HRL vs LW vs UL Stock Comparison

Hormel Foods, Lamb Weston Holdings and Unilever Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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
4 wins
LW Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc.
$53.83 +19.4% 1M -17.4% 1Y
Market cap
$7.37B
P/E
28.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.62B
Div. yield
0.03%
Packaged Foods Consumer Staples
4 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

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionHRLLWULLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $11.52B $7.37B $143.34B UL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 33.6x 28.9x — LW
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.0x 17.5x 19.3x HRL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +0.7% +2.6% -2.6% LW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.8% 3.8% — LW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 3.5% 6.4% — LW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.8x 4.1x — HRL
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.06% 0.03% 0.00% HRL
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -11.4% -17.4% -5.5% UL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -12.9%/yr -1.8%/yr +1.9%/yr UL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 30.0% 45.5% 24.9% UL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 49/100 47/100 19/100 HRL

Percentile Scorecard

HRLLWUL

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

AxisHRLLWUL
Valuation 66 #16 of 45 52 #22 of 45 0 #45 of 45
Growth 27 #31 of 42 37 #27 of 42 –
Profitability 49 #21 of 40 72 #12 of 40 –
Financial Health 74 #13 of 47 35 #31 of 47 41 #28 of 47
Shareholder Returns 30 #22 of 31 40 #19 of 31 17 #26 of 31
Overall 49 47 19
  • HRL ranked among 48 companies in Branded Foods
  • LW 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

PeriodHRLLWULSPY
1 month +5.7%+19.4%+6.5% -1.0%
3 months -16.8%+8.4%+8.6% +2.9%
6 months -2.3%+21.5%+13.9% +6.4%
Year to date -11.2%+28.5%+1.3% +11.4%
1 year -11.4%-17.4%-5.5% +13.1%
3 years -32.0%-39.4%+21.3% +79.4%
3 years, per year -12.1%-15.4%+6.6% +21.5%
5 years -49.9%-8.9%+9.6% +67.7%
5 years, per year -12.9%-1.8%+1.9% +10.9%
10 years -44.2%—+38.4% +255.2%
10 years, per year -5.7%—+3.3% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureHRLLWULSPY
Volatility, 1Y 30.0%45.5%24.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 29.8%54.6%24.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.180.230.03 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.38-0.38-0.22 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -65.0%-66.6%-26.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -20.6%-19.1%-11.2% -2.5%
52-week high $26.51$66.57$74.59 $779.14
52-week low $19.20$38.48$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.

MultipleHRLLWUL
P/E now vs peer median 33.8xmedian 20.7x 29.1xmedian 20.7x —median 20.7x
P/S now vs peer median 1.0xmedian 0.7x 1.1xmedian 0.7x 2.2xmedian 0.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 12.6xmedian 12.4x 12.2xmedian 12.4x —median 12.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 14.8xmedian 14.0x 18.4xmedian 14.0x —median 14.0x
P/B now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 1.5x 4.1xmedian 1.5x 7.8xmedian 1.5x
PEG now vs peer median -1.25median 0.42 -0.82median 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 monthsHRLLWUL
Revenue $12.15B $6.62B $64.28B
Gross profit $1.90B $1.28B –
Operating income $573.89M $516.80M –
Net income $342.71M $254.80M –
Free cash flow $780.87M $403.80M –
EPS (diluted) $0.62 $1.85 –
Cash & equivalents $839.64M $166.30M $5.40B
Total debt $11.43B $15.81B $112.81B
Shares (diluted) 551.07M 138.10M 2.20B
Enterprise value $8.18B $7.00B $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
MetricHRLLWUL
P/E 33.8x 29.1x –
P/FCF 14.8x 18.4x –
P/Operating cash flow 10.6x 9.0x –
P/S 1.0x 1.1x 2.2x
P/B 1.5x 4.1x 7.8x
P/Tangible book 1.8x 4.4x -92.6x
EV/EBITDA 12.6x 12.2x –
EV/EBIT 23.6x 21.6x –
EV/Revenue 1.1x 1.7x 2.5x
EV/FCF 17.4x 27.7x –
EV/Operating cash flow 12.4x 13.5x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -1.25 -0.82 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricHRLLWUL
Revenue growth (1Y) 0.7% 2.6% -2.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -0.1% 4.0% 147.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -3.2% -7.3% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -2.5% -8.2% –
Operating income growth (1Y) -43.2% -15.2% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -21.1% -21.0% –
Net income growth (1Y) -54.6% -13.4% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) -26.9% -36.9% –
EPS growth (1Y) -54.6% -12.3% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) -27.0% -35.6% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 17.3% -7.2% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -0.3% -3.0% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 24.4% -17.8% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -2.5% 205.1% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricHRLLWUL
Gross margin 15.7% 19.4% –
EBITDA margin 8.9% 13.9% –
Operating margin 4.7% 7.8% –
Pretax margin 4.3% 5.1% –
Net margin 2.8% 3.8% –
FCF margin 6.4% 6.1% –
Operating cash flow margin 9.0% 12.5% –
Return on equity 4.3% 13.2% –
Return on assets 2.6% 3.3% –
Return on invested capital 3.5% 6.4% –
Return on capital employed 5.0% 8.7% –
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.9x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 3.2x 3.2x –
Stock comp / revenue 0.2% 0.8% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricHRLLWUL
Debt / assets 21.5% 53.6% 31.2%
Debt / equity 0.4x 2.2x 1.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.8x 4.1x –
Debt / FCF 3.7x 9.7x –
Liabilities / assets 40.9% 75.3% 79.0%
Equity / assets 59.1% 24.7% 21.0%
Interest coverage 7.3x – –
Current ratio 1.9x 1.5x 0.7x
Quick ratio 0.9x 0.7x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.5x 0.1x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 3.27 2.60 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricHRLLWUL
Dividend yield 5.5% 2.8% 3.2%
Net buyback yield – 1.5% –
Shareholder yield 5.5% 4.3% 3.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) 187.0% 81.6% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 82.1% 51.5% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 1.9% 0.5% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 3.1% 11.1% –

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.

ConsensusHRLLWUL
Forward P/E 15.0xFY2026 17.5xFY2026 19.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.40FY2026 $3.07FY2026 $3.44FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +2.2%FY2026 +2.0%FY2026 -6.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +17.9% +13.0% +8.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $11.68BFY2026 $6.42BFY2026 $55.09BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -3.5%FY2026 -2.9%FY2026 -8.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +2.2% -1.3% +7.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersHRLLWUL
Held by institutions 43.8% 93.7% 11.8%
Institutions holding 622 557 1,190
Change in shares held, QoQ -4.0% +1.0% +7.2%
Institutions buying 323 266 576
Institutions selling 230 190 440
Buyers to sellers 1.40 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.

HRLLWUL
HRL 1.00 0.29 0.32
LW 0.29 1.00 0.25
UL 0.32 0.25 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, HRL, LW and UL?

Unilever (UL) is the largest by market capitalisation: Hormel Foods (HRL) $11.52B, Lamb Weston Holdings (LW) $7.37B, Unilever (UL) $143.34B.

Which stock is cheaper, HRL, LW and UL?

Lamb Weston Holdings (LW) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Hormel Foods (HRL) 33.6x, Lamb Weston Holdings (LW) 28.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Hormel Foods (HRL) is cheapest (Hormel Foods (HRL) 15.0x, Lamb Weston Holdings (LW) 17.5x, Unilever (UL) 19.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Lamb Weston Holdings (LW) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Hormel Foods (HRL) +0.7%, Lamb Weston Holdings (LW) +2.6%, Unilever (UL) -2.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Lamb Weston Holdings (LW) has the highest net margin (Hormel Foods (HRL) 2.8%, Lamb Weston Holdings (LW) 3.8%). On return on invested capital, Lamb Weston Holdings (LW) leads (Hormel Foods (HRL) 3.5%, Lamb Weston Holdings (LW) 6.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Unilever (UL) returned the most: Hormel Foods (HRL) -11.4%, Lamb Weston Holdings (LW) -17.4%, Unilever (UL) -5.5%. Over five years, Unilever (UL) compounded fastest (Hormel Foods (HRL) -12.9%/yr, Lamb Weston Holdings (LW) -1.8%/yr, Unilever (UL) +1.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Hormel Foods (HRL) has the highest dividend yield: Hormel Foods (HRL) 0.06%, Lamb Weston Holdings (LW) 0.03%, 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 (Hormel Foods (HRL) 30.0%, Lamb Weston Holdings (LW) 45.5%, Unilever (UL) 24.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, HRL, LW 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, Unilever (UL) leads on 4. 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.