Who Owns UL Solutions?
UL Solutions is owned by public shareholders through UL Solutions Inc., which trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker ULS. The nonprofit UL Standards & Engagement holds all Class B shares and controls approximately 95 percent of voting power, making UL Solutions a controlled company. The company was founded in 1894 in Chicago and is headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois.
Parent Company
Founded
1894
Status
Publicly Traded
Headquarters
GlobalOfficial Website
Who Owns UL Solutions?
- Parent Company: UL Solutions Inc.
- Ownership Type: Wholly owned
- Company Type: Publicly Traded
- Stock Ticker: NYSE: ULS
| Brand | Parent Company | Ownership Type |
|---|---|---|
| UL Solutions | UL Solutions Inc. | Wholly owned |
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History of UL Solutions
- Founded: 1894
- Founders: William Henry Merrill
UL Solutions traces its history to 1894, when electrical engineer William Henry Merrill founded the Underwriters' Electrical Bureau in Chicago. Merrill had been sent to the city to assess fire risks at the World's Columbian Exposition, where new electrical displays had raised serious safety concerns among insurance underwriters. The bureau tested electrical devices on behalf of insurers and issued certificates for products that passed.
The organization was renamed Underwriters' Laboratories in 1901 and incorporated as a nonprofit in Illinois. Through the twentieth century, it expanded from electrical safety into fire testing, building materials, automotive components, and consumer products. The UL Mark, the circled-UL certification symbol, became one of the most recognized conformity marks in the world, appearing on billions of products.
A major reorganization took place in 2012, when the nonprofit Underwriters Laboratories Inc. transferred its testing and certification business to a for-profit subsidiary called UL LLC. The nonprofit retained standards development and safety research functions. Further restructuring in 2021 and 2022 created three distinct organizations: UL Research Institutes for safety research, UL Standards & Engagement for standards development, and UL Solutions for commercial testing, inspection, and certification. UL Inc. was renamed UL Solutions Inc. in June 2022.
On April 12, 2024, UL Solutions Inc. began trading on the NYSE after pricing its IPO at $20 per share. The offering raised capital for the nonprofit selling shareholder while leaving control firmly with UL Standards & Engagement. Since going public, the company has expanded laboratory capacity in battery testing, data center infrastructure, automotive safety, and fire science, and surpassed $3 billion in annual revenue for the first time in 2025.
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About UL Solutions Inc.
What does UL Solutions own?
UL Solutions owns its laboratory network, certification marks including the UL Mark, and software businesses such as ULTRUS, WERCS, and Prospector. It is a single-brand operating company rather than a holding company with many brands.
Is UL Solutions publicly traded?
Yes. UL Solutions Inc. trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker ULS following its April 2024 IPO. It remains a controlled company because the nonprofit UL Standards & Engagement holds about 95 percent of voting power.
Who founded UL Solutions?
William Henry Merrill founded the predecessor Underwriters' Electrical Bureau in Chicago in 1894. The for-profit UL Solutions entity emerged from restructurings in 2012 and 2021 to 2022.
Where is UL Solutions headquartered?
UL Solutions is headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, where it also broke ground on a Global Fire Science Center of Excellence in 2025.
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How many brands does UL Solutions own?
The company operates primarily under the UL Solutions name and UL Mark, plus a small number of software product brands such as ULTRUS, WERCS, Prospector, and SafeCyber acquired or developed for its Software and Advisory segment.
Who owns UL Solutions?
UL Standards & Engagement, a nonprofit controlled by UL Research Institutes, holds all super-voting Class B shares and approximately 95 percent of voting power. Public Class A shareholders own the remaining economic interest but minimal votes.
What is UL Solutions' revenue?
Fiscal 2025 revenue was $3,053 million, up 6.4 percent year over year, with adjusted EBITDA of $792 million and net income of $345 million.
- Founded: 1894
- Headquarters: Northbrook, Illinois, USA
- Company Type: Publicly Traded
- Stock: NYSE: ULS
- Revenue: $3.05B (FY2025)
- Employees: approximately 14,500
Where Is UL Solutions Made / Based?
- Headquarters: Northbrook, Illinois, USA
UL Solutions Categories & Tags
Awards & Recognition
- Forbes Global 2000: UL Solutions appears in the Forbes Global 2000 ranking of the world's largest public companies.
- TIME World's Most Sustainable Companies: Recognized by TIME and Statista for corporate sustainability practices.
- America's Greenest Companies: Named to Newsweek's green companies ranking for environmental performance.
- CDP Climate Disclosure: The company reports climate data through CDP, the standard environmental disclosure platform.
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UL Solutions Recalls & Controversies
Certification Impartiality Concerns: Critics have periodically raised questions about the conflict inherent in a for-profit company selling certification services to the manufacturers it evaluates. UL Solutions addresses this through laboratory accreditation requirements, technical committee governance, and separation of its standards development into the nonprofit UL Standards & Engagement. No regulator has determined the model invalid.
Counterfeit UL Marks: Counterfeit and misused UL Marks on uncertified products, particularly electronics and lithium-ion batteries, are an ongoing enforcement matter. UL Solutions works with US Customs and Border Protection and e-commerce platforms to seize counterfeit goods. Amazon product recalls in recent years have included items fraudulently displaying UL Marks.
Whistleblower and Labor Matters: Like most large employers, the company has faced isolated employment litigation in various jurisdictions. None has produced material findings against the company in the periods reviewed.
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UL Solutions Ownership: Pros & Cons
Advantages
- +The UL Mark is one of the most recognized certification symbols in the world, giving the brand pricing power that smaller laboratories cannot replicate
- +Nonprofit controlling ownership insulates certification decisions from short-term earnings pressure, supporting the independence that regulators and insurers rely on
- +Demand is tied to regulatory requirements, so revenue is less cyclical than discretionary industrial services
- +The 2024 IPO provides access to public capital markets for laboratory expansion and acquisitions
Considerations
- -Controlled company status means public Class A shareholders hold almost no voting influence over governance or strategy
- -Larger global competitors such as SGS and Bureau Veritas have greater scale and geographic breadth in inspection services
- -Growth depends on continued expansion of regulated product categories; slower rulemaking would soften demand
- -Reputation risk is concentrated in a single mark, so any high-profile certification failure could damage the whole business
Frequently Asked Questions About UL Solutions
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Sources & Further Reading
Competitors to UL Solutions
No direct competitors found in the same category. This could be because UL Solutionsoperates in a unique market segment or we're still building our competitor database.
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UL Solutions Inc. Stock Information
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