Unilever vs. McCormick: Two Consumer Staples Giants, One Better Buy

<h3>Quick Read</h3>
<ul>
<li> <p class="yf-1fy9kyt">Unilever is simplifying its portfolio to focus on premium segments and digital commerce, while McCormick must prove it can recover gross margins in 2026 despite ongoing tariff and commodity headwinds.</p></li>
<li> <p class="yf-1fy9kyt">A recent study identified one single habit that doubled Americans’ retirement savings and moved retirement from dream, to reality.</p><a href="https://247wallst.com/lp/the-simple-habit-that-can-double-americans-retirement-savings-and-why-you-should-start-today/?i=4da4da93-4d92-4e62-b9ab-3b5289b70501&amp;p=ebadc3d1-a33c-4a9b-912c-8b2543ac0c0b&amp;pos=keypoints&amp;tpid=1566859&amp;utm_source=yahoo&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=feed&amp;utm_content=feed||1566859">Read more here</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p>Unilever (<a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/UL/">NYSE: UL</a>) reported full-year 2025 results on January 22, 2026, while McCormick (<a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/MKC/">NYSE: MKC</a>) closed out its fiscal year the same day. Both are consumer staples stalwarts navigating commodity pressure and cautious shoppers, but their strategies could not look more different.</p>
<h2>Simplification Carries Unilever. Spices Hold McCormick Steady.</h2>
<p>Unilever finished 2025 with underlying sales growth of 3.5% and volume growth of 1.5% for the full year, with Q4 accelerating to 4.2% underlying sales growth. That momentum came from its Power Brands, which represent 78% of turnover and grew at 4.3%. CEO Fernando Fernandez set the tone clearly: "We are moving at speed to build a business that drives desire at scale...prioritising premium segments and digital commerce, and anchoring our growth in the US and India." The Ice Cream demerger completed in December 2025 stripped out a lower-margin distraction, leaving a cleaner portfolio built around Dove, Vaseline, Liquid I.V., and Hellmann's.</p>
<p>McCormick posted full-year revenue of $6.84B, up 1.73%, with its Consumer segment leading at $1.127B in Q4, up 3.9%. Frank's RedHot, OLD BAY, and Cholula kept retail shelves moving. The problem: Gross margin contracted 130 basis points to 38.9% in Q4, as commodity costs and tariffs overwhelmed savings from its CCI efficiency program.</p>
<p>Read: <a href="https://247wallst.com/lp/the-simple-habit-that-can-double-americans-retirement-savings-and-why-you-should-start-today/?i=4da4da93-4d92-4e62-b9ab-3b5289b70501&amp;p=d474a5a7-790a-4f9f-bfcb-02fc45c14ad3&amp;pos=mid_content&amp;tpid=1566859">Data Shows One Habit Doubles American’s Savings And Boosts Retirement</a></p>
<p>Most Americans drastically underestimate how much they need to retire and overestimate how prepared they are. But data shows that <a href="https://247wallst.com/lp/the-simple-habit-that-can-double-americans-retirement-savings-and-why-you-should-start-today/?i=4da4da93-4d92-4e62-b9ab-3b5289b70501&amp;p=d474a5a7-790a-4f9f-bfcb-02fc45c14ad3&amp;pos=mid_content&amp;tpid=1566859">people with one habit</a> have more than double the savings of those who don’t.</p>
<table>
<row span="3">
<cell role="head"> <p>Metric</p></cell>
<cell role="head"> <p>Unilever (FY2025)</p></cell>
<cell role="head"> <p>McCormick (FY2025)</p></cell>
</row>
<row span="3"><cell> <p>Revenue</p></cell><cell> <p>~$53B</p></cell><cell> <p>$6.84B</p></cell> </row>
<row span="3"><cell> <p>Gross Margin</p></cell><cell> <p>46.9%</p></cell><cell> <p>38.9% (Q4)</p></cell> </row>
<row span="3"><cell> <p>Forward P/E</p></cell><cell> <p>18x</p></cell><cell> <p>20x</p></cell> </row>
<row><cell> <p>Dividend Yield</p></cell><cell> <p>3.4%</p></cell><cell> <p>2.8%</p></cell> </row>
</table>
<h2>One Is Shedding Weight. One Is Adding It.</h2>
<p>Unilever is narrowing its focus, acquiring premium personal care brands like Dr. Squatch, Minimalist, and K18 while shedding Ice Cream. A new €1.5B share buyback starts in Q2 2026. McCormick went the opposite direction, closing the McCormick de Mexico acquisition on January 2, 2026, which adds 11-13% to reported net sales growth in FY2026 but also brings higher interest expense and a tax rate climbing toward 24%.</p>