10-Q · May 1, 2026
Colgate-Palmolive reported Q1 2026 earnings with revenue of $5.324 billion, exceeding estimates of $5.212 billion, but EPS fell short at $0.80 against an expected $0.95. The company highlighted strong sales growth in…
Earnings analysis · 10-Q
CL earnings analysis
Filed October 30, 2026 · Our reading of the company's report
The latest report
Colgate-Palmolive delivered $5.369 billion of third-quarter revenue and $0.94 diluted EPS, exceeding consensus estimates of $5.333 billion and $0.92. Revenue and EPS increased versus both Q2 2026 and Q3 2025, while…
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Colgate-Palmolive delivered $5.369 billion of third-quarter revenue and $0.94 diluted EPS, exceeding consensus estimates of $5.333 billion and $0.92. Revenue and EPS increased versus both Q2 2026 and Q3 2025, while gross margin improved year over year to 60.2% despite a sequential decline. Management raised Base Business EPS growth guidance to 5%-7% and gross-margin expectations, supporting a bullish assessment, although the filing reported no material changes to the risk factors in the 2025 Form 10-K.
Reported figures
- Earnings per share
- $0.94
- Gross margin
- 60.2%
What stood out
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Revenue grew sequentially and year over year
Third-quarter revenue was $5.369 billion, up approximately $9 million, or 0.2%, from $5.36 billion in Q2 2026 and up approximately $239 million, or 4.7%, from $5.13 billion in Q3 2025.
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EPS beat estimates and prior periods
Diluted EPS was $0.94, up $0.08 from $0.86 in Q2 2026 and $0.03 from $0.91 in Q3 2025; EPS also exceeded the $0.92 consensus estimate by $0.02.
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Gross margin improved year over year
Gross margin was 60.2%, down 1.3 percentage points from 61.5% in Q2 2026 but up 0.8 percentage points from 59.4% in Q3 2025.
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Full-year outlook improved
FY2026 Base Business EPS growth guidance was raised to 5%-7% from prior mid-single-digit growth, while net sales growth guidance was narrowed to 4%-5% from 2%-6%.
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Meaningful share repurchases continued
The company repurchased 3,680,167 shares during the quarter at an average price of $89.70, with approximately $3,228 million remaining under publicly announced programs at September 30, 2026.
What to watch
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No new risk-factor disclosure
The filing states there were no material changes from the risk factors in the 2025 Form 10-K, providing no new disclosure to reduce existing operating, currency, commodity, or execution risks.
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Ongoing repurchase commitments
The company’s $5 billion 2025 share-repurchase authorization had approximately $3,228 million remaining after 3,361,109 program shares were repurchased during the quarter, creating ongoing capital-allocation and liquidity exposure.
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Sequential margin pressure
Gross margin declined 1.3 percentage points sequentially to 60.2%, despite improving 0.8 percentage points year over year, indicating continued quarter-to-quarter cost or mix volatility.
Management's outlook
Management raised FY2026 Base Business EPS growth guidance to 5%-7% from prior mid-single-digit growth. FY2026 net sales growth guidance was narrowed to 4%-5% from 2%-6%; organic sales growth is expected to be broadly in line with the 3.0% nine-month performance. GAAP and Base Business gross-margin guidance was raised from roughly flat to up.
Earlier filings 1
This is our reading of a public filing, not the filing itself. Analysis can contain errors; check the source document for full context.