Colgate-Palmolive Beats Earnings Forecast But Trims Sales Guidance

Core Insights - Colgate-Palmolive Co. reported third-quarter earnings that exceeded estimates but lowered its full-year sales outlook due to slowing category growth [1] - Adjusted earnings per share were $0.91, surpassing the consensus forecast of $0.89, while revenue reached $5.13 billion, reflecting a 2% increase year-over-year [1] - The company experienced modest organic sales growth of 0.4%, impacted negatively by a 0.8% decline from exiting private label pet sales [1] Financial Performance - The company maintained a strong position in oral care, holding a 41.2% global market share in toothpaste and 32.4% in manual toothbrushes [2] - The organic sales growth forecast for 2025 was revised down to 1%-2% from the previous 2%-4% due to softer market conditions [2] - Gross profit margin on a base business basis decreased by 190 basis points to 59.4%, and operating profit fell by 2% to $1.06 billion [2] Regional Performance - Regional performance varied, with Europe showing the strongest growth at a 7.6% sales increase, while Asia Pacific experienced a decline of 1.5% [3] - Hill's Pet Nutrition, accounting for approximately 22% of company sales, reported a 1.4% increase in net sales, although organic sales decreased by 1.3% [3] - Colgate-Palmolive reaffirmed its full-year guidance for low-single-digit EPS growth and expects the full-year gross margin to remain around the year-to-date level of 60.1% [3]