UL (Unilever) Debt-to-EBITDA : 2.97 (As of Dec. 2025) — 19% Above Median

Author: Vera Yuan Vera Yuan
Vera Yuan
Vera Yuan
Director of Data and Quant Analytics at GuruFocus
Focused on building reliable datasets, financial models, and research tools for value-minded investors. Committed to turning complex data into practical guidance for value-investing and long-term wealth.
Reviewed by: Charlie Tian Charlie Tian
Charlie Tian
Charlie Tian
Founder & CEO of GuruFocus
Dr. Charlie Tian is the founder and CEO of GuruFocus.com, a leading global investment research platform established in 2004. With a Ph.D. in physics, Dr. Tian transitioned from science to finance, applying a data-driven, disciplined approach to value investing.

UL Unilever PLC UL
67 GF Score
Price $60.94
GF Value $58.44
Valuation Fairly Valued
! 2 Warning Signs
View Full Analysis

What is Unilever Debt-to-EBITDA?

Unilever UL +1.21% 67 Debt-to-EBITDA is 2.97 as of Dec. 2025, which is 19% above its 10-year median of 2.49. GuruFocus rates UL with a GF Score™ of 67/100 and a GF Value™ of $58.44 (Fairly Valued). The stock has 2 warning signs investors should review. Among 1,549 Consumer Packaged Goods companies, Unilever ranks worse than 55.91% on this metric.

Debt-to-EBITDA measures a company's ability to pay off its debt.

Unilever's Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation for the quarter that ended in Dec. 2025 was $2,877 Mil. Unilever's Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation for the quarter that ended in Dec. 2025 was $29,438 Mil. Unilever's annualized EBITDA for the quarter that ended in Dec. 2025 was $10,888 Mil. Unilever's annualized Debt-to-EBITDA for the quarter that ended in Dec. 2025 was 2.97.

A high Debt-to-EBITDA ratio generally means that a company may spend more time to paying off its debt. According to Joel Tillinghast's BIG MONEY THINKS SMALL: Biases, Blind Spots, and Smarter Investing, a ratio of Debt-to-EBITDA exceeding four is usually considered scary unless tangible assets cover the debt.

The historical rank and industry rank for Unilever's Debt-to-EBITDA or its related term are showing as below:

UL' s Debt-to-EBITDA Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: 1.71   Med: 2.49   Max: 2.85
Current: 2.52

During the past 13 years, the highest Debt-to-EBITDA Ratio of Unilever was 2.85. The lowest was 1.71. And the median was 2.49.

UL's Debt-to-EBITDA is ranked worse than
55.91% of 1549 companies
in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry
Industry Median: 2.07 vs UL: 2.52

Unilever  (NYSE:UL) Debt-to-EBITDA Explanation

In the calculation of Debt-to-EBITDA, we use the total of Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation and Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation divided by EBITDA. In some calculations, Total Liabilities is used to for calculation.


Be Aware

A high Debt-to-EBITDA ratio generally means that a company may spend more time to paying off its debt.

According to Joel Tillinghast's BIG MONEY THINKS SMALL: Biases, Blind Spots, and Smarter Investing, a ratio of Debt-to-EBITDA exceeding four is usually considered scary unless tangible assets cover the debt.


Unilever Debt-to-EBITDA Related Terms


Unilever Debt-to-EBITDA Historical Data

* Premium members only.

The historical data trend for Unilever's Debt-to-EBITDA can be seen below:

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

Unilever Debt-to-EBITDA Chart

Unilever Annual Data
Trend Dec16 Dec17 Dec18 Dec19 Dec20 Dec21 Dec22 Dec23 Dec24 Dec25
Debt-to-EBITDA
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 2.74 2.18 2.67 2.85 2.48

Unilever Semi-Annual Data
Jun16 Dec16 Jun17 Dec17 Jun18 Dec18 Jun19 Dec19 Jun20 Dec20 Jun21 Dec21 Jun22 Dec22 Jun23 Dec23 Jun24 Dec24 Jun25 Dec25
Debt-to-EBITDA Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 3.41 0.00 4.07 0.00 2.97

UL vs PG, CL, KVUE: Debt-to-EBITDA Comparison

For the Household & Personal Products subindustry, Unilever's Debt-to-EBITDA, along with its competitors' market caps and Debt-to-EBITDA data, can be viewed below:

* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.


Unilever Debt-to-EBITDA vs Consumer Packaged Goods Industry

For the Consumer Packaged Goods industry and Consumer Defensive sector, Unilever's Debt-to-EBITDA distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where Unilever's Debt-to-EBITDA falls into.


UL
67GF Score
Unilever PLC UL
Debt-to-EBITDA is just one metric. See GF Score™, valuation, warning signs, and more.
View Full Analysis

Unilever Debt-to-EBITDA Calculation

Debt-to-EBITDA measures a company's ability to pay off its debt.

Unilever's Debt-to-EBITDA for the fiscal year that ended in Dec. 2025 is calculated as

Debt-to-EBITDA=Total Debt / EBITDA
=(Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation + Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation) / EBITDA
=(2877.049 + 29437.939) / 13049.18
=2.48

Unilever's annualized Debt-to-EBITDA for the quarter that ended in Dec. 2025 is calculated as

Debt-to-EBITDA=Total Debt / EBITDA
=(Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation + Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation) / EBITDA
=(2877.049 + 29437.939) / 10887.588
=2.97

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

In the calculation of annual Debt-to-EBITDA, the EBITDA of the last fiscal year is used. In calculating the annualized quarterly data, the EBITDA data used here is two times the quarterly (Dec. 2025) EBITDA data.

Frequently Asked Questions Learn more about Debt-to-EBITDA →
What does a Debt-to-EBITDA of 2.97 mean?
Unilever (UL) has a Debt-to-EBITDA of 2.97 as of Dec. 2025. Debt-to-EBITDA ratio represents the ratio of total debt to total earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. View historical data on Unilever. This is 19% above median its historical median of 2.49. Over the past decade, Unilever's Debt-to-EBITDA has ranged from 1.71 to 2.85. According to the industry distribution chart, Unilever ranks #866 out of 1549 companies in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry, placing it in the top 55.9%.
Is Unilever's Debt-to-EBITDA too high?
Unilever's current Debt-to-EBITDA of 2.97 is 19% above median its 10-year median of 2.49. Over the past 10 years, this metric has ranged from a low of 1.71 to a high of 2.85. The Consumer Packaged Goods industry median Debt-to-EBITDA is 2.07. Unilever's value of 2.97 is 43.5% above this industry median. Based on the distribution chart, Unilever ranks #866 out of 1549 companies in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry, which is below the industry midpoint. Overall, Unilever has a GF Score™ of 67/100 and is considered Fairly Valued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Unilever's Debt-to-EBITDA compare to PG and CL?
According to the Consumer Packaged Goods industry distribution chart, Unilever ranks #866 out of 1549 companies for Debt-to-EBITDA. This places Unilever in the lower half of its industry. The industry median Debt-to-EBITDA is 2.07. Unilever's value of 2.97 is 43.5% above this benchmark. Historically, Unilever's own Debt-to-EBITDA has ranged from 1.71 to 2.85 over the past decade. While the company's 10-year median is 2.49 vs. the industry median of 2.07, Unilever has consistently been above the industry average. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Debt-to-EBITDA for a Consumer Packaged Goods company?
The median Debt-to-EBITDA among Consumer Packaged Goods companies is 2.07, based on 1,549 companies in the industry. Companies in the top quartile (top 25%) have a Debt-to-EBITDA significantly above this median, while those in the bottom quartile fall well below. However, Debt-to-EBITDA should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Unilever's current Debt-to-EBITDA of 2.97 is 43.5% above the industry median. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high Debt-to-EBITDA mean?
A high Debt-to-EBITDA can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. Debt-to-EBITDA ratio represents the ratio of total debt to total earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. View historical data on Unilever. For the Consumer Packaged Goods industry, the median Debt-to-EBITDA is 2.07 — values significantly above this may indicate overvaluation, while values below may suggest a bargain or underlying issues. Unilever's current Debt-to-EBITDA is 2.97, which is 19% above median its own 10-year median of 2.49. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Unilever stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Unilever (UL) is currently considered Fairly Valued. The stock's GF Value™ is $58.44, compared to a current price of $60.94 — trading 4.3% above its estimated fair value. The current Debt-to-EBITDA is 2.97, which is 19% above median its 10-year median of 2.49 and 43.5% above the Consumer Packaged Goods industry median of 2.07. Unilever's overall GF Score™ is 67/100 with 2 warning signs to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Debt-to-EBITDA calculated?
Debt-to-EBITDA is calculated from a company's financial statements. For Unilever (UL), the current Debt-to-EBITDA is 2.97 as of Dec. 2025. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.

Is Unilever (UL) Overvalued in 2026?

Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Unilever stock appears to be overvalued. The current stock price of $60.94 is trading 4.3% above its estimated GF Value™ of $58.44. GuruFocus considers Unilever to be Fairly Valued.

Key valuation signals for UL:

  • Debt-to-EBITDA: 2.97 (19% above median its 10-year median of 2.49)
  • GF Value™: $58.44 vs. price of $60.94 (4.3% above fair value)
  • GF Score™: 67/100 with 2 warning signs
  • Industry Position: 43.5% above the Consumer Packaged Goods median (#866 of 1549)

No single metric tells the full story. See the UL stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.


Unilever Business Description

Address 100 Victoria Embankment, London, GBR, EC4Y 0DY
Unilever is a diversified beauty, wellbeing, and personal care (51% of 2025 sales by value), homecare (23%), and packaged food (26%) company. Its brands include Dove personal-care products, Knorr soups and sauces, Hellmann's mayonnaise, Axe and Rexona deodorants, and TRESemmé haircare. The firm has been acquisitive in recent years; notable purchases include Paula's Choice, Liquid I.V., Horlicks, and Wild deodorants. The company derives 58% of its sales from emerging markets and 42% from developed markets. The US is its largest market, accounting for around 20% of sales, followed by India, which accounts for 11% of sales.
67GF Score

Get the complete analysis for UL

Debt-to-EBITDA is just one metric. See GF Value™, 30-year financials, guru trades, warning signs, and more.

$60.94
Price
$58.44
GF Value