GIS vs HRL vs UL Stock Comparison

General Mills, Hormel Foods and Unilever Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
GIS General Mills Inc
$34.36 -4.1% 1M -28.3% 1Y
Market cap
$18.09B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$18.30B
Div. yield
0.07%
Packaged Foods Consumer Staples
2 wins
HRL Hormel Foods Corp /De/
$21.05 +5.7% 1M -11.4% 1Y
Market cap
$11.52B
P/E
33.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$12.15B
Div. yield
0.06%
Packaged Foods Consumer Staples
5 wins
UL Unilever Plc
$66.22 +6.5% 1M -5.5% 1Y
Market cap
$143.34B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$64.28B
Div. yield
–
Packaged Foods Consumer Staples
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Hormel Foods leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Hormel Foods 5, Unilever 4, General Mills 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionGISHRLULLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $18.09B $11.52B $143.34B UL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -20.2x 33.6x — –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 10.8x 15.0x 19.3x GIS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -4.5% +0.7% -2.6% HRL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -4.9% 2.8% — HRL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -1.0% 3.5% — HRL
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 37.7x 1.8x — HRL
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.07% 0.06% 0.00% GIS
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -28.3% -11.4% -5.5% UL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -11.3%/yr -12.9%/yr +1.9%/yr UL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 30.2% 30.0% 24.9% UL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 31/100 49/100 19/100 HRL

Percentile Scorecard

GISHRLUL

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisGISHRLUL
Valuation 39 #28 of 45 66 #16 of 45 0 #45 of 45
Growth 2 #41 of 42 27 #31 of 42 –
Profitability 44 #23 of 40 49 #21 of 40 –
Financial Health 17 #39 of 47 74 #13 of 47 41 #28 of 47
Shareholder Returns 53 #15 of 31 30 #22 of 31 17 #26 of 31
Overall 31 49 19
  • GIS ranked among 48 companies in Branded Foods
  • HRL ranked among 48 companies in Branded Foods
  • UL ranked among 48 companies in Branded Foods

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodGISHRLULSPY
1 month -4.1%+5.7%+6.5% -1.0%
3 months -4.6%-16.8%+8.6% +2.9%
6 months -1.7%-2.3%+13.9% +6.4%
Year to date -26.1%-11.2%+1.3% +11.4%
1 year -28.3%-11.4%-5.5% +13.1%
3 years -46.0%-32.0%+21.3% +79.4%
3 years, per year -18.6%-12.1%+6.6% +21.5%
5 years -45.2%-49.9%+9.6% +67.7%
5 years, per year -11.3%-12.9%+1.9% +10.9%
10 years -43.4%-44.2%+38.4% +255.2%
10 years, per year -5.5%-5.7%+3.3% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureGISHRLULSPY
Volatility, 1Y 30.2%30.0%24.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 30.9%29.8%24.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.36-0.180.03 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.94-0.38-0.22 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -65.1%-65.0%-26.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -29.9%-20.6%-11.2% -2.5%
52-week high $49.01$26.51$74.59 $779.14
52-week low $31.66$19.20$55.05 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleGISHRLUL
P/E now vs peer median -20.6xmedian 20.7x 33.8xmedian 20.7x —median 20.7x
P/S now vs peer median 1.0xmedian 0.7x 1.0xmedian 0.7x 2.2xmedian 0.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 90.2xmedian 12.4x 12.6xmedian 12.4x —median 12.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 11.9xmedian 14.0x 14.8xmedian 14.0x —median 14.0x
P/B now vs peer median 2.5xmedian 1.5x 1.5xmedian 1.5x 7.8xmedian 1.5x
PEG now vs peer median 0.61median 0.42 -1.25median 0.42 —median 0.42

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsGISHRLUL
Revenue $18.30B $12.15B $64.28B
Gross profit $6.15B $1.90B –
Operating income -$206.40M $573.89M –
Net income -$893.70M $342.71M –
Free cash flow $1.55B $780.87M –
EPS (diluted) $-1.66 $0.62 –
Cash & equivalents $433.10M $839.64M $5.40B
Total debt $55.73B $11.43B $112.81B
Shares (diluted) 537.90M 551.07M 2.20B
Enterprise value $15.74B $8.18B $94.79B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricGISHRLUL
P/E -20.6x 33.8x –
P/FCF 11.9x 14.8x –
P/Operating cash flow 8.9x 10.6x –
P/S 1.0x 1.0x 2.2x
P/B 2.5x 1.5x 7.8x
P/Tangible book 24.4x 1.8x -92.6x
EV/EBITDA 90.2x 12.6x –
EV/EBIT -152.9x 23.6x –
EV/Revenue 1.7x 1.1x 2.5x
EV/FCF 20.4x 17.4x –
EV/Operating cash flow 15.3x 12.4x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.61 -1.25 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGISHRLUL
Revenue growth (1Y) -4.5% 0.7% -2.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -3.4% -0.1% 147.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -6.5% -3.2% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -3.6% -2.5% –
Operating income growth (1Y) -104.9% -43.2% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -27.3% -21.1% –
Net income growth (1Y) -130.6% -54.6% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) -33.2% -26.9% –
EPS growth (1Y) -130.9% -54.6% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) -33.9% -27.0% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -23.2% 17.3% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -9.3% -0.3% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -26.3% 24.4% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -8.6% -2.5% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGISHRLUL
Gross margin 33.6% 15.7% –
EBITDA margin 1.9% 8.9% –
Operating margin -1.1% 4.7% –
Pretax margin -3.8% 4.3% –
Net margin -4.9% 2.8% –
FCF margin 8.5% 6.4% –
Operating cash flow margin 11.3% 9.0% –
Return on equity -12.0% 4.3% –
Return on assets -3.0% 2.6% –
Return on invested capital -1.0% 3.5% –
Return on capital employed -0.9% 5.0% –
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.9x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -2.3x 3.2x –
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% 0.2% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGISHRLUL
Debt / assets 45.0% 21.5% 31.2%
Debt / equity 1.8x 0.4x 1.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 37.7x 1.8x –
Debt / FCF 8.8x 3.7x –
Liabilities / assets 75.3% 40.9% 79.0%
Equity / assets 24.7% 59.1% 21.0%
Interest coverage – 7.3x –
Current ratio 0.7x 1.9x 0.7x
Quick ratio 0.3x 0.9x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.5x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 1.94 3.27 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGISHRLUL
Dividend yield 7.1% 5.5% 3.2%
Net buyback yield – – –
Shareholder yield 7.1% 5.5% 3.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) -147.1% 187.0% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 85.0% 82.1% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 1.9% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 3.1% –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusGISHRLUL
Forward P/E 10.8xFY2026 15.0xFY2026 19.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.19FY2026 $1.40FY2026 $3.44FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -10.1%FY2026 +2.2%FY2026 -6.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -4.7% +17.9% +8.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $18.94BFY2026 $11.68BFY2026 $55.09BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +2.8%FY2026 -3.5%FY2026 -8.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -11.0% +2.2% +7.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGISHRLUL
Held by institutions 87.2% 43.8% 11.8%
Institutions holding 1,331 622 1,190
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.7% -4.0% +7.2%
Institutions buying 724 323 576
Institutions selling 427 230 440
Buyers to sellers 1.70 1.40 1.31

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

GISHRLUL
GIS 1.00 0.45 0.46
HRL 0.45 1.00 0.32
UL 0.46 0.32 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GIS, HRL and UL?

Unilever (UL) is the largest by market capitalisation: General Mills (GIS) $18.09B, Hormel Foods (HRL) $11.52B, Unilever (UL) $143.34B.

Which company is growing faster?

Hormel Foods (HRL) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: General Mills (GIS) -4.5%, Hormel Foods (HRL) +0.7%, Unilever (UL) -2.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Hormel Foods (HRL) has the highest net margin (General Mills (GIS) -4.9%, Hormel Foods (HRL) 2.8%). On return on invested capital, Hormel Foods (HRL) leads (General Mills (GIS) -1.0%, Hormel Foods (HRL) 3.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Unilever (UL) returned the most: General Mills (GIS) -28.3%, Hormel Foods (HRL) -11.4%, Unilever (UL) -5.5%. Over five years, Unilever (UL) compounded fastest (General Mills (GIS) -11.3%/yr, Hormel Foods (HRL) -12.9%/yr, Unilever (UL) +1.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

General Mills (GIS) has the highest dividend yield: General Mills (GIS) 0.07%, Hormel Foods (HRL) 0.06%, Unilever (UL) 0.00%. Unilever (UL) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Unilever (UL) has been the steadiest (General Mills (GIS) 30.2%, Hormel Foods (HRL) 30.0%, Unilever (UL) 24.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, GIS, HRL and UL?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Hormel Foods (HRL) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.