You’re standing in the frozen aisle, staring at a pint of Half Baked, and you think: "Man, people love this stuff. I should really buy some Ben & Jerry's stock." It makes total sense. The brand is iconic, the flavors are legendary, and their social activism keeps them in the headlines constantly.
But here is the kicker. If you pull up your E-TRADE or Robinhood account and type in "Ben & Jerry's," nothing comes up. No ticker symbol. No price chart. Nothing.
That’s because Ben & Jerry's is not a publicly traded company. It hasn't been since the year 2000.
Honestly, it’s one of the most common mix-ups in the investing world. People see the "INC" or the massive global presence and assume there’s a way to grab a piece of the pie directly. There isn't. But the story of why that is—and how the landscape just underwent a massive earthquake in late 2025—is actually way more interesting than a simple stock ticker.
What Really Happened to the Ben & Jerry's Stock?
Back in the day, specifically in the 80s and 90s, you actually could buy Ben & Jerry's stock. It was a darling of the "socially responsible" investing world. But in 2000, the giant multinational Unilever stepped in and bought the whole thing for about $326 million.
For 25 years, Ben & Jerry's lived as a subsidiary. If you wanted to invest in Cherry Garcia, you had to buy Unilever stock (ticker: UL). But things got... messy. Ben & Jerry’s has an independent board that likes to talk about politics. Unilever, being a massive conglomerate, sometimes likes to not talk about politics.
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This tension boiled over recently. In 2024 and 2025, the legal battles between the brand and its parent company over social missions—specifically regarding Middle East sales and free speech—became a massive headache for investors.
The 2025 Great Ice Cream Divorce
Everything changed in December 2025. Unilever finally pulled the trigger on a plan they’d been teasing for a year: they spun off their entire ice cream division.
They didn't just sell Ben & Jerry's. They took Ben & Jerry’s, Magnum, Cornetto, and Breyers, and shoved them all into a brand-new, standalone company called The Magnum Ice Cream Company (TMICC).
So, as of early 2026, if you are looking for the closest thing to a Ben & Jerry's stock price, you are looking at TMICC.
- Status: Standalone Public Company
- Primary Listing: Euronext Amsterdam
- Secondary Listings: London Stock Exchange and the NYSE
- Ticker Symbol: MICC (on the New York Stock Exchange)
Why the "New" Stock Price Is So Volatile
If you’ve been watching the MICC stock price since its debut, you’ve noticed it’s been a bit of a roller coaster. When the spinoff happened in December 2025, the market was already on edge.
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Then, right as the company was supposed to debut on the NYSE, a U.S. government shutdown delayed the SEC approval. It was a mess. When it finally started trading on Monday, December 8, 2025, it opened below its reference price.
Why the cold shoulder from Wall Street? A few reasons:
- The "Woke" Risk: Whether you agree with their politics or not, institutional investors often view Ben & Jerry's activism as a "risk factor." The resignation of co-founder Jerry Greenfield in September 2025—who left claiming the brand's soul was being "silenced" by corporate suits—didn't help.
- No Dividends (Yet): The new company, TMICC, has already told everyone not to expect a dividend check in 2026. They want to keep the cash to shore up their margins. They’re targeting 2027 for the first payouts. For many "boring" consumer staple investors, that's a dealbreaker.
- The Supply Chain Monster: Ice cream is expensive to move. It has to stay frozen (obviously). With energy costs fluctuating, the profit margins on a pint of Phish Food are thinner than you’d think.
Can You Still Invest Indirectly?
Kinda, but it's getting thinner. Unilever kept a roughly 20% stake in the new ice cream company after the demerger. So, if you hold Unilever (UL), you technically still have a tiny, tiny exposure to Ben & Jerry's. But for all intents and purposes, the umbilical cord has been cut.
If you were a Unilever shareholder before the split, you probably saw something weird in your brokerage account around December 17, 2025. For every 5 shares of Unilever you owned, you were handed 1 share of the new Magnum Ice Cream Co.
It wasn't "free money," though. The price of your Unilever shares dropped to account for the value of the business that left. It’s like cutting a slice of cake; you have two pieces now, but it's the same amount of cake.
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Actionable Insights: Should You Buy the Spinoff?
Look, investing in a brand because you like their Cookie Dough chunks is a classic "Peter Lynch" move, but you've gotta be smart about it. Here is what you should actually do if you're eyeing this sector.
Check the Ticker MICC
Don't go looking for "B&J." It doesn't exist. Look for The Magnum Ice Cream Company on the NYSE under MICC. This is the only way to get pure-play exposure to the brand.
Watch the "Social Mission" Headlines
Ben & Jerry's is currently in a "restructuring" phase with its board. If the brand loses its "edge" and starts feeling like just another corporate product, the brand loyalty—which is their biggest asset—might slip. Conversely, if the lawsuits continue, the stock might stay suppressed.
Look at the Margins, Not Just the Sales
The ice cream business is currently the world's largest standalone operation of its kind. But being big isn't the same as being profitable. Keep an eye on the "underlying sales growth" (USG) numbers in their 2026 quarterly reports. If they can’t pass on the cost of milk and sugar to consumers, the stock price will struggle.
The "Wait and See" Approach
Since there is no dividend until 2027, there is no "penalty" for waiting. You can watch how the new management team handles the Ben & Jerry's independent board for a few quarters before putting your hard-earned money down.
Investing in something as culturally significant as Ben & Jerry's is always going to be about more than just P/E ratios. It's about whether you believe a brand can stay "counter-culture" while being the centerpiece of a multi-billion dollar public company. As of 2026, that experiment is just beginning.
To get started, pull up the 2026 Q1 earnings preview for The Magnum Ice Cream Company (MICC) and see how their volume growth compares to rivals like Nestlé. That will tell you more than any pint of ice cream ever could.