Colgate-Palmolive Narrows 2026 Sales Outlook, Raises EPS Growth View

Colgate-Palmolive narrowed its 2026 sales-growth outlook and raised its gross-margin and Base Business EPS-growth outlooks Friday after third-quarter sales rose, with North America the only division without organic growth.

Sales for the three months ended Sept. 30 totaled $5.369 billion, up $238 million, or 4.6%, from a year earlier. Organic sales increased 3.6%, including a 0.2% drag from lower private-label pet food sales. The company’s Base Business diluted earnings per share, its non-GAAP measure, climbed 7% to 97 cents. GAAP diluted EPS gained 3% to 94 cents. Base Business EPS excludes a $30 million pretax charge for the Strategic Growth and Productivity Program. The reconciliation adds that charge back when bridging GAAP EPS to the adjusted measure, a difference of 3 cents per share.

North America net sales fell 1.7%, while organic sales declined 1.6%. Volume dropped 3.7%, partly offset by a 2.2% gain in pricing. Management cited continued softness in the United States and made a return to North America sales growth a priority. Latin America net sales rose 12.5%, and organic sales increased 6%. That contrasted with North America’s decline and companywide organic growth of 3.6%.

The new full-year net-sales growth range is 4% to 5%, replacing 2% to 6%. The revision raises the lower end but trims the upper end. Colgate-Palmolive now expects organic sales growth broadly in line with its performance for the first nine months, compared with its previous forecast of 1% to 4%. It also changed both GAAP and Base Business gross-margin outlooks from roughly flat to growth. The Base Business EPS-growth outlook is now 5% to 7%, compared with mid-single-digit growth previously. Management tied the outlook changes to year-to-date results and productivity efforts.

“We were particularly pleased to have delivered our fourth quarter of sequential improvement in worldwide volume growth,” Noel Wallace, chairman, president and CEO, said. The company’s earnings call is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. ET (12:30 UTC) Friday.