Unilever Lifts Outlook as Q3 Turnover Hits €13.3 Billion

Unilever reported €13.3 billion in third-quarter turnover and upgraded its full-year guidance, beating analyst estimates of 4.8 percent with underlying growth of 5.2 percent. The beauty businesses carried the quarter. Personal care sales reached €3.6 billion, up 6.3 percent, while Beauty & Wellbeing posted €3.5 billion, up 5.7 percent. Not bad for a company still mid-surgery on its own portfolio.

Where did the beauty growth come from?

Hair care grew by double digits. Skin care grew by midsingle digits. The company attributed the performance to Dove, Vaseline, Sunsilk, Clear and K18 — a mix of mass stalwarts and one prestige acquisition doing its job.

Wellbeing was the exception. It declined 1 percent in the quarter, which Unilever said reflects deliberate choices to rebalance revenues and relative pricing across direct-to-consumer, club, pure play online and omnichannels. A 1 percent decline framed as strategy. Time will tell.

The wellness brand lineup split three ways:

• Liquid I.V. and Olly both grew year-to-date.
• Nutrafol declined, with measures to improve customer acquisition still at an early stage.
• Grüns, acquired earlier this year, delivered strong growth in its first full quarter and enters the underlying sales growth measure in June next year.

What happened by region?

Emerging markets did the heavy lifting: 9.5 percent underlying growth, split between 6 percent volume and 3.3 percent price. India, Turkey, Vietnam and Pakistan all grew double digits, while Latin America, Indonesia and South East Asia grew high single digits.

Developed markets told the opposite story. Underlying growth was 0.9 percent, dragged by negative 1.7 percent volume against 0.7 percent price. North America declined 0.7 percent. Europe fell 1.7 percent, which the company tied to tougher comparators and soft market conditions.

Home care and food each posted €3.1 billion in turnover.

What did the CEO say?

Chief executive officer Fernando Fernández said: "We are performing while transforming Unilever. We are becoming simpler and sharper, with greater focus and stronger execution as we drive desire at scale across our brands. This progress gives us confidence that we will now deliver at least 3 percent volume growth for the full year. At our investor event next week we will set out how this transformation is creating a stronger, more focused Unilever capable of delivering sustained, competitive performance."

On that basis, Unilever upgraded its full-year forecast to at least 3 percent underlying volume growth for full-year 2026 and underlying sales growth of around 5 percent in the second half.

How is the McCormick deal progressing?

The €20 billion question — or rather, the $20 billion one — got an update. Unilever said separation and integration work for the combination of its foods business with McCormick & Co. is progressing well. The company stated: "There has been strong progress on regulatory approvals, with filings submitted on schedule and clear momentum across jurisdictions, reinforcing our confidence in a timely closing. Closure is subject to McCormick shareholder approval, receipt of required regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions."

Unilever confirmed the $20 billion merger of its foods business with the U.S. spices and flavors maker in March, a key step toward its stated goal of becoming a beauty- and wellness-focused powerhouse.

Next week's investor event should show whether the transformation narrative and the beauty-led numbers hold together under scrutiny. On this quarter's evidence, they do — for now.