Colgate-Palmolive earnings: third quarter 2026

Colgate-Palmolive's sales rose 4.6% to $5,369 million in the third quarter of 2026. On the company's own adjusted 'Base Business' measure, which leaves out $0.03 a share of restructuring costs, earnings per share rose 7% to $0.97; the reported figure rose 3% to $0.94. Profit grew more slowly than sales because advertising and overhead costs rose fast. Even so, the company raised its profit outlook for the year. ¹

Against what analysts expected

Analysts' average forecast was $0.92 a share (Nasdaq's earnings calendar). The company's adjusted $0.97 came in about 5% above it, and the reported $0.94 was also above it. ¹²

The strong points

• On the company's own adjusted measure, earnings per share rose 7% to $0.97, more than twice as fast as the reported figure, which carried restructuring costs. ¹
• Sales rose 4.6%, and most of that came from people buying more or paying more, with organic growth of 3.6% leaving out currency and acquisitions. ¹
• Over nine months, the cash left after running the business and investing in it rose to $2,513 million from $2,358 million. ¹

The weak points

• Operating profit, the profit from running the business, rose only 3%, because advertising spending jumped about 15% and overhead grew faster than sales. ¹
• Part of the strong cash came from timing, such as bills not yet paid, with $254 million from that kind of working capital against $30 million a year ago. ¹

What the company expects

• Colgate-Palmolive raised its forecast for full-year growth in adjusted earnings per share to 5% to 7%, from mid-single-digit growth. It now expects gross margin, what is left of each dollar of sales after the direct cost of making the products, to rise rather than stay roughly flat. ¹
• It narrowed its full-year sales growth forecast to 4% to 5%, from 2% to 6% before. ¹

Our verdict on the quarter

A very strong report. Colgate-Palmolive raised its profit forecast for the year, earned more per share than analysts expected and grew both sales and adjusted profit, even while spending heavily on advertising.

The results as published

• The results release itself
• The filing it came with (SEC)

Notes

1. Colgate-Palmolive's results release, 30 October 2026: sec.gov. ↩
2. Nasdaq's earnings calendar, 30 October 2026. ↩