consumer brands ranging from Cif and Colgate to Hellman's and Marmite reported 3.8% underlying sales growth in the first three months of 2026, with volumes up 2.9% and pricing contributing 0.9%.

Underlying sales rose 3.8%, as the consumer-goods company carries out its largest portfolio shuffle yet.