Vladimir Dimitrov, CFA is a former strategy consultant within the field of brand and intangible assets valuation. During his career in the City of London he has been working with some of the largest global brands within the technology, telecom and banking sectors. Analyst's Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of UL either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (ot ...

Company and Industry Key Points **1. Holistic Product Superiority and Performance Improvement**: * Unilever emphasizes holistic product superiority, moving beyond functional aspects to include factors like desirability and overall value proposition. * The company has implemented a proprietary methodology to measure 21 demand drivers across six Ps (proposition, product, packaging, promotion, price, and place) to improve competitiveness. * This approach has led to improved sales and performance, particularly in Europe, where the company has seen remarkable volume growth in the second quarter. **2. Organizational Culture and Leadership**: * Unilever has experienced a cultural shift, moving from denial and mediocrity to a more fact-based, results-oriented approach. * The appointment of Hein as CEO and the departure of several non-executive directors have contributed to this change. * The company is committed to making radical decisions for long-term performance improvement, including workforce reductions and strategic portfolio changes. **3. Market Share and Competitiveness**: * Unilever has shifted its focus from sales-weighted market share to turnover-weighted share, aiming for a more accurate measure of competitiveness. * The company acknowledges that it is not yet where it wants to be in terms of market share and is committed to improving its position. * The company is investing in brand equity and innovation to drive growth and competitiveness. **4. Emerging Markets and Growth**: * Unilever remains confident in its position in emerging markets, particularly India, where the company has seen significant growth and is committed to defending its market share. * The company is focused on modernizing its portfolio and leveraging its digital capabilities to drive growth in these markets. **5. Sustainability and Regulatory Compliance**: * Unilever is a leader in sustainability and has focused its efforts on four key areas: climate, nature, plastics, and livelihoods. * The company is committed to achieving time-bound targets and welcomes regulations that promote a level-playing field. * The company is investing in R&D to address challenges related to single-use plastic sachets and other sustainability issues. **6. Strategic Portfolio Changes**: * Unilever has separated its ice cream business, recognizing that it is a clear outlier in the company's portfolio. * The company is committed to maintaining its Nutrition business, which is an integral part of its strategy. **7. Challenges and Opportunities**: * Unilever faces challenges in markets like Indonesia and China, where it is experiencing issues related to channel price conflict and geopolitical tensions. * The company is committed to addressing these issues and focusing on long-term growth and profitability.

Luis Di Como, Unilever's global media head, will leave the company after 33 years. Di Como's exit coincides with Unilever's major restructuring and cost-cutting measures. Selina Sykes and Isabel Massey will assume new media roles amid Unilever's organizational changes. Insider Today NSIDER TODAY Sign up to get the inside scoop on today's biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview Bull Thanks for signing up! Go to newsletter preferences Thanks for signing up! Access your f ...

Momentum investing is all about the idea of following a stock's recent trend, which can be in either direction. In the 'long' context, investors will essentially be "buying high, but hoping to sell even higher." And for investors following this methodology, taking advantage of trends in a stock's price is key; once a stock establishes a course, it is more than likely to continue moving in that direction. The goal is that once a stock heads down a fixed path, it will lead to timely and profitable trades. Whi ...

f9photos Unilever (NYSE:UL) represents one of the companies with the greatest weight in my portfolio, and the reason lies in its strength and resilience to any macroeconomic environment. To some extent, we could call it the British Procter & Gamble (PG), although there are some important differences between them. In the past 6 months, the stock has risen 26%, outperforming the S&P500. In my opinion, it is unlikely to continue to perform similarly in the coming months, but it remains a company that I will ke ...

Key Takeaways Unilever has recalled about 137,000 cases of its single-serve Popsicle Jolly Rancher Frozen Confection Pop products because they may contain milk. Milk isn't listed as an ingredient in the popsicles, and eating the products could cause a reaction in those allergic or highly sensitive to it. Unilever said Wednesday that it has received two reports of allergic reactions connected to the recalled products. Unilever (UL) has recalled about 137,000 cases of single-serve Popsicle Jolly Rancher Froze ...

When markets start to get choppy and volatile, such as today, investors need to find the right mix of stocks to keep in a portfolio to achieve a certain level of safety and predictability in their return profile. After the sharp sell-off and brief recovery in the S&P 500 after the so-called "carry trade," investors were left with the concern of whether their capital would be safe in the stock market moving forward. Investors can look to leaders like Warren Buffett and his most recent purchases to ease these ...

Wirestock/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Following up on my original article on Unilever (NYSE:UL) "New CEO Making Changes" from December, we can assess what the new CEO has done since then. On the whole, we see that he has already made a positive impact on the company. The company seems to be on the path of a successful turnaround, and Unilever has performed well over the past year; generating over 20% gains. "We are focused on driving high-quality sales growth and gross margin expansion, led by our Pow ...

Gemma S. We have kickoff consultation process in Europe on July the 10th. We are working in cooperation with the European Works Council on that, and we are doing really good progress. You will see the benefits of productivity really coming more in 2025 than during this year. And beyond that, of course. Fernando Fernandez Yes, the gross margin progression of Power Brands has been very, very similar to the one of the rest of the portfolio. But just to remind you that our Power Brands operate at, I would say, ...

Financial Performance - Unilever's H1 incremental brand and marketing investment (BMI) reached €0.7 billion[1] - The company's H1 gross margin expanded to 45.7%, a 420 bps increase compared to the previous year[36, 54] - Underlying sales growth for full year 2024 is expected to be within the 3-5% range[60] - The company expects at least 18% underlying operating margin for full year 2024[77] - Free cash flow reached €2.2 billion, a decrease of €0.3 billion compared to H1 2023[57, 80] Growth & Volume - Underlying volume growth (UVG) accelerated to +2.6% in H1[36] - Power Brands account for approximately 75% of turnover[9] - R&D spending increased by 5.3% compared to H1 2023[18] Business Restructuring - Unilever is on track to complete the separation of its Ice Cream division by the end of 2025[3] - The company anticipates €800 million in cost savings from its Growth Action Plan, which is expected to more than offset operational dis-synergies[3] Financial Guidance - Capital expenditure is projected to be around 3% of turnover[7] - Restructuring costs are estimated to be around 1.2% of turnover[7]