Hindustan Unilever Ltd

Price story Before the numbers, the tape. A stock price moves through four repeating seasons: a flat base (stage 1), an advance (2), a top (3), a decline (4). Where the price sits in that cycle frames everything below.

Hindustan Unilever Ltd trades at ₹2,144, in a downtrend and 18 weeks into that stage. That is −4.8% against its own 200-day average. It sits at 15% of a 52-week range of ₹2,074 to ₹2,546. On relative strength it is currently behind the NIFTY 500 on a trailing-13-week view (14 weeks and counting).

Today the stock is in a downtrend — week 18 of stage 4, confirmed. At ₹2,144 it trades −4.8% versus its 200-day average and sits at 15% of its 52-week range (₹2,074–₹2,546).

Against the market, two honest reads. Cumulative: over the last 10.3 years the stock moved +163% while the NIFTY 500 moved +274% — behind the index over the full window. Recent form: on a trailing-13-week view the stock is currently behind (14 weeks and counting; last ahead the week of 2026-05-15) — the ribbon below is that same metric, week by week.

What would end the trend, mechanically: two Friday closes in a row below the 200-day line. That is the exit rule — no debates.

→ The trend is one thing; the bill is another. Are you paying up for it? Next: the P/E sits at the 1st percentile of its own range.

Valuation P/E is the price of ₹1 of annual profit: how many rupees the market pays for each rupee the company earns in a year.

Hindustan Unilever Ltd trades at 33.1× P/E, about the cheapest it has ever traded. Its long-run median P/E is 58.5×, measured across 10.4 years of weekly readings. This places the multiple against the stock’s own record, and says nothing about what the business is worth.

Today's P/E of 33.1× is about the cheapest it has ever traded, against a long-run median of 58.5× measured over 10.4 years of weekly readings. This is a comparison against the stock's own history — not a claim about what it is worth.

Why the multiple sits where it does: over the past year annual EPS moved +41.2% against a −10.0% price move — earnings outran the price, pushing the multiple DOWN its own range.

The price move, decomposed: over 5y, of the −1.5%/yr price move, ~+12.9%/yr came from earnings growth and ~−14.4 pp from the multiple (compressing); over 10y, of the +9.1%/yr price move, ~+12.9%/yr came from earnings growth and ~−3.8 pp from the multiple (compressing). The split is the honest approximate (price return minus earnings growth); it makes the rally itself visible instead of hiding it behind the percentile.

Put together: the multiple is low against its own past, so the story rests on the earnings line underneath it, not the multiple.

→ Cheap or dear rides on the earnings. Are they actually growing? Next: the fundamental stage — where the business sits in its arc, and how growth has compounded.

Stage: Consistent Every business sits somewhere on a fundamental arc, and this page names the spot before anything else. The last twelve quarters of revenue, profit and EPS growth — plus the return the business earns on its capital — are read as curves: Deteriorating (the curves are falling), Turning around (a trough has just formed and the last few quarters lift off it), Improving (the climb off the trough is sustained), Consistent (steadily positive with healthy returns), Topping out (still high but decelerating from the peak). When the curves genuinely disagree the read is Mixed; too little history is No read. CAGR (compound annual growth rate) is the smooth yearly pace that turns the starting value into the latest one — the fairest way to compare growth across different time spans. Read the columns together: if the 1-year number towers over the 10-year, recent growth is running hotter than the long-run trend. A dash means that window is not held, or the base year was a loss (where a growth rate is not meaningful).

Hindustan Unilever Ltd reads as consistent on its fundamental arc. Consistent — revenue, profit and EPS growth have stayed positive through the window, with ROCE at 29.2% and holding. The read is built from 12 quarters across 4 curves, on full evidence.

Why it matters: steady curves with healthy returns are the compounding setup — the risk is the price, not the business.

→ The stage names the trajectory. Next: the revenue line that produces it, quarter by quarter.

4-Factor Sector Score

53.3/100 — rank 5 of 12 in FMCG - Personal Care · 90% evidence confidence

Hindustan Unilever Ltd scores 53.3 out of 100 against the 12 companies it is compared with in FMCG - Personal Care, ranking 5. Balanced evidence: keep at normal research priority and require another comparable period before raising conviction.

The four contributions add to the total exactly: 17.7 + 14.9 + 8.5 + 12.2 = 53.3. This is the SAME number shown on the sector comparison — it is computed once, for the whole peer set, and read here.

What would change it: The read weakens if profit growth turns negative or margin improvement reverses while sector-relative strength deteriorates.

Revenue Revenue is the top line: everything the company billed its customers in the period.

Hindustan Unilever Ltd reported ₹16,351 Cr of revenue in the Mar 26 quarter, +7.6% year on year. That is the 2nd straight quarter of year-on-year growth. Over 10 years it has compounded at 7.2% a year. The last full year, FY26, came in at ₹64,468 Cr. The last four reported quarters add to ₹65,225 Cr.

Hindustan Unilever Ltd reported ₹16,351 Cr of revenue in the Mar 26 quarter, +7.6% year on year. That is the 2nd straight quarter of year-on-year growth. Over 10 years it has compounded at 7.2% a year. The last full year, FY26, came in at ₹64,468 Cr. The last four reported quarters add to ₹65,225 Cr.

FY26 revenue came in at ₹64,468 Cr (+5.1% on the year), capping 10 years at 7.2% compound. The latest quarter (Mar 26) printed ₹16,351 Cr, +7.6% year on year — the 2nd consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth.

Pace check: the last four quarters averaged +4.6% growth against the decade's 7.2% — the current year is running slower than its own long-run rate.

Acceleration check: trailing-twelve-month revenue grew +4.6% over the last 4 quarters against +2.7%/yr over the last 8 — stabilising; TTM profit +41.1% vs +21.0%/yr — accelerating.

→ Revenue grew — did margins hold as it scaled? Next: 23.0% this quarter (−1.0 pp YoY).

Operating margin Operating margin is what is left of every ₹100 of sales after running the business, before interest and tax. It is the cleanest read on pricing power and cost control.

Hindustan Unilever Ltd's operating margin is 23.0% in the Mar 26 quarter, −1.0 percentage points against the same quarter a year ago. Across 13 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 16.0% to 25.0%. The current quarter sits inside that band.

Hindustan Unilever Ltd's operating margin is 23.0% in the Mar 26 quarter, −1.0 percentage points against the same quarter a year ago. Across 13 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 16.0% to 25.0%. The current quarter sits inside that band.

The latest quarter's operating margin is 23.0%, −1.0 pp against the same quarter a year ago. Across 13 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 16.0%–25.0%.

🚨 Why the margin moved: operating margin went −0.4 pp year on year while gross margin went −1.0 pp — the loss came mostly from the gross line: input costs and pricing.

→ Margins slipped — did that reach the bottom line? Next: profit +21.0% in the latest quarter.

Net profit Net profit is what survives every cost, interest and tax — the number EPS, dividends and book value all grow from.

Hindustan Unilever Ltd earned ₹2,994 Cr of net profit in the Mar 26 quarter, +21.0% year on year. It is the 4th consecutive quarter of growth. Full-year FY26 profit was ₹15,059 Cr. The 10-year compound rate is 13.8%. That is 18.3% of the quarter's revenue. The same quarter a year earlier earned ₹2,475 Cr.

Hindustan Unilever Ltd earned ₹2,994 Cr of net profit in the Mar 26 quarter, +21.0% year on year. It is the 4th consecutive quarter of growth. Full-year FY26 profit was ₹15,059 Cr. The 10-year compound rate is 13.8%. That is 18.3% of the quarter's revenue. The same quarter a year earlier earned ₹2,475 Cr.

Mar 26 profit was ₹2,994 Cr, +21.0% year on year — the 4th consecutive quarter of growth. On the full year, FY26 printed ₹15,059 Cr (+41.1%), and the 10-year compound rate is 13.8%.

Why profit moved: revenue contributed +7.6% and the margin −1.0 pp — the quarter was revenue-led, with the margin roughly flat.

Pace comparison, last four quarters: profit +37.9% vs revenue +4.6%. Profit is growing faster than sales — fixed costs are being spread over a bigger base, and each extra rupee of revenue drops more to the bottom line.

→ Profit rose — but did the cash follow? Next: 107% of the last 3 years' profit arrived as cash.

Cash flow — the router The P&L says what was earned; the cash-flow statement says what actually arrived. Operating cash flow (CFO) against profit is the cleanest lie detector in the accounts.

Over the last 3 fiscal years 107% of Hindustan Unilever Ltd's reported profit arrived as operating cash — the cash follows the profit. In FY26 that was ₹10,999 Cr of operating cash against ₹15,059 Cr of profit. After ₹4,297 Cr of capital spending, ₹6,702 Cr was left as free cash.

FY26: operating cash of ₹10,999 Cr against reported profit of ₹15,059 Cr, leaving free cash of ₹6,702 Cr after ₹4,297 Cr of capital spending. Across the last 3 fiscal years the conversion rate is 107% of profit.

Cash-flow readings here are annual — that is the resolution our series carries, so this section moves once a year.

Why conversion sits at 107%: the cash cycle held roughly steady between FY21 and FY26 — so conversion tracks profitability rather than the cycle.

Router verdict: the bigger cash user is investment — capital spending ran 2.2× depreciation over three years, so the next section's job is to check what that build-out is buying.

→ So follow the cash to where it goes. Next: ₹8,300 Cr of building over 3 years.

Where the cash goes Working capital is the cash tied up between paying suppliers and getting paid: debtor days (customers owe), inventory days (stock waits), and the cash conversion cycle (the whole loop, in days of sales).

Hindustan Unilever Ltd's cash conversion cycle runs −89 days in FY26, down from −83 days in FY21. Capital spending ran ₹8,300 Cr over the last 3 years. At FY26 sales of ₹64,468 Cr each day of that cycle holds about ₹177 Cr, so roughly ₹−15,720 Cr sits inside the business at any moment.

FY26: debtors at 19 days, inventory at 61 days — roughly 2.0 months of stock waiting to sell; that is where the cash sits while it waits — for a full cycle of −89 days, tighter than FY21's −83.

The full loop: cash goes out to suppliers and production on day 0; stock waits 61 days to sell; customers pay about 19 days after that; and suppliers themselves are paid at 169 days — netting out to the −89-day cycle.

In money terms: at FY26 sales of ₹64,468 Cr, each day of the cycle holds about ₹177 Cr — so the −89-day loop keeps roughly ₹−15,720 Cr sitting inside the business at any moment.

On the investment side: capital spending of ₹8,300 Cr over the last 3 fiscal years against ₹3,802 Cr of depreciation — the company is building well ahead of wear-and-tear. Capital work-in-progress stands at ₹880 Cr (FY26) — capacity paid for but not yet earning.

The synthesis: the cash is going into capacity, not disappearing into the cycle — the question becomes whether the new capacity earns.

→ Does all this activity actually earn its cost of capital? Next: ROCE is 28% and the ROIC − WACC spread is +12.0 pp.

Return on capital Return on capital employed (ROCE) is the profit the whole business earns on all the money in it — equity and debt together. It is the single best test of whether growth creates value or just size.

Hindustan Unilever Ltd earns a ROCE of 28% in FY26. That is up from a trough of 25% in FY22. Return on invested capital clears the cost of that capital by +12.0 percentage points, so growth here adds value rather than only size. The wiring behind it is 23.4% net margin on 0.81× asset turns.

FY26 ROCE is 28%, recovered from a FY22 trough of 25% — the full ladder below shows the fall and the climb, undoctored.

Why the return is what it is — the wiring (FY26): 23.4% net margin × 0.81× asset turns × 1.64× balance-sheet leverage ≈ 31.1% on equity. Margin is doing the heavy lifting; leverage is a meaningful part of the equation.

The capstone test — ROIC − WACC: 24.0% − 12.0% = a +12.0 pp spread. The 12.0% is a standing assumption for the cost of capital in India, not a per-stock estimate — read the sign and the size of the spread, not the decimals. A spread this wide means every rupee reinvested creates more than a rupee of value — the engine compounds.

→ Returns like these — is the balance sheet borrowing to make them? Next: debt-to-equity is 0.03.

Debt Debt-to-equity says how much of the business is funded by borrowings. Low is the safe corner; the trend matters as much as the level.

Hindustan Unilever Ltd carries total debt of ₹1,478 Cr against shareholder equity of ₹49,008 Cr as of Mar 26, a debt-to-equity of 0.03 — effectively unlevered. On the annual view that ratio went from 0.02 in FY22 to 0.03 in FY26. The returns elsewhere on this page are therefore earned rather than borrowed.

Mar 26: total debt of ₹1,478 Cr against shareholder equity of ₹49,008 Cr — a debt-to-equity of 0.03. On the annual view, debt-to-equity went from 0.02 (FY22) to 0.03 (FY26). The returns on this page are earned, not borrowed.

→ Who owns this, and are they adding or leaving? Next: Domestic institutions added 2.8 points over 8 quarters.

Ownership Who owns the stock, quarter by quarter: promoters (the controlling owners), foreign and domestic institutions, and the public. Steady accumulation by people close to the numbers is a signal; a quiet register is also an answer.

Domestic institutions added 2.8 points of Hindustan Unilever Ltd over 8 quarters, the biggest move on the register. That takes domestic institutions to 16.9% of the company. Foreign institutions moved −2.4 points over the same window, to 9.5%. The register is read on the four disclosed classes only; nothing is inferred between filings.

The register over the last two years — Domestic institutions: +2.8 points over 8 quarters to 16.9%; Foreign institutions: −2.4 points over 8 quarters to 9.5%; Promoters: +0.0 points over 8 quarters to 61.9%.

Why the register moved: rotation — foreign institutions −2.4 points against domestic institutions +2.8 points over 8 quarters, with promoters holding steady — one class of institutions handing the register to the other, not a verdict change by the people closest to the numbers.

→ One last check: does the safety math agree? Next: the balance-sheet safety line.

Safety line The Z-score estimates how far a company sits from balance-sheet distress — above roughly 3 is safe, below roughly 1.8 is the danger zone. It was built for manufacturers, so it is not applied to banks and lenders.

Hindustan Unilever Ltd: the Z-score is not available for this stock, so we say so rather than invent one. It is a distance-to-distress estimate from the balance sheet, not a forecast of failure. The debt, cash-flow and return sections above carry the balance-sheet evidence this page does hold, and each of them states its own reporting date.

The safety line in one sentence: the Z-score is not available for this stock, so we say so rather than invent one.

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