NYSE Shariah screener · October 2026
Is Unilever PLC (UL) Halal?
Unilever PLC · NYSE: UL · Consumer Staples
The short answer
Yes - Unilever PLC (UL) passes this Shariah stock screen at all three gates. Unilever, the London-based consumer staples group, earns its revenue from Beauty & Wellbeing (12.8B euros), Personal Care (13.2B euros), Home Care (11.6B euros), and Foods (12.9B euros) (FY2025 turnover 50,503 million euros) - none of which involve alcohol production, tobacco, gambling, weapons, adult entertainment, pork, or conventional finance. The financial ratios pass: financial liabilities of 28,278 million euros are about 21-25% of its ~$134B market cap ($59.58/ADR, October 2, 2026), below the ~33% ceiling, and finance income of 398 million euros is about 0.79% of turnover, below the 5% ceiling. Zoya independently rates Unilever Shariah-compliant. (The Ice Cream business was demerged December 6, 2025.) This is a factual screen, not a religious ruling - consult a qualified scholar for personal rulings.
Gate 1 — Business activity: PASS
Unilever PLC (NYSE: UL), London-based (IFRS reporter), sells everyday consumer products. Following the December 6, 2025 demerger of its Ice Cream business (The Magnum Ice Cream Company N.V., listed standalone in Amsterdam, London and New York), it reports four Business Groups (FY2025 turnover, continuing basis): Beauty & Wellbeing 12.8B euros (Dove, Vaseline, Sunsilk, Liquid I.V., Paula's Choice), Personal Care 13.2B euros (Axe, Rexona, TRESemme, Dr. Squatch), Home Care 11.6B euros (Comfort, Persil, Wonder Wash), and Foods 12.9B euros (Knorr, Hellmann's). Business-screen implication (factual): no alcohol production, tobacco, gambling, weapons, adult entertainment, pork, or conventional finance. (Unilever completed the sale of its Russian subsidiary, including Belarus, to Arnest Group on October 10, 2024.) Gate 1 passes. Facts only.
Gate 2 — Debt and cash: PASS
Per Unilever's 2025 Full Year Results RNS (published ~February 2026; IFRS; euro millions), financial liabilities at December 31, 2025 were: current 2,582 million euros + non-current 25,696 million euros = 28,278 million euros total (company-disclosed closing net debt was 23.1B euros, vs 24.5B euros at December 31, 2024). Against a market cap of about $134B (2,153,300,000 shares x $59.58, Finnhub, October 2, 2026 - about $128.3B - same range), debt / market cap is about 21.1% at EUR/USD 1.0 and about 24.6% at 1.165 - either way below the ~33% ceiling (far enough under that no FX-rate precision matters). Cash and cash equivalents of 3,941 million euros plus other financial assets of 1,121 million euros (5,062 million euros total) is about 3.8-4.4% of market cap. Gate 2 passes. Facts only.
Gate 3 — Non-compliant income: PASS
Per Unilever's 2025 Full Year Results RNS (IFRS; euro millions), Finance income was 398 million euros (2024: 391 million euros) against Turnover of 50,503 million euros = about 0.79% of turnover - below the 5% non-compliant income ceiling. Zoya's UL page independently publishes interest income of 382,292,000 euros (0.76% of its combined total), consistent with the RNS finance income of 398 million euros. Finance costs were 1,024 million euros. Gate 3 passes. Facts only.
Key figures used
- Business: consumer staples (HQ London, UK; IFRS reporter) - Beauty & Wellbeing 12.8B euros, Personal Care 13.2B euros, Home Care 11.6B euros, Foods 12.9B euros (FY2025 turnover, continuing basis)
- FY2025 (2025 Full Year Results RNS, published ~Feb 2026; euro millions): turnover 50,503M; operating profit 9,037M; finance income 398M; finance costs 1,024M; net profit from continuing operations 6,213M
- Debt: 28,278M euros financial liabilities (Dec 31, 2025; net debt 23.1B euros) - about 21-25% of ~$134B market cap (2,153,300,000 shares x $59.58, Oct 2, 2026), below the ~33% ceiling
- Finance income: 398M euros - about 0.79% of 50,503M euros turnover, below the 5% ceiling (Zoya: 382,292,000 euros, 0.76%)
- No haram segments: beauty, personal care, home care, foods - no alcohol production, tobacco, gambling, weapons, adult entertainment, pork, or conventional finance
- Third-party screeners: Zoya rates Shariah-compliant (Oct 2026); Musaffa - no public UL coverage found (only Indian subsidiary HINDUNILVR.NS); ShariaPortfolio - no coverage found
- Material: Ice Cream demerger completed Dec 6, 2025 (Magnum Ice Cream Company listed standalone; 3,373M euro gain on disposal; ~19.9% minority stake retained); new 1.5B euro buyback announced Feb 2026 (prior 1.5B completed May 2025); Q4 2025 dividend 0.4664 euro/share (+3%); H1 2026 underlying sales growth 4.8%; Russian business sold Oct 10, 2024
- Listing: NYSE-listed ADR (ticker UL; 1 ADS = 1 ordinary share), also LSE and Euronext Amsterdam; live quote $59.58 Oct 2, 2026 - no delisting
Frequently asked questions
What does Unilever do?
Unilever PLC (NYSE: UL), London-based (IFRS reporter), sells everyday consumer products. Following the December 6, 2025 demerger of its Ice Cream business (The Magnum Ice Cream Company N.V.), it reports four Business Groups (FY2025 turnover, continuing basis): Beauty & Wellbeing 12.8B euros (Dove, Vaseline, Sunsilk, Liquid I.V., Paula's Choice), Personal Care 13.2B euros (Axe, Rexona, TRESemme, Dr. Squatch), Home Care 11.6B euros (Comfort, Persil, Wonder Wash), and Foods 12.9B euros (Knorr, Hellmann's). Its shares trade on the NYSE as an American Depositary Share (ticker UL); 1 ADS = 1 ordinary share (also listed on the LSE and Euronext Amsterdam). In FY2025 (year ended December 31, 2025) it reported turnover of 50,503 million euros. (Unilever completed the sale of its Russian subsidiary, including Belarus, to Arnest Group on October 10, 2024.)
Why does Unilever pass this Shariah stock screen?
Unilever passes all three gates of this Shariah stock screen. Gate 1 (business activity): consumer staples - Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care, and Foods involve no alcohol production, tobacco, gambling, weapons, adult entertainment, pork, or conventional finance - a clean business. Gate 2 (debt): total financial liabilities of 28,278 million euros are about 21-25% of its ~$134B market cap (October 2, 2026), below the ~33% ceiling. Gate 3 (non-compliant income): finance income of 398 million euros is about 0.79% of FY2025 turnover (50,503 million euros), below the 5% ceiling. Result: PASS. One honest sourcing note: the figures are from the unaudited condensed consolidated preliminary financial statements in Unilever's 2025 Full Year Results RNS (a primary company source), not the audited annual report. This is a factual screen, not a religious ruling - consult a qualified scholar for personal rulings.
What is Unilever's interest-bearing debt ratio?
Per Unilever's 2025 Full Year Results RNS (published ~February 2026; IFRS; euro millions), financial liabilities at December 31, 2025 were: current 2,582 million euros + non-current 25,696 million euros = 28,278 million euros total (company-disclosed closing net debt was 23.1B euros, vs 24.5B euros at December 31, 2024). Against a market cap of about $134B (2,153,300,000 shares x $59.58, Finnhub, October 2, 2026 - about $128.3B - same range), debt / market cap is about 21.1% at EUR/USD 1.0 and about 24.6% at 1.165 - either way below the ~33% ceiling (far enough under that no FX-rate precision matters). Cash and cash equivalents of 3,941 million euros plus other financial assets of 1,121 million euros (5,062 million euros total) is about 3.8-4.4% of market cap. Gate 2 passes. Facts only.
How much interest income does Unilever earn?
Per Unilever's 2025 Full Year Results RNS (IFRS; euro millions), Finance income was 398 million euros (2024: 391 million euros) against Turnover of 50,503 million euros = about 0.79% of turnover - below the 5% non-compliant income ceiling. Zoya's UL page independently publishes interest income of 382,292,000 euros (0.76% of its combined total), consistent with the RNS finance income of 398 million euros. Finance costs were 1,024 million euros. Gate 3 passes. Facts only.
Do Zoya, Musaffa, or ShariaPortfolio cover Unilever?
Zoya covers Unilever at zoya.finance/stocks/ul: 'As of October 2026, UL is Shariah-compliant and therefore considered halal to invest in' - quoting only this clean primary assessment; the page's auto-generated FAQ text contains contradictory template sentences (one says 'not considered halal'), so those are not quoted. Zoya publishes FY2025 revenue of 50,503,000,000 euros and interest income of 382,292,000 euros (0.76% of the combined total). Musaffa: no public UL page was found (searches surfaced only Hindustan Unilever Ltd, HINDUNILVR.NS - the Indian subsidiary, a different company, which Musaffa rates halal) - honestly reported as no public coverage found for UL, not invented. ShariaPortfolio: no Unilever page was found on spscreener.mxcorporate.com - honestly reported as no coverage found, not invented.
Sources
- Unilever PLC 2025 Full Year Results RNS (published ~February 2026; IFRS; euro millions; unaudited condensed consolidated preliminary financial statements): Turnover 50,503M; Operating profit 9,037M; Finance income 398M; Finance costs 1,024M; Net profit from continuing operations 6,213M; Financial liabilities - current 2,582M, non-current 25,696M; Cash and cash equivalents 3,941M; Other financial assets 1,121M; closing net debt 23.1B euros; Ice Cream demerger completed Dec 6, 2025 (Magnum Ice Cream Company N.V.)
- Zoya Unilever stock page (Oct 2026): 'As of October 2026, UL is Shariah-compliant and therefore considered halal to invest in'; publishes FY2025 revenue 50,503,000,000 euros and interest income 382,292,000 euros (0.76% of combined total)
- Unilever press release (Oct 10, 2024): completed the sale of its Russian subsidiary (including Belarus) to Arnest Group
- Finnhub UL live market data (Oct 2, 2026): NYSE (XNYS), price ~$59.58 - live quote, no delisting
Screened 2026-10-02 from published company figures and market data. Figures change; this page is educational, not financial advice and not a religious ruling.
Screened with our two-gate Shariah screening methodology (business-activity gate, then AAOIFI-style financial ratios).