Greenwashed
Virtue signalling at Unilever
Good morning, stewards of Mother Earth. This is your Stock Market Rundown for May 9th, 2024. Thanks for tuning in today. Let’s get started:
TODAY’S TOP STORY: GREEN PRETENSIONS
When it comes to sustainabilty, big companies might talk the talk, but do they walk the walk?
Consumer giant Unilever has spent years cultivating a “green” public image. But their halo got tarnished when they were accused of “greenwashing” by UK authorities—and pilloried by investors who’d rather management focus on profits, not the planet.
Created by the merger of a British soapmaker and a Dutch margarine company in 1929, Unilever is now one of the world’s biggest consumer packaged goods companies.
Enjoyed a Magnum ice cream or Hellman’s mayonnaise recently? Maybe washed your face with Dove soap, or spritzed your pits with Axe? All these products come from Unilever factory lines.
Unilever burnished their sustainability bona fides by vowing to cut back on plastic use and make products more eco friendly.
But when growth lagged, top investors savagely criticized management for focusing on the wrong kind of green. Hey, we invest in stocks to make money… if we wanted to feel a warm glow of virtue, we’d donate to the local SPCA.
Seems like management got the message. CEO Hein Schumacher recently said Unilever will strive for more “realism” in its save-the-planet goals. Your Suave shampoo is still going to be in a plastic bottle for the foreseeable future—but it might be recyclable plastic. Anybody else feel like hugging a tree?
SO WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
The boardroom at Tesla is looking like the Red Wedding episode of Game of Thrones. Tesla is laying off hundreds of employees—including execs—amidst a downturn in electric vehicle demand.
Thor himself couldn’t have had a better public-markets debut than Viking Cruises. With shares flying on the first day of trading, it was more profitable for investors than a medieval viking raid.
Starbucks’ sales have cooled off like an iced macchiato. The stock sank to a two-year low on weak demand as consumers chose Dunkin’ Donuts over venti pumpkin spiced lattes.
Food distributor Sysco, which sells to restaurants and cafeterias, missed estimates on weak spending. Guess college kids aren’t snapping up the Breaded Mozzarella Cheese Triangles like they used to.
That's all for today, superstars; catch you on the flip side tomorrow morning. Yours in capitalism, The Axe
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