Unilever strategic portfolio restructuring

Unilever is advancing a strategic restructuring to shift its focus toward higher-margin sectors, specifically beauty, personal care, and home products. This realignment aims to address a valuation gap between the company and its more specialized competitors.

A major element of this transition involves merging Unilever’s food business with US spice maker McCormick & Co Inc. To facilitate this planned merger, the company is reportedly preparing to sell the mustard brand Colman’s. The transaction is expected to be completed by mid-2027, after which Unilever is projected to hold approximately 9.9 percent of the newly merged entity.

To support its focus on personal and home care, Unilever has entered into a partnership with Galaxy Surfactants Ltd to accelerate the development of new surfactant technologies.

Following the release of second-quarter results showing $14.62 billion in revenue, analysts at Erste Group Bank raised their 2026 earnings per share forecast from $3.73 to $3.76. Despite these projections, investors continue to seek evidence of consistent volume growth to overcome the ‘conglomerate discount’ and validate the long-term profitability of the streamlined portfolio.