Colgate Raises Its Earnings Outlook as International Sales Carry the Quarter

Colgate-Palmolive beat third-quarter expectations on Friday, reporting Base Business earnings per share of $0.97 against a $0.93 consensus estimate.

Colgate-Palmolive reported third-quarter 2026 results on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, for the three months ended Sept. 30.

Colgate-Palmolive sells oral, personal and home care products and Hill's pet food worldwide. Its shares trade in New York under the ticker CL.

A cleaner profit on both bases

Reported earnings per share, on a GAAP basis, were $0.94, up 3%. GAAP is the standard United States accounting basis.

Base Business earnings per share were $0.97, up 7%. Base Business is the company's non-GAAP basis, excluding items such as program charges.

Net income attributable to Colgate-Palmolive was $751 million. A year earlier it was $735 million, the release said.

Analysts had expected adjusted earnings of $0.93 per share, according to FactSet, the Wall Street Journal reported. The delivered Base Business figure cleared that view.

Gross profit margin reached 60.2% on a GAAP basis, up 80 basis points. A basis point is one hundredth of a percentage point.

On a Base Business basis, gross margin was 60.3%, up 90 basis points.

Operating profit was $1.09 billion on a GAAP basis. On a Base Business basis it was $1.12 billion, up 5%.

Growth came from pricing and volume together

Net sales were $5.37 billion, up 4.6% from a year earlier. Sales came in ahead of Wall Street estimates, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Organic sales rose 3.6% in the quarter. Organic sales strip out foreign exchange, acquisitions and divestments.

Volume rose 1.7% and pricing rose 2.0%. Foreign exchange added 1.0% to net sales growth, the release said.

That growth included a 0.2% drag from lower private label pet food sales.

Colgate also notched its fourth consecutive quarter of volume growth, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Advertising rose to $775 million in the quarter, from $674 million a year earlier. The company said it kept investing behind its brands.

North America was the exception

Sales rose in every region except North America, the Wall Street Journal reported.

North America net sales fell 1.7% to $905 million. Organic sales there fell 1.6%, as volume dropped 3.7%.

“The U.S. market backdrop remains challenging,” Chief Executive Noel Wallace said, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Latin America net sales rose 12.5% to $1.33 billion. Organic sales there rose 6.0%.

Europe, Middle East and Africa net sales rose 1.4% to $1.13 billion. Asia Pacific net sales rose 3.5% to $802 million.

Hill's Pet Nutrition net sales rose 5.6% to $1.21 billion. Organic sales at Hill's rose 5.7%, the release said.

Toothpaste leadership continued, with global market share at 41.4% year to date. Manual toothbrush share was 33.1%, the release said.

Guidance narrowed, and the profit view rose

The company announced narrower full-year sales guidance on Friday. It now expects net sales growth of 4% to 5% in 2026.

That replaces a prior range of 2% to 6%. The new range includes a low-single-digit positive foreign exchange impact, the release said.

Organic sales growth is now expected to be broadly in line with the nine-month performance. The prior view was growth of 1% to 4%, the release said.

On a Base Business basis, the company now expects earnings per share growth of 5% to 7%. That replaces a mid-single-digit growth view, the release said.

Gross profit margin is now expected to be up on both a GAAP and a Base Business basis. The prior view on both bases was roughly flat, the release said.

GAAP earnings per share growth is still expected to be double-digit. That part of the outlook was announced unchanged, the release said.

Wallace expects the “very stubborn cost environment” to persist through the fourth quarter. It is also expected into early next year, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Cash and the balance sheet

Net cash provided by operations was $2.91 billion in the first nine months. That is a nine-month figure, not a third-quarter figure.

Free cash flow before dividends was $2.51 billion over the same nine months. The measure is operating cash flow less capital expenditures.

Total debt was $7.72 billion at Sept. 30. At the end of 2025 it was $7.99 billion, the release's balance sheet showed.

Cash and cash equivalents were $1.53 billion at Sept. 30.

Shares rose on Friday afternoon

Colgate shares traded at $95.30 at 3:49 p.m. Eastern time on Friday, up 2.29% on the day, according to StockAnalysis data. That afternoon snapshot is the single reaction figure used here.

What remains unknown

What remains unknown is whether North America volume recovers from a 3.7% drop. Pricing there rose, but shoppers bought less.

Also unknown is how long elevated raw material, packaging and shipping costs persist. Management called the cost environment very stubborn.

What to watch is the fourth quarter against the narrower sales range. Investors will also watch whether the raised Base Business profit view survives those costs.