Investors loved Unilever because it sold everyday products such as Dove, Persil, Hellmann’s, and Ben & Jerry’s to around 3.8bn billion consumers in almost 200 countries. It rode the rise of the emerging markets middle class and delivered steady growth year after year.

Investors happily paid a premium for that reliability. The price-to-earnings ratio was a reassuringly expensive 23 or 24. The dividend yield hovered between 2% and 3%. That was seen as reassuring too. The board lifted shareholder payouts every year, but the shares climbed faster. Then things changed.

Why did investors fall out of love with Unilever?

The group started to look sprawling and bureaucratic, with too many brands and too little focus. Critics complained management spent too much time talking about corporate purpose instead of products and profits. Activist investors circled. As the arguments raged, investors drifted away. I joined them.

I haven’t regretted selling. The Unilever share price is down almost 11% over the last year. At roughly 4,138p, it’s trading around levels last seen in 2017.

The shares haven’t collapsed. They’ve simply gone nowhere for years. Underlying profits have also underwhelmed, as my table shows:

• 2025 – €10.1bn
• 2024 – €11.2bn
• 2023 – €9.91bn
• 2022 – €9.7bn
• 2021 – €9.7bn

The 2025 results were hit by sales slippage in Europe, Brazil, and the US, and adverse currency movements. Heavy marketing spending behind the group’s designated 30 ‘Power Brands’ also squeezed margins. Yet, Unilever still generated healthy free cash flow, of €5.9bn in 2025, and boasts a solid balance sheet. The P/E has fallen to around 15.5, while the trailing dividend yield nears 4.2%. I’m now wondering if the sell-off has been overdone.

Could this recovery story finally gain traction?

Management is working hard to simplify the business, spinning off its ice cream division last year, which includes Magnum and Ben & Jerry’s. It floated at $9.1bn. In March, it struck a deal to sell its food business, which includes Knorr and Hellmann’s, for $44.8bn. The board plans to use proceeds to reduce debt and fund €6bn of share buybacks between 2026 and 2029. Makes sense.

There are still risks. The cost-of-living crisis is back, squeezing shoppers, while higher oil prices raise manufacturing and transport costs. Consumer stocks move in cycles, and the current downturn surely has longer to run.

I think Unilever shares still look worth considering at today’s reduced price. Although, investors may have to be patient while we wait for the global economy to kick on. Will I buy it?

I think we’re looking at an exciting long-term buying opportunity, but having said that, I’m not quite excited enough to buy back in myself. I may regret that one day but I’ve made my decision and will stick with it. Investors seeking recovery potential should also check out Unilever’s FTSE 100 rival Reckitt Benckiser. It’s endured an even rougher spell and could offer better long-term value as a result.

Should you invest £5,000 in Unilever right now?

When investing expert Mark Rogers and his team have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Twelfth Magpie Share Advisor newsletter he has run for nearly a decade has provided thousands of paying members with top stock recommendations from the UK and US markets.

And right now, Mark thinks there are 6 standout stocks that investors should consider buying. Want to see if Unilever made the list?

Harvey Jones does not hold any positions in the companies mentioned.

The post Is this former stock market hero now the ultimate FTSE 100 buy and hold? appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

If you said the income, that might also be a good choice. The answer depends on a lot of things – most notably, how old you are.

Annuities

Annuities are a type of financial contract with an insurer. The firm pays you a certain amount until you die, in exchange for cash up front.

The amount depends on a few things, like your age. According to Hargreaves Lansdown, a 60-year old can expect a 7.08% annual return.

That means if you’re 60, there’s not much to choose between £100,000 and £7,075 a year. At least, not at today’s prices.

I couldn’t find a quote for a 35-year-old. But the best estimate I could find was somewhere between 2% and 4% a year. 

That makes sense. Other things being equal, the insurer expects to pay for longer with a younger customer and has to factor this in.

So if you’re under 60 and you find a 7.08% a-year opportunity, take a closer look. If not, it’s worth thinking about other options.

Dividend stocks

Dividend shares are another way of earning passive income. But unlike annuities, the returns don’t care how old you are. 

Ultimately, dividends come from the money made by businesses. And that doesn’t change depending on who owns them.

When things go well, the amount companies return can increase over time. With annuities, returns are often fixed.

That matters a lot. Based on 2.5% inflation, the value of a £4,000 annual return falls to £1,871 after 30 years.

Returns from annuities are more reliable than dividends. But I think income investors might realistically aim for better than 4%.

For a 35-year old, then, using £100,000 to buy an annuity doesn’t seem so great. It might be worth at least looking at what’s on offer in the stock market.

A dividend opportunity?

The stock market hasn’t been impressed with Unilever (LSE:ULVR) recently. The stock is down 21.55% since the start of March. 

What’s the problem? Investors are unimpressed with Unilever’s deal to sell off its food division, but it might not be as bad as it looks.

The first thing to note is that the unit has underperformed in recent years. So it isn’t hard to see the rationale for divesting it.

Source: Company Website

The second is that it isn’t a good time to be selling food businesses. Campbell’s,  General Mills, and Kraft Heinz shares this year are all evidence of this.

The firm is now concentrated in its business lines and that’s a risk. And there’s still uncertainty as to how much the deal will ultimately be worth.

I don’t, however, see the sale as a bad one. And with a dividend yield close to a 10-year high, I think the stock has to be worth considering for passive income investors.

How much do you want?

Anyone looking to invest should have an idea of what they hope to get back. And annuities are a nice opportunity for those who can get a good enough return.

Don’t, however, underestimate the effects of inflation. The effect is real and it emphasises the value of stocks with growing dividends.

Stephen Wright owns shares in Unilever.

The post How much passive income do you want for £100,000? appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

Rather than showing signs of resolution, the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East seem to be more uncertain than ever.

Oil prices are swinging wildly as tensions around the Strait of Hormuz increase, leading to growing uncertainty among market analysts.

As these issues drag on, more and more investors are asking: is the stock market heading for a crash?

How to prepare for a stock market downturn

This year, the Dow Jones has flip-flopped between 45,000 and 50,000, while the S&P 500 dipped to 6,340 before surging past 7,500. Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 nearly cracked 11,000 points before briefly falling back below 10,000.

When I see sharp index moves like that, I think less about predicting the next crash and more about making my portfolio resistant to risk.

A few simple actions can help:

• Keep some money in cash.
• Trim higher-risk positions.
• Tilt a little more towards defensive shares.

That does not mean hiding from the market. It means being ready if sentiment turns and investors start moving into bonds and other lower-risk assets, which can feed a broader correction.

What, then, counts as a defensive share?

The advantage of defensive shares

Defensive shares are businesses that tend to hold up better when the economy slows. They often have resilient earnings, dependable dividends, and exposure to sectors with steady demand, like utilities and healthcare.

Many also sell globally, which can smooth out weakness in any single market.

Unilever (LSE: ULVR) is a classic example.

Below are a few of its top defensive credentials:

• It sells everyday brands that people need, even when money is tight.
• It has global reach, not just UK exposure.
• It pays a dividend with a yield typically around 4%.
• It’s fairly valued, with a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 16.08.

In its 2025 full-year results, the group reported underlying sales growth of 3.5%, underlying operating profit of €10.1bn, and operating margin of 20%.

Free cash flow came in at €5.9bn and underlying earnings per share (EPS) reached €3.08. More recently, the company’s Q4 underlying sales growth came in at 4.2%, beating forecasts.

However, management has warned that 2026 growth could be slower. That’s partly because the company is currently undergoing a restructuring and brand strategy update. While this is aimed at improving efficiency, it also adds execution risk.

Not to mention, there’s the ever-present threat of competition. Cheaper rivals can put pressure on pricing, even when brands have a strong following.

Even so, when the market gets choppy, defensive shares like Unilever can make a big difference in keeping a portfolio steady.

The bottom line

For investors looking for stocks to buy this year, defensive shares like Unilever are worth considering. A portfolio made up of a solid mix of defensive shares may not remove volatility entirely, but it can reduce it.

This is important, because it can limit panic, which can lead to rash decisions. Of course, growth and income shares still have their place but it may be wise to put them on the back seat until things settle.

Should you invest £5,000 in Unilever right now?

When investing expert Mark Rogers and his team have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Twelfth Magpie Share Advisor newsletter he has run for nearly a decade has provided thousands of paying members with top stock recommendations from the UK and US markets.

And right now, Mark thinks there are 6 standout stocks that investors should consider buying. Want to see if Unilever made the list?

Mark Hartley owns shares in Unilever.

The post Is the market about to crash? Maybe, so I’m hunting defensive stocks to buy appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

Unhappy Unilever

As I mentioned, my family has a dog in this race, as we bought Unilever stock for 4,122.2p a share in August 2023. I regret this decision, as the shares have barely moved since then. As I write, the shares trade at 4,224.49p. This values this Anglo-Dutch consumer-goods giant at £92bn, making it the seventh-largest company in the Footsie.

Earlier this year, Unilever shares were riding high, peaking at 5,526p on 24 February. But then the US attacked Iran on 28 February, triggering a new Middle East conflict. Today, the stock is more than a quarter (-25.4%) below its 52-week high.

What’s more, Unilever shares are down 16.7% over one year and 7.8% lower over five years, excluding cash dividends. Then again, these price declines have pushed up the stock’s dividend yield to levels rarely seen in my nearly 40 years of following this share.

Dividend play?

I suspect many Unilever shareholders — both individual and institutional — are none too happy with CEO Fernando Fernández and his executive team. Fernández is a Unilever lifer, having joined the group in Argentina in 1988. Sadly, the stock price has suffered since he took the helm in March 2025.

Then again, Unilever is a fiendishly complicated organisation to run. It sells over 400 different brands in more than 190 countries, with 3.7bn consumers using its products every day. Likewise, it employs over 150,000 people, while its global turnover hit €50.5bn (£43.7bn) in 2025.

Despite being founded in 1930, this 96-year-old company is trying to evolve. Under pressure from billionaire activist investor Nelson Peltz and his Trian Fund Management hedge fund, the group has spun off its ice-cream division. In March, it combined its food and tea businesses with US spice maker McCormick & Company, creating a $65bn offshoot.

Just like its Marmite yeast spread, investors may hate or love this transformational deal. Thus far, I’m not impressed, given how much McCormick’s stock price has dived since (crashing 34% since 27 February). However, Unilever’s sagging share price has pushed up its dividend yield.

Today, shares in this big British business offer a cash yield of 4% a year. That’s well above the FTSE 100’s dividend yield of 3.1% a year. Hence, private investors and fund managers seeking reliable and rising income might view this stock as a bargain.

As for my family, I intend to hang onto our Unilever stock and await developments. Next up: the half-year results on 28 July 2026 — which I will pore over with a critical eye!

Unilever shares are weakening, but which stocks are moving markets? Find out below…

Should you invest £5,000 in Unilever right now?

When investing expert Mark Rogers and his team have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Twelfth Magpie Share Advisor newsletter he has run for nearly a decade has provided thousands of paying members with top stock recommendations from the UK and US markets.

And right now, Mark thinks there are 6 standout stocks that investors should consider buying. Want to see if Unilever made the list?

Cliff D’Arcy has an economic interest in Unilever.

The post I’m fed up with the Unilever share price. Do I sell my stock? appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

Starmergeddon

Local elections on Thursday, 7 May shook the British political landscape. Overnight, the ruling Labour party lost almost 1,500 seats, with the opposition Conservatives losing over 560 seats. Meanwhile, Reform UK picked up over 1,450 new seats, upending the UK’s traditional two-party political system.

With global asset prices at record highs, investors worry about uncertainty. In the UK, former minister Wes Streeting and ex-MP Andy Burnham plan to stand against Starmer in an upcoming Labour leadership election. For a few months, this will make British politics even more volatile, generating fresh concerns for investors.

Bond woes

Since the lows of 27 February, UK gilt yields have leapt. For example, the 10-year gilt yield has shot up from 4.234% to 5.182% a year. However, this is still below 2026’s high of 5.234%, hit on 23 April. This tells us that UK and international investors are demanding higher yearly returns to buy the UK’s national debt.

That said, I’m not convinced that falling gilt prices and a weaker pound are entirely the fault of the Labour government. For instance, the 30-year US Treasury yield just leapt above 5% for the first time since 2007.

For me, recent market movements and volatility have global causes. In particular, the US-Iran war since 28 February has sent energy prices skyrocketing. This pushes up inflation and living costs, hitting consumers and borrowers worldwide. In addition, global interest rates were expected to fall this year, but now look set to rise.

Thus, to answer the question in my headline: no, I don’t expect the UK’s latest political ructions to trigger a stock market crash. But with US tech stocks in particular looking priced for perfection, almost anything might burst this potential bubble.

A FTSE 100 survivor

If the UK were to undergo a stock-market crash or harsh recession, most London-listed stocks would slide. Even so, if I had to choose a ‘share for all seasons’ — one long-term survivor — it would likely be Unilever (LSE: ULVR). Why Unilever?

First, this a big business, with its £92.2bn market value ranking it at #7 in the FTSE 100. Second, Unilever shares have endured their own crash, diving 23.9% from their 2026 high of 5,526p on 24 February to close at 4,207p on 15 April.

Third, after this price fall, the shares offer a market-beating dividend yield of 4% a year (versus 3.1% a year for the wider FTSE 100). Fourth, Unilever has global scale, selling 400+ different brands in over 190 countries.

Lastly, my family portfolio owns Unilever stock, having bought our stake for 4,122.2p a share in August 2023. By reinvesting our dividends into more shares, we have boosted our returns from this stock. Of course, any global downturn would surely hit this group’s revenues, profits, and cash flow — and perhaps its share price. Yet I hope for decent future gains!

Cliff D’Arcy has an economic interest in Unilever.

The post Will Keir Starmer and Labour trigger a stock-market crash? appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

One example is Unilever (LSE:ULVR). It’s a giant in the consumer goods industry and it’s unusually cheap right now.

Consumer staples

Unilever has been one of the FTSE 100’s most consistent sources of dividends. And that’s not a big surprise – it makes the products people use every day.

That means demand is generally pretty stable, even in a recession. People might not always go on holiday, but it takes a lot for them to stop buying deodorant.

There is a downside to this. A bit like my wardrobe, Unilever’s products never go out of fashion – but they also never come into fashion.

As a result, it can be hard for the firm to generate meaningful growth. It’s already huge and the market it competes in isn’t really getting bigger.

The other risk is that it’s very easy for customers to switch to other products. So Unilever has to work hard constantly to keep them coming back.

Those are real challenges. But the FTSE 100 firm has some key strengths when it comes to generating growth and fending off competition.

Brand power

Unilever doesn’t just make stuff that people use. It has some of the top products in various categories, with brands including Domestos, Persil, and Vaseline.

This matters for more reasons than you might think. The obvious point is that these are names that consumers associate those names with quality. 

In some cases, having the right brand can be even more important than having the best product. But there’s another reason why it’s valuable.

Unilever’s products battle for shelf space with competitors. And there’s a big advantage to being in the best position to attract customers. Suppliers have to negotiate with retailers for these spaces. But having a strong brand portfolio is a big advantage on this front. Retailers want to stock Unilever’s products to attract customers. And that gives the company more power when it comes to negotiating.

Why is the stock down?

All of this sounds pretty good, so why is the stock down? The short answer is that not all brands are created equal. Some of Unilever’s brands have been performing less well than others. And the company has been making moves to divest these.

Most recently, the food division has been sold. But it will take time and won’t be as straightforward as investors were hoping.

Nonetheless, a falling share price means higher dividend yields. Investors who buy 702 shares for £30,807 right now can earn £1,200 a year.

That’s a 3.9% dividend yield. And it’s extremely unusual to see Unilever shares available to buy with that kind of starting return.

Ultimately, the company looks like it’s getting itself into a stronger competitive position. If that’s the case, it’s got to be worth a look at today’s prices.

Income investing

For investors looking for income, Unilever is a really interesting stock. It has long-term strengths in an industry where demand is relatively durable.

It’s unusual to find shares in this kind of business going cheap. But that might be the opportunity that’s on the table right now.

The post 702 shares in this FTSE 100 stalwart earn a £100 a month second income appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

However, the latest Fundsmith factsheet (for April) shows that Unilever has recently been sold. So, why might Smith have sold it? And should investors consider following the star fund manager and offloading the stock?

A dodgy deal?

In terms of why Smith may have sold the Footsie stock, I see a few potential reasons.

First, we have the recently announced ‘mega-merger’ between McCormick and Unilever’s food business (Knorr, Hellmann’s, etc). This has created some uncertainty.

This deal is quite complex – Unilever shareholders will own 55.1% of the combined entity, while Unilever will get 9.9%, and McCormick shareholders 35%. And there are some concerns around the transaction’s structure, long path to closing (it’s not expected to close until mid-2027), antitrust risks, and integration risks.

It’s worth pointing out that when the deal was announced in late March, Unilever shares fell sharply. The market’s reaction suggests that investors weren’t impressed (note that large-scale M&A in the consumer goods industry generally hasn’t worked well in the recent past).

One other thing worth noting here is that ratings agency S&P Global revised its outlook for Unilever to ‘negative’ upon news of the deal. It cited reduced headroom stemming from lower scale and diversity of operations if the deal closes.

Oil price uncertainty

Another reason could be oil prices. Ultimately, consumer goods companies are quite vulnerable to higher oil prices.

Not only are a lot of Unilever’s home care products (Domestos, OMO, etc) petrochemical-based, but a lot of its packaging is based on petroleum derivatives.

On top of this, there are transportation costs. So, Unilever will need to find ways to manage these increased costs.

A new long-term risk

Taking a longer-term view, one other risk that has emerged is potential economic weakness in India (a key growth market for the company). Amid the rise of powerful new AI tools like Anthropic, parts of India’s workforce are starting to see material job layoffs.

If this trend continues, it could hit middle class spending in India. This could lead to reduced demand for Unilever’s brands.

Time to consider selling?

Is it time to consider getting out of Unilever shares given all these risks? That’s hard to say.

Obviously, the investment case isn’t as clear as it used to be. But there are still things to like here.

For example, we have a company with a whole portfolio of trusted brands that is relatively recession-resistant. We also have a good CEO at the helm in Fernando Fernandez (he’s been at the company since 1988 and was previously CFO).

Additionally, there’s a decent dividend yield on offer at the moment. It’s currently near 4%.

Personally, I think long-term investors should consider holding on to the shares. In the near term, however, other stocks may offer better returns.

The post Fundsmith just offloaded this £96bn market cap blue-chip FTSE 100 stock appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

Using a Cash ISA to build up an emergency fund isn’t a bad strategy. But trying to build real wealth this way creates a meaningful and unnecessary opportunity cost. Even the very best ISAs offering up to 5% interest today still fall short of the stock market’s 8% long-term average.

So, with that in mind, which UK stocks are the experts buying right now?

AstraZeneca – the UK’s crown jewel

Few companies on the London Stock Exchange attract as much institutional conviction as AstraZeneca (LSE:AZN).

The pharmaceutical giant has transformed itself into a global oncology powerhouse, with blockbuster medicines like Enhertu, Tagrisso, and Calquence driving revenues toward an ambitious $80bn target by 2030.

Even in 2025, the top line expanded by another 9% to a record $58.7bn. And with 20 Phase 3 trials currently under way, the pipeline powering AstraZeneca’s future growth remains pretty impressive.

But risks are real. President Trump’s Most Favoured Nation drug pricing push, which aims to tie US prices to cheaper international rates, could meaningfully squeeze AstraZeneca’s most profitable market.

At the same time, the company is also navigating through an ongoing anti-corruption investigation in China’s pharmaceutical sector. And combined, the group’s position in both of these crucial markets could soon come under pressure.

Unilever – the unsung stalwart

Another top pick from the pros in 2026 is Unilever (LSE:ULVR), which seemingly combines robust growth with solid defensive traits that could help reduce portfolio volatility in an uncertain market environment.

Under CEO Fernando Fernández, Unilever is in the middle of its most dramatic transformation in decades.

Having already spun off its ice cream business in late 2025, the group announced in March 2026 that it would combine its entire food division, which contains brands like Hellmann’s, Knorr, and Marmite, with US spice giant McCormick in a $44.8bn deal.

What remains will be a pureplay beauty, personal care, and home products business built around Power Brands like Dove, Axe, and Domestos – categories that carry higher margins and faster structural growth than food.

However, it’s important to highlight that the McCormick deal hasn’t gone down particularly well with shareholders of both companies. Large-scale mergers are complex and have a habit of incurring lots of unexpected costs. And since Unilever will still retain a 65% equity stake in the newly formed business, weak performance in the future could have knock-on effects.

Even if the deal goes through as planned, there remains the challenge of consumers potentially trading down to cheaper non-branded alternatives to Unilever’s products, limiting the group’s pricing power – a key risk to be aware of.

The bottom line

No stock is ever without risk, even FTSE 100 titans like AstraZeneca and Unilever and I can’t say they’re ‘the best’ to buy today. Yet when weighed against their potential long-term rewards, both companies look like potentially top stocks for investors seeking a more defensive way to grow their wealth that could still outperform a savings account in the long run.

That’s why I think both companies deserve a closer look.

The post With £9,633.30 to invest, are these the best UK stocks to buy now? appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

But first-quarter results released Thursday (30 April) make me think this could be one for cool long-term heads to consider. So what were the highlights? They include:

• Underlying sales growth of 3.8%.
• Full-year outlook for 4%+ sales growth.
• New €1.5bn share buyback.

Long-term strength

Currency effects did result in a 3.3% fall in total turnover, coming in at €12.6bn. But that 3.8% underlying growth in sales value was made up of a 2.9% volume increase — and only 0.9% in price rises. I rate that as a solid sign of Unilever’s long-term strength.

I’m thinking Unilever shares have what it takes as a defensive investment. The key is that the company has such a wide range of product lines covering so many essential categories. And its international reach provides geographic defence against localised disruption.

Actually, considering the worldwide fallout from the Middle East crisis, I’d say this quarter shows superb global resilience. I think it’s summed up by the opening words from CEO Fernando Fernandez.

We have started the year well with volume-led growth driven by our Power Brands and a positive performance across all business groups. There is broad-based momentum across our emerging markets business, with a strong performance in India, and a good recovery in Latin America following the decisive actions we have taken in that region.

Buyback too

The new €1.5bn share buyback shows how much surplus capital Unilever is throwing off, even in times of economic pressure. It’s starting right away, and management intends to complete it by July.

And looking forward, Unilever expects to return a total of €6bn in buybacks between 2026 and 2029. We’re also looking at a full-year dividend forecast at 4.1%, which is pretty decent. And future repurchases should help keep per–share measures like the dividend yield going.

Do Unilever shares sound like the kind of thing it would be nice to tuck away in a Stocks and Shares ISA and just forget for a couple of decades? Diversification is a vital part of long-term investing. And I reckon Unilever could be considered as a cornerstone for any ISA, whatever an investor’s main strategy.

Uncertain year?

One thing does count against it at the moment. And that’s uncertainty over the upcoming sale of the company’s foods business to McCormick. It’s not expected to conclude much before mid-2027. And that’s if a shareholder vote, regulatory approvals, and other formalities work out.

Is it a mistake? And will Unilever get enough cash from the transaction? Investors do appear split over the deal. Forecasts did show solid earnings growth in the next few years — but the foods disposal means they’re up in the air now.

Investors should expect some volatility, I think. But with Unilever shares lowly valued compared to historic averages, now could be a great time to consider adding some to your long-term ISA holdings.

The post Are Unilever shares the perfect ISA buy for troubled times after Q1 impresses? appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

Food on the block

Like the broader stock market, Unilever’s shares slumped after the Iran war began. With it came fears of higher costs and weaker consumer spending power as oil prices surged. Inflation and its impact on global interest rates and economic growth could be catastrophic.

But that’s not the whole story behind the FTSE firm’s decline. Investors also reacted badly to news on 31 March that Unilever was selling its Foods division to McCormick & Company for $44.8bn.

The move makes sense to me, allowing the company to focus better on its Home Care and Personal Care divisions. This carries advantages like the opportunity to lean into faster-growth categories, products with better profit margins, and regions with booming population and wealth levels.

It follows the divestment of the firm’s ice cream division last year. So what’s the problem on this occasion? Put simply, the Food unit is more valuable than Unilever’s remaining operations, prompting the re-rating of its share price. Investors were also unimpressed by the structure of the deal — just $15.7bn of the deal in cash, with the remainder settled in shares in the spun-off business.

But I view the news as a net positive for Unilever, provided it goes through. So are its shares a buy?

Downgrades to come?

Let’s first look at this in the context of the firm’s most recent financial statement. In 2025, Unilever recorded underlying sales growth of 3.5%, below its multi-year target of 4% to 6%. And it’s warned that the top line could continue to underwhelm — this year, it expects growth to “be at the bottom end” of the range due to “slower market conditions“.

The trouble is these predictions were made before the Iran war kicked off. So there’s a good chance that sales will miss even this modest target. It’s also possible margin forecasts will be downgraded as cost pressures increase. Unilever predicted “a modest improvement in underlying operating margin” from the 20% last year.

In this landscape, Unilever’s share price could fall further over the coming months. And particularly if the recent Middle East ceasefire crumbles. But for long-term investors, I think the consumer goods giant could be worth a close look.

A FTSE 100 bargain?

Make no mistake: Unilever is a high-quality business, with ‘power brands’ like Dove soap and Persil detergent driving growth. It also has strong exposure to emerging markets, where consumer spending is rising especially rapidly.

What’s more, its shares trade at a slight discount to their historical average. The forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is 16.5, below the 10-year average of 17-18. This doesn’t make Unilever shares a white-hot bargain, but it provides an added little sweetener for investors. Taken altogether, I think this is a top FTSE 100 share to consider following recent price weakness.

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