Is self-help going to trump the tough love from activist investor Nelson Peltz, who is looking to shake things up at Marmite and Dove soap maker Unilever?
If it is the former, the revival may already be underway at the Anglo-Dutch giant, according to the consumer staples equity research team at Barclays Capital.
Its analysis suggests Unilever is making market share gains in over half of its categories, accounting for 71% of turnover, which it says may be indicative of a "nascent top-line recovery".
“Product superiority was a lead indicator of P&G [Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG)] top-line recovery back in 2016 so perhaps there are some early signs of a few similarities,” Barclays said in a note to clients.
However, it does caution that in 2022 any growth will come from price increases with sales volumes likely to be negative.
Veteran Peltz, 79, has made a career out of campaigning for change at firms he invests in, including Heinz and Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG).
The billionaire’s Trian Capital has an undisclosed stake in Unilever.
The stock in the group, which earlier this year made an unsuccessful £50bn bid for GlaxoSmithKline’s consumer arm, was down 1.8%, mirroring the fall of the wider market, and has largely marked time for the past year.
Barclays in its note said it had retained an ‘equal weight’ recommendation on the Unilever shares.
Of the 19 analysts following the FTSE 100 constituent, seven are neutral on the stock, eight are positive, while the remainder are negative.