• Strong, volume-led growth - underlying sales growth (USG) of 4.8%, with 4.2% volume and 0.6% price; acceleration in Q2 to USG of 5.8% and 5.5% volume growth
• Power Brands (78% of turnover) leading growth - 6.0% USG and 5.4% volume growth
• Turnover €25.6 billion, up 0.5% - operational performance and net acquisitions more than offset adverse currency
• Underlying operating margin 20.3%, up 10bps - gross margin at 46.8% with competitive brand and marketing investment at 16.1%
• Underlying EPS increased 2.4% - diluted EPS decreased 2.5%
• €800 million productivity programme completed ahead of plan
• Quarterly dividend up 3% vs Q2 2025; €1.5 billion share buyback completed
• Unilever Foods separation on track - on 23 July McCormick announced planned operating model and executive team of the combined company, along with secondary listing location in London
Statement from Fernando Fernandez, CEO
"We have delivered a strong volume-led performance in the first half, with a significant step-up in the second quarter - the best volume quarter at Unilever in over a decade. Our Power Brands continued to outperform, with all Business Groups delivering volume-led growth. Emerging markets showed momentum - India, Indonesia and Latin America all delivered strong growth - while North America again outperformed its market.
"These results show our ability to continue performing while transforming our portfolio. Our brands are stronger, our execution is sharper and we are driving Desire at Scale. Our combination of Foods with McCormick is progressing well and will unlock significant value, making Unilever a focused pureplay HPC company, while giving Foods the platform to thrive as part of a global powerhouse in flavour.
"The macroeconomic environment remains uncertain, but our consistency, discipline and strong first half performance give us confidence that we are well positioned to deliver our upgraded full year outlook." Outlook
Following strong performance in the first half, we have upgraded our outlook for 2026:
• We expect underlying sales growth for full year 2026 to be within our multi-year guidance range of 4% to 6%, with around 3% underlying volume growth. • We expect underlying sales growth in the second half of 4% to 5%, led by pricing. • We anticipate a modest improvement in underlying operating margin for full year 2026 versus 20.0% in 2025.
Read full press release:
https://www.unilever.com/news/press-and-media/press-releases/2026/desire-at-scale-powering-strong-h1-performance/
• Power Brands (78% of turnover) leading growth - 6.0% USG and 5.4% volume growth
• Turnover €25.6 billion, up 0.5% - operational performance and net acquisitions more than offset adverse currency
• Underlying operating margin 20.3%, up 10bps - gross margin at 46.8% with competitive brand and marketing investment at 16.1%
• Underlying EPS increased 2.4% - diluted EPS decreased 2.5%
• €800 million productivity programme completed ahead of plan
• Quarterly dividend up 3% vs Q2 2025; €1.5 billion share buyback completed
• Unilever Foods separation on track - on 23 July McCormick announced planned operating model and executive team of the combined company, along with secondary listing location in London
Statement from Fernando Fernandez, CEO
"We have delivered a strong volume-led performance in the first half, with a significant step-up in the second quarter - the best volume quarter at Unilever in over a decade. Our Power Brands continued to outperform, with all Business Groups delivering volume-led growth. Emerging markets showed momentum - India, Indonesia and Latin America all delivered strong growth - while North America again outperformed its market.
"These results show our ability to continue performing while transforming our portfolio. Our brands are stronger, our execution is sharper and we are driving Desire at Scale. Our combination of Foods with McCormick is progressing well and will unlock significant value, making Unilever a focused pureplay HPC company, while giving Foods the platform to thrive as part of a global powerhouse in flavour.
"The macroeconomic environment remains uncertain, but our consistency, discipline and strong first half performance give us confidence that we are well positioned to deliver our upgraded full year outlook." Outlook
Following strong performance in the first half, we have upgraded our outlook for 2026:
• We expect underlying sales growth for full year 2026 to be within our multi-year guidance range of 4% to 6%, with around 3% underlying volume growth. • We expect underlying sales growth in the second half of 4% to 5%, led by pricing. • We anticipate a modest improvement in underlying operating margin for full year 2026 versus 20.0% in 2025.
Read full press release:
https://www.unilever.com/news/press-and-media/press-releases/2026/desire-at-scale-powering-strong-h1-performance/
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