SJM vs UL vs HRL Stock Comparison

J M Smucker, Unilever and Hormel Foods Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
SJM J M SMUCKER Co
$128.63 +6.4% 1M +25.9% 1Y
Market cap
$13.64B
P/E
59.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.16B
Div. yield
0.03%
Packaged Foods Consumer Staples
5 wins
UL Unilever Plc
$65.61 +4.9% 1M -6.9% 1Y
Market cap
$142.39B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$64.28B
Div. yield
–
Packaged Foods Consumer Staples
3 wins
HRL Hormel Foods Corp /De/
$20.95 +6.3% 1M -12.1% 1Y
Market cap
$11.46B
P/E
33.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$12.15B
Div. yield
0.06%
Packaged Foods Consumer Staples
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

J M Smucker leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (J M Smucker 5, Hormel Foods 4, Unilever 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionSJMULHRLLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $13.64B $142.39B $11.46B UL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 59.4x — 33.4x HRL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 11.4x 19.3x 15.0x SJM
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.1% -2.6% +0.7% SJM
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.5% — 2.8% HRL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 3.6% — 3.5% SJM
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 4.9x — 1.8x HRL
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.03% 0.00% 0.06% HRL
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +25.9% -6.9% -12.1% SJM
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +0.9%/yr +1.7%/yr -13.1%/yr UL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 28.7% 24.9% 30.0% UL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 57/100 19/100 49/100 SJM

Percentile Scorecard

SJMULHRL

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

AxisSJMULHRL
Valuation 57 #20 of 45 0 #45 of 45 66 #16 of 45
Growth 93 #4 of 42 – 27 #31 of 42
Profitability 80 #9 of 40 – 49 #21 of 40
Financial Health 28 #34 of 47 41 #28 of 47 74 #13 of 47
Shareholder Returns 27 #23 of 31 17 #26 of 31 30 #22 of 31
Overall 57 19 49
  • SJM ranked among 48 companies in Branded Foods
  • UL ranked among 48 companies in Branded Foods
  • HRL ranked among 48 companies in Branded Foods

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodSJMULHRLSPY
1 month +6.4%+4.9%+6.3% -0.8%
3 months +6.3%+6.9%-19.6% +3.5%
6 months +34.9%+14.1%-2.4% +7.0%
Year to date +31.5%+0.3%-11.6% +12.2%
1 year +25.9%-6.9%-12.1% +13.0%
3 years +14.1%+26.1%-33.3% +86.3%
3 years, per year +4.5%+8.0%-12.6% +23.1%
5 years +4.6%+8.9%-50.4% +68.6%
5 years, per year +0.9%+1.7%-13.1% +11.0%
10 years -1.4%+39.6%-45.0% +258.0%
10 years, per year -0.1%+3.4%-5.8% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureSJMULHRLSPY
Volatility, 1Y 28.7%24.9%30.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 25.1%24.2%29.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.300.02-0.18 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.90-0.28-0.40 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -44.9%-26.2%-65.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -3.6%-12.0%-21.0% -1.8%
52-week high $133.40$74.59$26.51 $779.14
52-week low $89.53$55.05$19.20 $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.

MultipleSJMULHRL
P/E now vs peer median 59.9xmedian 20.5x —median 20.5x 33.7xmedian 20.5x
P/S now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 0.8x 2.2xmedian 0.8x 0.9xmedian 0.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.9xmedian 12.3x —median 12.3x 12.5xmedian 12.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 8.7xmedian 14.0x —median 14.0x 14.8xmedian 14.0x
P/B now vs peer median 2.4xmedian 1.4x 7.7xmedian 1.4x 1.5xmedian 1.4x
PEG now vs peer median 0.30median 0.42 —median 0.42 -1.25median 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 monthsSJMULHRL
Revenue $9.16B $64.28B $12.15B
Gross profit $3.54B – $1.90B
Operating income $826.20M – $573.89M
Net income $229.50M – $342.71M
Free cash flow $1.59B – $780.87M
EPS (diluted) $2.14 – $0.62
Cash & equivalents $43.20M $5.40B $839.64M
Total debt $6.74B $27.38B $2.86B
Shares (diluted) 107.10M 2.20B 551.07M
Enterprise value $13.42B $93.84B $8.12B

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
MetricSJMULHRL
P/E 59.9x – 33.7x
P/FCF 8.7x – 14.8x
P/Operating cash flow 7.2x – 10.6x
P/S 1.5x 2.2x 0.9x
P/B 2.4x 7.7x 1.5x
P/Tangible book 109.2x -91.7x 1.8x
EV/EBITDA 14.9x – 12.5x
EV/EBIT 24.7x – 23.6x
EV/Revenue 2.2x 2.5x 1.1x
EV/FCF 12.9x – 17.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 10.7x – 12.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.30 – -1.25

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSJMULHRL
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.1% -2.6% 0.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 2.7% 147.1% -0.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 15.6% – -3.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 6.8% – -2.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 184.5% – -43.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 43.2% – -21.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 115.7% – -54.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 147.2% – -26.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 131.3% – -54.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 200.5% – -27.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 86.0% – 17.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.6% – -0.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 136.2% – 24.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 20.3% – -2.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSJMULHRL
Gross margin 38.7% – 15.7%
EBITDA margin 15.0% – 8.9%
Operating margin 9.0% – 4.7%
Pretax margin 4.6% – 4.3%
Net margin 2.5% – 2.8%
FCF margin 17.3% – 6.4%
Operating cash flow margin 20.9% – 9.0%
Return on equity 4.1% – 4.3%
Return on assets 1.4% – 2.6%
Return on invested capital 3.6% – 3.5%
Return on capital employed 5.9% – 5.0%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.8x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 8.3x – 3.2x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% – 0.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSJMULHRL
Debt / assets 41.6% 31.2% 21.5%
Debt / equity 1.2x 1.5x 0.4x
Net debt / EBITDA 4.9x – 1.8x
Debt / FCF 4.2x – 3.7x
Liabilities / assets 64.5% 79.0% 40.9%
Equity / assets 35.5% 21.0% 59.1%
Interest coverage – – 7.3x
Current ratio 0.9x 0.7x 1.9x
Quick ratio 0.3x 0.7x 0.9x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.4x 0.5x
Altman Z-score 1.51 – 3.26

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSJMULHRL
Dividend yield 3.4% 3.3% 5.6%
Net buyback yield 0.0% – –
Shareholder yield 3.5% 3.3% 5.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) 203.5% – 187.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) 29.4% – 82.1%
Dividend growth (1Y) 2.1% – 1.9%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 2.8% – 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.

ConsensusSJMULHRL
Forward P/E 11.4xFY2026 19.3xFY2026 15.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $11.33FY2026 $3.40FY2026 $1.40FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +23.8%FY2026 -7.1%FY2026 +2.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -8.3% +7.9% +17.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $9.52BFY2026 $54.72BFY2026 $11.68BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +5.2%FY2026 -8.8%FY2026 -3.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -2.7% +7.8% +2.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSJMULHRL
Held by institutions 43.8% 11.8% 43.8%
Institutions holding 887 1,190 622
Change in shares held, QoQ -2.8% +7.2% -4.0%
Institutions buying 493 576 323
Institutions selling 260 440 230
Buyers to sellers 1.90 1.31 1.40

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.

SJMULHRL
SJM 1.00 0.38 0.38
UL 0.38 1.00 0.32
HRL 0.38 0.32 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SJM, UL and HRL?

Unilever (UL) is the largest by market capitalisation: J M Smucker (SJM) $13.64B, Unilever (UL) $142.39B, Hormel Foods (HRL) $11.46B.

Which stock is cheaper, SJM, UL and HRL?

Hormel Foods (HRL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (J M Smucker (SJM) 59.4x, Hormel Foods (HRL) 33.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, J M Smucker (SJM) is cheapest (J M Smucker (SJM) 11.4x, Unilever (UL) 19.3x, Hormel Foods (HRL) 15.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

J M Smucker (SJM) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: J M Smucker (SJM) +5.1%, Unilever (UL) -2.6%, Hormel Foods (HRL) +0.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Hormel Foods (HRL) has the highest net margin (J M Smucker (SJM) 2.5%, Hormel Foods (HRL) 2.8%). On return on invested capital, J M Smucker (SJM) leads (J M Smucker (SJM) 3.6%, Hormel Foods (HRL) 3.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year J M Smucker (SJM) returned the most: J M Smucker (SJM) +25.9%, Unilever (UL) -6.9%, Hormel Foods (HRL) -12.1%. Over five years, Unilever (UL) compounded fastest (J M Smucker (SJM) +0.9%/yr, Unilever (UL) +1.7%/yr, Hormel Foods (HRL) -13.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Hormel Foods (HRL) has the highest dividend yield: J M Smucker (SJM) 0.03%, Unilever (UL) 0.00%, Hormel Foods (HRL) 0.06%. Unilever (UL) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Unilever (UL) has been the steadiest (J M Smucker (SJM) 28.7%, Unilever (UL) 24.9%, Hormel Foods (HRL) 30.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, J M Smucker (SJM) 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.