Unilever's first-quarter underlying sales growth beat expectations on Thursday, driven by a return to volume-led growth in emerging markets and strong demand for its "power brands" including Dove and Vaseline as it wins back customers. The London-listed consumer goods giant, with a market valuation of more than $120 billion, kept its 2026 sales and profit margin forecast unchanged, indicating the firm hopes to weather the impact of "heightened macroeconomic uncertainty". Consumer goods companies are navigating one of the most challenging cost environments in years due to surging commodity costs and supply chain disruptions from the Iran war. "We have started the year well with volume-led growth driven by our Power Brands and a positive performance across all Business Groups," CEO Fernando Fernandez said in a statement.