One-glance verdict
Undervalued
$104.40 our estimate vs market $86.80
Wall Street consensus: $98.95 (-5.2% lower than our fair-value estimate)
17% below our estimate, below the bear case
Fundamentals snapshot
Colgate-Palmolive Company
CL · NYQ · Consumer Defensive · Household & Personal Products
Current price
$86.80
52-week range
$74.55 - $99.33
Market cap
$69.19B
Balance sheet
Distressed
15.85x Strong cushion
Net debt $6.40B. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
3 Rewards
2 Risks
3 rewards · 2 risks
- Reward Revenue grew 3.3% last year.
- Reward Returns 267.4% on equity, ahead of 83% of its peers.
- Risk Stock trades 13.7% above its 5-year average P/E.
- Risk Insider ownership is only 0.1% (peer median: 0.2%).
What this company does
Colgate-Palmolive Company
Colgate-Palmolive makes household staples you likely use every day, from Colgate toothpaste and Palmolive soap to Hill's pet food for dogs and cats. The company's main business is selling these essential consumer goods, which people need to buy repeatedly no matter how the economy is doing. This creates a predictable stream of sales, making the business generally more stable than companies that sell non-essential items.
How the company got here
Colgate-Palmolive started in 1806 when William Colgate opened a small soap and candle business in New York City. A major turning point was introducing toothpaste in a collapsible tube in 1896, which made it much easier for people to use and buy. In 1928, the company merged with Palmolive-Peet, a maker of popular soaps, to become the company we know today. Another key move was acquiring Hill's Pet Nutrition in 1976, which added a completely new and science-focused business to its portfolio. Over the years, it has grown by acquiring other well-known brands like Softsoap, Tom's of Maine, and Sanex.
What it actually does
Colgate-Palmolive makes and sells a wide variety of products that people use every day to care for themselves, their homes, and their pets. You would recognize their brands in almost any supermarket or pharmacy aisle. These include things like toothpaste, toothbrushes, soaps, deodorants, and dishwashing liquids. The company also has a large business focused on specialized food for cats and dogs. They sell these items globally in over 200 countries through a mix of stores, online retailers, and professionals like dentists and veterinarians.
Oral, Personal and Home Care
This is the company's largest business, making up more than three-quarters of its sales. It includes the products most people associate with the company, like Colgate toothpaste, Palmolive dish soap, Softsoap hand soap, and Speed Stick deodorant. This segment makes money by selling these well-known consumer products to wholesalers and retailers, who then sell them to everyday shoppers. Because these are items people use and replace frequently, it creates a steady stream of business for the company.
Pet Nutrition
This part of the company operates under the Hill's Pet Nutrition brand and is a significant, growing business. It focuses on science-based and therapeutic foods for dogs and cats, which are often recommended by veterinarians. This segment sells products like Hill's Science Diet for daily nutritional needs and Hill's Prescription Diet for pets with specific health issues. The customers are pet owners who buy these premium products from vets, specialty pet stores, and online retailers.
What management is betting on now
The company's leadership is focused on growing by selling more premium and science-backed products, especially in oral care and pet nutrition. They are also investing heavily in increasing their sales online and using data to better understand what customers want. A key part of their strategy is to continue expanding in developing countries, known as emerging markets (places where the economy is growing quickly), where they already have a strong presence. Finally, they are working to make their operations more efficient to save money that can be reinvested into advertising and developing new products.
How the company got here
Colgate-Palmolive started in 1806 when William Colgate opened a small soap and candle business in New York City. A major turning point was introducing toothpaste in a collapsible tube in 1896, which made it much easier for people to use and buy. In 1928, the company merged with Palmolive-Peet, a maker of popular soaps, to become the company we know today. Another key move was acquiring Hill's Pet Nutrition in 1976, which added a completely new and science-focused business to its portfolio. Over the years, it has grown by acquiring other well-known brands like Softsoap, Tom's of Maine, and Sanex.
What it actually does
Colgate-Palmolive makes and sells a wide variety of products that people use every day to care for themselves, their homes, and their pets. You would recognize their brands in almost any supermarket or pharmacy aisle. These include things like toothpaste, toothbrushes, soaps, deodorants, and dishwashing liquids. The company also has a large business focused on specialized food for cats and dogs. They sell these items globally in over 200 countries through a mix of stores, online retailers, and professionals like dentists and veterinarians.
Oral, Personal and Home Care
This is the company's largest business, making up more than three-quarters of its sales. It includes the products most people associate with the company, like Colgate toothpaste, Palmolive dish soap, Softsoap hand soap, and Speed Stick deodorant. This segment makes money by selling these well-known consumer products to wholesalers and retailers, who then sell them to everyday shoppers. Because these are items people use and replace frequently, it creates a steady stream of business for the company.
Pet Nutrition
This part of the company operates under the Hill's Pet Nutrition brand and is a significant, growing business. It focuses on science-based and therapeutic foods for dogs and cats, which are often recommended by veterinarians. This segment sells products like Hill's Science Diet for daily nutritional needs and Hill's Prescription Diet for pets with specific health issues. The customers are pet owners who buy these premium products from vets, specialty pet stores, and online retailers.
What management is betting on now
The company's leadership is focused on growing by selling more premium and science-backed products, especially in oral care and pet nutrition. They are also investing heavily in increasing their sales online and using data to better understand what customers want. A key part of their strategy is to continue expanding in developing countries, known as emerging markets (places where the economy is growing quickly), where they already have a strong presence. Finally, they are working to make their operations more efficient to save money that can be reinvested into advertising and developing new products.
Price history
How the share price has moved
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Earnings history
Last 8 quarters — what happened
Click any quarter to read the call summary and what the numbers say.
FY2024 Q3
$1.03B
FY2024 Q4
$1.08B
FY2025 Q1
$476.00M
FY2025 Q2
$776.00M
FY2025 Q3
$1.11B
FY2025 Q4
$1.28B
FY2026 Q1
$609.00M
FY2026 Q2
$867.00M
Revenue
$5.36B
Net income
$693.00M
Diluted EPS
0.86
Operating cash flow
$995.00M
Free cash flow
$867.00M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$5.32B
Net income
$646.00M
Diluted EPS
0.80
Operating cash flow
$747.00M
Free cash flow
$609.00M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$5.23B
Net income
$-36.00M
Diluted EPS
-0.04
Operating cash flow
$1.45B
Free cash flow
$1.28B
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$5.13B
Net income
$735.00M
Diluted EPS
0.91
Operating cash flow
$1.26B
Free cash flow
$1.11B
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$5.11B
Net income
$743.00M
Diluted EPS
0.91
Operating cash flow
$884.00M
Free cash flow
$776.00M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$4.91B
Net income
$690.00M
Diluted EPS
0.85
Operating cash flow
$600.00M
Free cash flow
$476.00M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$4.95B
Net income
$738.00M
Diluted EPS
0.89
Operating cash flow
$1.27B
Free cash flow
$1.08B
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$5.03B
Net income
$737.00M
Diluted EPS
0.90
Operating cash flow
$1.17B
Free cash flow
$1.03B
Fetching…
Sources
Is it cheap or expensive?
Fair value $104.40 vs current price $86.80
Wall Street consensus is the average analyst price target: $98.95 (-5.2% lower than our fair-value estimate).
Our most-likely fair value is $104.40 a share — about 20.3% above today's price of $86.80, so the stock currently looks cheap (undervalued).
Is it drowning in debt?
Distressed
Net debt $6.4B. Interest coverage 15.9x.
Net debt
$6.40B
Interest coverage
15.85x
Colgate-Palmolive Company's profit covers its interest bill about 15.9 times over. which is stronger than most peers shown here.
Distressed
Worse cushion
Baseline
Better cushion
CL
BASELINE
Colgate-Palmolive Company
Total debt $7.86B Interest coverage 15.85x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt $35.02B Interest coverage 22.52x +42% vs CL Carries about 1.4x more debt cushion than CL.
Total debt $6.54B Interest coverage 9.18x -42% vs CL Carries about 1.7x less debt cushion than CL.
Total debt $37.25B Interest coverage 9.22x -42% vs CL Carries about 1.7x less debt cushion than CL.
Total debt $2.43B Interest coverage 11.32x -29% vs CL Carries about 1.4x less debt cushion than CL.
Total debt $5.60B Interest coverage 6.82x -57% vs CL Carries about 2.3x less debt cushion than CL.
What you should know
The case for and against CL
3 Rewards
2 Risks
Rewards
-
Revenue grew 3.3% last year.
-
Returns 267.4% on equity, ahead of 83% of its peers.
-
Free cash flow was positive in 10/10 years.
Risks
-
Stock trades 13.7% above its 5-year average P/E.
-
Insider ownership is only 0.1% (peer median: 0.2%).
The numbers
All the key metrics, grouped by purpose
Tap any ? icon to learn what it means.
Valuation
How expensive the stock looks
P/E (TTM)
34.58x
Forward P/E
21.13x
P/B
293.24x
P/S
3.29x
EV/EBITDA
15.24x
PEG ratio
1.60x
Profitability
How much profit each dollar creates
Gross margin
60.4%
Operating margin
21.0%
Net margin
9.7%
ROE
267.4%
ROA
15.8%
Health
Liquidity and balance-sheet strength
Debt / equity
13.88x
Current ratio
1.03x
Quick ratio
0.56x
Total debt
$7.86B
Total cash
$1.45B
Growth
How the business has been compounding
Revenue TTM
$21.05B
Revenue 5Y CAGR
4.0%
EPS TTM
2.51
EPS 5Y CAGR
7.3%
Cash flow
How much cash the business throws off
Operating CF TTM
$4.46B
Free CF TTM
$3.63B
FCF margin
17.3%
Dividend
Shareholder payout
Yield
2.4%
Payout ratio
82.3%
Last ex-div date
2026-07-20