POST vs MKC vs UL Stock Comparison

Post Holdings, Mccormick and Unilever Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
POST Post Holdings, Inc.
$80.48 +10.0% 1M -26.4% 1Y
Market cap
$3.57B
P/E
12.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.41B
Div. yield
–
Packaged Foods Consumer Staples
2 wins
MKC Mccormick & Co Inc
$48.00 +0.1% 1M -28.2% 1Y
Market cap
$12.79B
P/E
8.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.69B
Div. yield
0.04%
Packaged Foods Consumer Staples
6 wins
UL Unilever Plc
$65.61 +4.9% 1M -6.9% 1Y
Market cap
$142.33B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$64.28B
Div. yield
–
Packaged Foods Consumer Staples
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Mccormick leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Mccormick 6, Unilever 3, Post Holdings 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionPOSTMKCULLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.57B $12.79B $142.33B UL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 12.2x 8.6x — MKC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 10.9x 16.4x 19.3x POST
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.2% +13.2% -2.6% MKC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 3.5% 19.4% — MKC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.6% 6.0% — MKC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.3x 3.6x — MKC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.04% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -26.4% -28.2% -6.9% UL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +3.9%/yr -9.8%/yr +1.7%/yr POST
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 32.1% 31.4% 24.9% UL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 71/100 72/100 19/100 MKC

Percentile Scorecard

POSTMKCUL

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

AxisPOSTMKCUL
Valuation 80 #10 of 45 61 #18 of 45 0 #45 of 45
Growth 76 #11 of 42 83 #8 of 42 –
Profitability 69 #13 of 40 92 #4 of 40 –
Financial Health 33 #32 of 47 52 #23 of 47 41 #28 of 47
Shareholder Returns 100 #1 of 31 70 #10 of 31 17 #26 of 31
Overall 71 72 19
  • POST ranked among 48 companies in Branded Foods
  • MKC 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

PeriodPOSTMKCULSPY
1 month +10.0%+0.1%+4.9% -0.8%
3 months -11.8%-5.2%+6.9% +3.5%
6 months -22.5%-4.8%+14.1% +7.0%
Year to date -18.7%-29.5%+0.3% +12.2%
1 year -26.4%-28.2%-6.9% +13.0%
3 years -0.2%-23.8%+26.1% +86.3%
3 years, per year -0.1%-8.7%+8.0% +23.1%
5 years +20.9%-40.4%+8.9% +68.6%
5 years, per year +3.9%-9.8%+1.7% +11.0%
10 years +57.7%+0.6%+39.6% +258.0%
10 years, per year +4.7%+0.1%+3.4% +13.6%

Risk

MeasurePOSTMKCULSPY
Volatility, 1Y 32.1%31.4%24.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 33.2%34.4%24.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.11-0.340.02 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.82-0.90-0.28 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -39.9%-57.7%-26.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -29.8%-33.0%-12.0% -1.8%
52-week high $114.61$71.65$74.59 $779.14
52-week low $72.50$44.15$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.

MultiplePOSTMKCUL
P/E now vs peer median 12.4xmedian 20.5x 8.7xmedian 20.5x —median 20.5x
P/S now vs peer median 0.4xmedian 0.8x 1.7xmedian 0.8x 2.2xmedian 0.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 7.9xmedian 12.3x 13.5xmedian 12.3x —median 12.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 6.4xmedian 14.0x 14.0xmedian 14.0x —median 14.0x
P/B now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 1.4x 1.7xmedian 1.4x 7.7xmedian 1.4x
PEG now vs peer median 1.77median 0.42 0.27median 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 monthsPOSTMKCUL
Revenue $8.41B $7.69B $64.28B
Gross profit $2.42B $3.00B –
Operating income $808.00M $1.03B –
Net income $293.10M $1.51B –
Free cash flow $553.10M $925.90M –
EPS (diluted) $5.71 $5.53 –
Cash & equivalents $265.60M $331.10M $5.40B
Total debt $7.63B $5.02B $27.38B
Shares (diluted) 51.30M 269.40M 2.20B
Enterprise value $2.58B $11.86B $93.79B

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
MetricPOSTMKCUL
P/E 12.4x 8.7x –
P/FCF 6.4x 14.0x –
P/Operating cash flow 3.6x 11.3x –
P/S 0.4x 1.7x 2.2x
P/B 1.1x 1.7x 7.7x
P/Tangible book 11.8x 4.9x -91.7x
EV/EBITDA 7.9x 13.5x –
EV/EBIT 13.5x 17.1x –
EV/Revenue 1.3x 2.3x 2.5x
EV/FCF 19.7x 19.0x –
EV/Operating cash flow 11.0x 15.4x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.77 0.27 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricPOSTMKCUL
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.2% 13.2% -2.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.3% 5.2% 147.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 4.8% 15.7% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 12.1% 7.4% –
Operating income growth (1Y) -1.7% -3.2% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 11.8% 3.5% –
Net income growth (1Y) -20.0% 93.3% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) -2.8% 32.7% –
EPS growth (1Y) -2.7% 91.5% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) 7.0% 32.2% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 6.5% 29.8% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 15.5% 2.4% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 27.8% 41.3% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 15.9% 5.9% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricPOSTMKCUL
Gross margin 28.8% 39.1% –
EBITDA margin 16.4% 17.0% –
Operating margin 9.6% 13.4% –
Pretax margin 4.7% 10.8% –
Net margin 3.5% 19.4% –
FCF margin 6.6% 12.0% –
Operating cash flow margin 11.8% 14.8% –
Return on equity 9.3% 19.0% –
Return on assets 2.3% 8.7% –
Return on invested capital 5.6% 6.0% –
Return on capital employed 6.8% 8.5% –
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.5x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 3.4x 0.8x –
Stock comp / revenue 1.0% 0.6% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricPOSTMKCUL
Debt / assets 59.4% 30.1% 31.2%
Debt / equity 2.5x 0.7x 1.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 5.3x 3.6x –
Debt / FCF 13.8x 5.4x –
Liabilities / assets 76.0% 54.4% 79.0%
Equity / assets 24.0% 45.6% 21.0%
Interest coverage 1.9x 4.6x –
Current ratio 1.9x 0.7x 0.7x
Quick ratio 0.9x 0.3x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.1x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 1.42 1.82 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricPOSTMKCUL
Dividend yield – 4.0% 3.3%
Net buyback yield 33.7% -0.1% –
Shareholder yield 33.7% 3.9% 3.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 33.6% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 54.8% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 6.9% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 7.1% –

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.

ConsensusPOSTMKCUL
Forward P/E 10.9xFY2026 16.4xFY2026 19.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $7.40FY2026 $2.93FY2026 $3.40FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +2.4%FY2026 -2.3%FY2026 -7.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -6.6% +11.9% +7.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $7.73BFY2026 $7.53BFY2026 $54.72BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -5.2%FY2026 +10.1%FY2026 -8.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.9% +12.6% +7.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersPOSTMKCUL
Held by institutions 100.0% 88.9% 11.8%
Institutions holding 418 948 1,190
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.3% +4.8% +7.2%
Institutions buying 177 478 576
Institutions selling 178 342 440
Buyers to sellers 0.99 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.

POSTMKCUL
POST 1.00 0.29 0.33
MKC 0.29 1.00 0.46
UL 0.33 0.46 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, POST, MKC and UL?

Unilever (UL) is the largest by market capitalisation: Post Holdings (POST) $3.57B, Mccormick (MKC) $12.79B, Unilever (UL) $142.33B.

Which stock is cheaper, POST, MKC and UL?

Mccormick (MKC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Post Holdings (POST) 12.2x, Mccormick (MKC) 8.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Post Holdings (POST) is cheapest (Post Holdings (POST) 10.9x, Mccormick (MKC) 16.4x, 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?

Mccormick (MKC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Post Holdings (POST) +6.2%, Mccormick (MKC) +13.2%, Unilever (UL) -2.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Mccormick (MKC) has the highest net margin (Post Holdings (POST) 3.5%, Mccormick (MKC) 19.4%). On return on invested capital, Mccormick (MKC) leads (Post Holdings (POST) 5.6%, Mccormick (MKC) 6.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Unilever (UL) returned the most: Post Holdings (POST) -26.4%, Mccormick (MKC) -28.2%, Unilever (UL) -6.9%. Over five years, Post Holdings (POST) compounded fastest (Post Holdings (POST) +3.9%/yr, Mccormick (MKC) -9.8%/yr, Unilever (UL) +1.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Post Holdings (POST) 0.00%, Mccormick (MKC) 0.04%, Unilever (UL) 0.00%. Post Holdings (POST) and Unilever (UL) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Unilever (UL) has been the steadiest (Post Holdings (POST) 32.1%, Mccormick (MKC) 31.4%, Unilever (UL) 24.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, POST, MKC 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, Mccormick (MKC) leads on 6. 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.