STOCK TITAN

Unilever (NYSE: UL) investors back board, pay and buyback powers at 2026 AGM

Filing Impact
(Neutral)
Filing Sentiment
(Neutral)
Form Type
6-K

Rhea-AI Filing Summary

Unilever PLC reported that shareholders approved all 21 resolutions at the 2026 Annual General Meeting held on 13 May 2026. Resolutions 1 to 17 passed as ordinary resolutions and 18 to 21 as special resolutions, with poll voting showing strong majorities on every item.

Shareholders elected or re-elected 10 directors, including Srinivas Phatak, Fernando Fernandez, Nelson Peltz and others, and approved the Directors’ Remuneration Report and Remuneration Policy. They also reappointed KPMG LLP as auditor, renewed authorities to allot shares, disapply pre-emption rights, purchase the company’s own shares and shorten notice for general meetings.

Total votes cast on most resolutions represented about 73% of Unilever’s share capital. As of close of business on 12 May 2026, Unilever PLC had 2,185,205,247 issued ordinary shares, with 2,179,434,462 ordinary shares carrying exercisable voting rights as of 13 May 2026.

Positive

  • None.

Negative

  • None.
AGM resolutions approved 21 resolutions All approved at the 13 May 2026 AGM
Report and Accounts approval 1,580,991,350 votes for (99.30%) Resolution 1 to receive Report and Accounts for year ended 31 December 2025
Directors’ Remuneration Report approval 1,555,794,771 votes for (97.63%) Resolution 2 poll result
Directors’ Remuneration Policy approval 1,472,503,925 votes for (95.69%) Resolution 3 poll result
Share buyback authority support 1,589,650,031 votes for (99.79%) Resolution 20 to renew authority to purchase own shares
Issued ordinary shares 2,185,205,247 shares Total issued ordinary shares as at close of business on 12 May 2026
Exercisable voting rights 2,179,434,462 shares Ordinary shares with exercisable voting rights as at 11:30am on 13 May 2026
Capital represented at AGM 73.05% of share capital Percentage of share capital validly voted on Resolution 1
ordinary resolutions regulatory
"Resolutions 1 to 17 were passed as ordinary resolutions and resolutions 18 to 21"
An ordinary resolution is a decision put to a company’s shareholders that is approved by a simple majority of votes cast, similar to a club decision passed when more than half the members agree. It covers routine matters such as electing directors, approving annual accounts or declaring dividends, and matters approved this way bind the company. Investors care because ordinary resolutions determine everyday governance and can change leadership, financial distributions, or policies with only majority support.
special resolutions regulatory
"Resolutions 1 to 17 were passed as ordinary resolutions and resolutions 18 to 21 were passed as special resolutions."
Special resolutions are shareholder votes used to approve major, permanent changes to a company—such as altering the rules, approving mergers, or changing capital structure—and they require a higher-than-normal approval level (commonly a substantial supermajority rather than a simple majority). They matter to investors because they can permanently change rights, ownership or strategy; think of them like needing more than a simple majority to pass a company’s equivalent of a constitutional change.
pre-emption rights financial
"To renew the authority to Directors to disapply pre-emption rights"
A shareholder’s right to be offered new shares before they are sold to outsiders, allowing existing owners to buy enough to keep their ownership percentage. Think of it like being offered the first slice of a pie so your share doesn’t shrink; it matters to investors because it protects voting power and economic value from being diluted when a company issues more stock, and it can affect how easy or costly fundraising is.
treasury shares financial
"Of those ordinary shares, 5,531,265 were held as treasury shares and 239,520 ordinary shares"
Treasury shares are a company’s own stock that it has repurchased and keeps on its books instead of canceling or leaving in the hands of outside investors. Think of them like coupons a business puts back in a drawer: they don’t vote or receive dividends while held, but they can be reissued later for employee pay or fundraising. For investors this matters because buybacks change the number of shares that count toward earnings and ownership, can boost per‑share metrics, and use corporate cash that might otherwise go to growth or dividends.
forward-looking statements regulatory
"This announcement may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the securities laws"
Forward-looking statements are predictions or plans that companies share about what they expect to happen in the future, like estimating sales or profits. They matter because they help investors understand a company's outlook, but since they are based on guesses and assumptions, they can sometimes be wrong.
Annual General Meeting regulatory
"Unilever PLC shareholders today approved each of the resolutions put to the 2026 Annual General Meeting."
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
_________________________________________________
FORM 6-K
_________________________________________________
 
REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER
PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16
OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
 
May 2026
Commission File
Number: 001-04546
______________________________________________________
 UNILEVER PLC
(Translation of registrant’s name into English)
 _____________________________________________________
 
UNILEVER HOUSE, BLACKFRIARS, LONDON, ENGLAND
(Address of principal executive office)
_____________________________________________________
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports
under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Form 20-F ☒ Form 40-F ☐
 
 
13 May 2026
 
 
UNILEVER PLC
 
RESULTS OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
  
Unilever PLC shareholders today approved each of the resolutions put to the 2026 Annual General Meeting. Resolutions 1 to 17 were passed as ordinary resolutions and resolutions 18 to 21 were passed as special resolutions. Voting was by poll on each resolution and the results are set out below.
 
 
BOARD APPOINTMENTS
 
The following directors stood for election or re-election and were duly elected or re-elected by the shareholders of Unilever PLC:
 
Srinivas Phatak, Fernando Fernandez, Adrian Hennah, Susan Kilsby, Ruby Lu, Judith McKenna, Ian Meakins, Benoît Potier, Nelson Peltz and Zoe Yujnovich.
 
POLL RESULTS - ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, 13 MAY 2026
 
 
TOTAL VOTES FOR
%
TOTAL VOTES AGAINST
%
TOTAL VOTES CAST
% OF SHARE CAPITAL VALIDLY CAST VOTED FOR AND AGAINST
VOTES WITHHELD
1. To receive the Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2025 together with the Directors' Reports and the Auditor's Report
 
1,580,991,350
99.30%
11,157,844
0.70%
1,592,149,194
73.05%
2,854,936
2. To approve the Directors' Remuneration Report
 
1,555,794,771
97.63%
37,810,344
2.37%
1,593,605,115
73.12%
1,398,986
3. To approve the Directors' Remuneration Policy
 
1,472,503,925
95.69%
66,280,179
4.31%
1,538,784,104
70.60%
56,219,995
4. To elect Srinivas Phatak as a Director
 
1,580,475,082
99.17%
13,178,650
0.83%
1,593,653,732
73.12%
1,340,374
5. To re-elect Fernando Fernandez as a Director
 
1,583,231,485
99.34%
10,529,184
0.66%
1,593,760,669
73.13%
1,233,437
6. To re-elect Adrian Hennah as a Director
 
1,557,298,733
97.72%
36,270,781
2.28%
1,593,569,514
73.12%
1,424,359
7. To re-elect Susan Kilsby as a Director
 
1,484,064,632
93.13%
109,506,168
6.87%
1,593,570,800
73.12%
1,423,276
8. To re-elect Ruby Lu as a Director
 
1,570,537,480
98.56%
23,005,452
1.44%
1,593,542,932
73.12%
1,451,054
9. To re-elect Judith McKenna as a Director
 
1,575,620,267
98.95%
16,659,699
1.05%
1,592,279,966
73.06%
2,714,110
10. To re-elect Ian Meakins as a Director
 
1,553,382,104
97.47%
40,302,794
2.53%
1,593,684,898
73.12%
1,309,179
11. To re-elect Benoît Potier as a Director
 
1,586,832,733
99.58%
6,672,801
0.42%
1,593,505,534
73.12%
1,488,541
12. To re-elect Nelson Peltz as a Director
 
1,567,360,466
98.35%
26,323,593
1.65%
1,593,684,059
73.12%
1,309,852
13. To re-elect Zoe Yujnovich as a Director
 
1,585,635,702
99.51%
7,870,175
0.49%
1,593,505,877
73.12%
1,488,109
14. To reappoint KPMG LLP as Auditor of the Company
 
1,498,485,183
94.03%
95,188,929
5.97%
1,593,674,112
73.12%
1,319,965
15. To authorise the Directors to fix the remuneration of the Auditor
 
1,549,929,336
97.26%
43,705,464
2.74%
1,593,634,800
73.12%
1,357,540
16. To authorise political donations and expenditure
 
1,565,545,743
98.69%
20,765,439
1.31%
1,586,311,182
72.79%
8,681,990
17. To renew the authority to Directors to allot shares
 
1,514,649,146
95.04%
79,041,118
4.96%
1,593,690,264
73.12%
1,303,190
18. To renew the authority to Directors to disapply pre-emption rights
 
1,567,547,387
98.41%
25,396,198
1.59%
1,592,943,585
73.09%
2,049,235
19. To renew the authority to Directors to disapply pre-emption rights in connection with acquisitions or capital investments
 
1,567,877,041
98.42%
25,244,781
1.58%
1,593,121,822
73.10%
1,870,685
20. To renew the authority to the Company to purchase its own shares
 
1,589,650,031
99.79%
3,337,255
0.21%
1,592,987,286
73.09%
2,006,204
21. To shorten the notice period for General Meetings (other than Annual General Meetings) to 14 clear days' notice
 
1,491,770,465
93.59%
102,144,736
6.41%
1,593,915,201
73.13%
1,078,905
 
NOTES:
 
- The 'For' vote includes votes given at the Chair's discretion and details of proxy votes cast are included in the table above.
- As at close of business on 12 May 2026, the total number of issued ordinary shares of Unilever PLC was 2,185,205,247. Of those ordinary shares, 5,531,265 were held as treasury shares and 239,520 ordinary shares (including ordinary shares represented by Unilever PLC ADSs) were held by or on behalf of companies in the Unilever Group (the "Unilever Group Shares"). The voting rights attaching to the Unilever Group Shares are not exercisable. Therefore, as at 11.30am on 13 May 2026, the total number of Unilever PLC ordinary shares with exercisable voting rights was 2,179,434,462.
 
A 'Vote withheld' is not a vote in law and will not be counted in the calculation of the proportion of the votes 'for' and 'against' a resolution.
 
In accordance with UK Listing Rule 6.4.2 copies of all the resolutions passed, other than ordinary business, will be submitted to and available for inspection at the National Storage Mechanism and will shortly be available for inspection at: https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism.  A copy of the resolutions can also be found in the Chair's Letter and Notice of Meeting which is available on our website: www.unilever.com/AGM.
 
 
Prakash Kakkad
Chief Legal Officer and Group Company Secretary
 
13 May 2026
  
 
Cautionary Statement:
 
This announcement may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the securities laws of certain jurisdictions, including 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Words and terminology such as 'will', 'aim', 'expects', 'anticipates', 'intends', 'looks', 'believes', 'vision', 'ambition', 'target', 'goal', 'plan', 'potential', 'work towards', 'may', 'milestone', 'objectives', 'outlook', 'probably', 'project', 'risk', 'continue', 'should', 'would be', 'seeks', or the negative of these terms and other similar expressions of future performance, results, actions or events, and their negatives, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements also include, but are not limited to, statements and information regarding Unilever's emissions reduction and other sustainability-related targets and other climate and sustainability matters (including actions, potential impacts and risks and opportunities associated therewith), the Group's ability to rewire our organisation for AI and the digital world, to deliver profit growth in line with our top-third total shareholder return ambition, to respond to channel shifts and pricing and other competitive pressures, and to maintain effectiveness of our cash management programmes and our liquidity, our plans with respect to the retained The Magnum Ice Cream Company stake, the Group's ability to focus on building Desire at Scale and Play to Win culture. Forward-looking statements can be made in writing but also may be made verbally by directors, officers and employees of the Unilever Group (the "Group") (including during management presentations) in connection with this announcement. These forward-looking statements are based upon current expectations and assumptions regarding anticipated developments and other factors affecting the Group. They are not historical facts, nor are they guarantees of future performance or outcomes. All forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
 
Because these forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, a number of which may be beyond the Group's control, there are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Among other risks and uncertainties, the material or principal factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements expressed in this announcement are: Unilever's global brands not meeting consumer preferences; Unilever's ability to innovate and remain competitive; Unilever's investment choices in its portfolio management; the effect of climate change on Unilever's business; Unilever's ability to find sustainable solutions to its plastic packaging; significant changes or deterioration in customer relationships; the recruitment and retention of talented employees; disruptions in Unilever's supply chain and distribution; increases or volatility in the cost of raw materials and commodities; the production of safe and high-quality products; secure and reliable IT infrastructure; execution of acquisitions, divestitures and business transformation projects; economic, social and political risks and natural disasters; financial risks; failure to meet high and ethical standards; and managing regulatory, tax and legal matters and practices with regard to the interpretation and application thereof and emerging and developing ESG reporting standards including differences in implementation of climate and sustainability policies in the regions where the Group operates.
 
The forward-looking statements are based on our beliefs, assumptions and expectations of our future performance, taking into account all information currently available to us. Forward-looking statements are not predictions of future events. These beliefs, assumptions and expectations can change as a result of many possible events or factors, not all of which are known to us. If a change occurs, our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may vary materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements.
 
The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this announcement. Except as required by any applicable law or regulation, the Group expressly disclaims any intention, obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the Group's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. New risks and uncertainties arise over time, and it is not possible for us to predict those events or how they may affect us. In addition, we cannot assess the impact of each factor on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual events, to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements.
 
Further details of potential risks and uncertainties affecting the Group are described in the Group's filings with the London Stock Exchange, Euronext Amsterdam and the US Securities and Exchange Commission, including in the Annual Report on Form 20-F 2025 and the Unilever Annual Report and Accounts 2025.
 
 
 
 
Signatures
 
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
 
UNILEVER PLC
 
/P/ KAKKAD
 
 
 
By P KAKKAD
 
CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER AND GROUP COMPANY SECRETARY
 
 
Date 13 May 2026

 
 
 
 

FAQ

What did Unilever PLC (UL) announce in its May 2026 Form 6-K?

Unilever PLC announced the full voting results of its 2026 Annual General Meeting, confirming all 21 resolutions were approved. The update covers director elections, remuneration votes, auditor reappointment and renewed shareholder authorities, providing detailed poll figures for votes for, against and withheld on each resolution.

How many AGM resolutions did Unilever PLC (UL) shareholders approve and what types were they?

Shareholders approved 21 resolutions in total at the 2026 AGM. Resolutions 1 to 17 were passed as ordinary resolutions, while resolutions 18 to 21 were passed as special resolutions, following poll voting that showed strong majorities in favour across all the items presented.

Which directors were elected or re-elected at Unilever PLC (UL)’s 2026 AGM?

Shareholders elected or re-elected ten directors at the 2026 AGM. These were Srinivas Phatak, Fernando Fernandez, Adrian Hennah, Susan Kilsby, Ruby Lu, Judith McKenna, Ian Meakins, Benoît Potier, Nelson Peltz and Zoe Yujnovich, each receiving a substantial majority of votes cast in favour.

How did Unilever PLC (UL) shareholders vote on the Directors’ Remuneration items?

Shareholders strongly backed the remuneration items. The Directors’ Remuneration Report received 1,555,794,771 votes for, or 97.63%, while the Directors’ Remuneration Policy received 1,472,503,925 votes for, or 95.69%, with the remaining votes cast against or withheld on each respective resolution.

What shareholder authorities were renewed at Unilever PLC (UL)’s 2026 AGM?

Shareholders renewed authorities for directors to allot shares and to disapply pre-emption rights, including for acquisitions or capital investments. They also renewed the company’s authority to purchase its own shares and approved shortening the notice period for general meetings (other than AGMs) to 14 clear days.

What was Unilever PLC (UL)’s share capital and exercisable voting rights around the 2026 AGM?

As at close of business on 12 May 2026, Unilever PLC had 2,185,205,247 issued ordinary shares. After excluding treasury and Unilever Group shares without voting rights, 2,179,434,462 ordinary shares carried exercisable voting rights as at 11:30am on 13 May 2026.

How strong was shareholder turnout for Unilever PLC (UL)’s 2026 AGM resolutions?

Turnout was high, with total votes cast for and against most resolutions representing just over 73% of Unilever PLC’s share capital. For example, 1,592,149,194 votes were cast on the report and accounts resolution, equivalent to 73.05% of the share capital validly voted.