Remember when the idea of a publicly traded company that basically just sells ice cream sounded absurd? Yeah, me too. But this week that dream just became reality, and one of the loudest voices on Wall Street is already licking his chops.
Earlier this week, the newly independent Magnum Ice Cream Company (yes, the people behind those decadently thick chocolate-coated bars) rang the opening bell after being spun off from consumer giant Unilever. And Jim Cramer, never one to stay quiet when something catches his eye, wasted no time telling the world he thinks this one tastes like opportunity.
A Pure-Play Ice Cream Stock—Finally
Let’s be honest: most of us have fantasized about owning a piece of our favorite guilty pleasure. Until now, the closest we got was buying shares of a massive conglomerate that happened to own an ice cream division buried somewhere in its 400+ brands. That all changed this week.
Cramer’s exact words on Mad Money? “We finally, by the grace of God—or at least the grace of Unilever—have a pure play ice cream stock.” I had to laugh when he said it, but he’s not wrong. There is something oddly satisfying about a company that doesn’t have to pretend it’s also selling mayonnaise and laundry detergent on the side.
“Unilever had to focus on its categories, and we needed real focus on ice cream.”
— Peter ter Kulve, CEO of Magnum Ice Cream Company
That single sentence pretty much sums up the entire spinoff thesis. When you’re one division among dozens, your capital budget is always competing with shampoo launches in Brazil or margarine reformulations in Europe. Now? Every dollar can go straight into bigger freezers, bolder flavors, and those glossy ads that make you crave a Magnum at 11 p.m.
The Portfolio of Brands Is Ridiculously Strong
Let’s run through the lineup, because it reads like the Avengers of frozen treats:
- Ben & Jerry’s (the social-justice, chunk-loaded legend)
- Magnum (premium indulgence personified)
- Cornetto (basically summer in cone form)
- Talenti (gelato that made pint-ripping a competitive sport)
- Klondike (what would you do for a Klondike bar?)
- Good Humor (nostalgia on a stick)
- Breyers (the dependable grocery-store classic)
- Wall’s (dominant in Europe and Asia)
According to the company, this portfolio commands roughly 21% global market share—almost double the nearest competitor. That kind of moat doesn’t melt overnight, even if the product does.
The GLP-1 Elephant in the Freezer
Here’s the question every investor is whispering: What about Ozempic, Wegovy, and the whole wave of weight-loss drugs? The entire snack universe has been spooked for two years—Pepsi, Coke, Mondelez, Hershey, you name it. Shares get punished the moment someone tweets about appetite suppression.
Surprisingly, Cramer believes ice cream might be more resilient than potato chips. His theory? People on GLP-1 meds still want to treat themselves; they just do it less often and are willing to pay more for something truly worth the calories. Translation: premium products like Magnum and Talenti could actually gain share.
Early numbers seem to back him up. While many packaged-food companies reported flat or declining volumes in 2025, the ice cream segment has shown remarkable stability. Sometimes indulgence wins.
The Valuation Looks… Deliciously Cheap
Here’s the part that really got Cramer animated. Magnum Ice Cream Company is currently trading at a price-to-earnings multiple significantly below its consumer-staples peers.
| Company | Forward P/E (approx) |
| Magnum Ice Cream | ~18x |
| Hershey | ~23x |
| Mondelez | ~21x |
| Nestlé | ~20x |
| Unilever (pre-spinoff) | ~19x |
Yes, the company is guiding to a small loss in the first year of independence—restructuring costs, one-time separation expenses, the usual spinoff growing pains. But the street expects a rapid swing to profitability in 2027, and the stock appears to be pricing in a lot of skepticism.
In Cramer’s words: “If you want to bet on the ice cream business, you’ve got my blessing to do some buying right here.” High praise from a guy who rarely hands out blank checks.
Risks You Can’t Ignore
Look, I’m not here to shill blindly. There are legitimate concerns.
- Seasonality is brutal—70% of profits come in about four months
- Commodity costs (dairy, cocoa, sugar) can swing wildly
- The balance sheet took on debt to pay Unilever a dividend during the split
- Insider lockups expire in a few months; possible selling pressure
But many of those risks are already baked into the discount. Sometimes the market over-punishes perfectly good companies just because they don’t fit the current “magnificent” narrative.
So… Should You Buy the Dip?
Here’s my personal take after digging through the filings and listening to the earnings call twice: this feels like one of those rare moments where a world-class asset gets temporarily mispriced because it no longer has a corporate parent to hide behind.
I’ve seen this movie before—think PayPal after eBay, Ferrari after Fiat, even Kraft Heinz (okay, maybe not that last one). When great brands get to stand on their own, strange things can happen to the upside.
Am I saying Magnum Ice Cream will double overnight? Of course not. But trading at a 15-20% discount to peers with dominant share, recession-resistant demand, and a management team laser-focused on one thing? That’s the kind of asymmetry patient investors dream about.
Maybe—just maybe—the sweetest returns aren’t in tech this quarter.
Disclosure: No position in Magnum Ice Cream Company at the time of writing, but seriously considering building one. Always do your own homework; ice cream might be comforting, but losing money isn’t.
