Colgate-Palmolive Company (CL) — Fundamental Analysis & Key Financial Ratios

Kaplio's reading: Colgate-Palmolive Company

Updated on October 26, 2026 · accounts published on July 31, 2026

Reading of October 23, 2026: A highly profitable staples business whose earnings and margins have slipped

Colgate-Palmolive trades at a P/E of 37.3, 67 % above its sector median, while EPS fell 25 % over the last 12 months.

• Is Colgate-Palmolive expensive or cheap? At a P/E of 37.3 over the last 12 months, Colgate-Palmolive trades 67 % above its sector median of 22.4.
• How is the business doing? Revenue grew just 1.4 % over the last 12 months while EPS fell 25 %, and the operating margin slipped to 20.7 %.
• How strong is the balance sheet? Net debt was 1.7× EBITDA in fiscal 2025, under the 2.5× sector ceiling, but the dividend absorbed 86 % of earnings.
• What to expect from the next earnings? Analysts expect EPS of $0.93 when Colgate-Palmolive reports on October 30, 2026, after 8 straight quarterly beats.
• Is it as stable as the sector promises? Colgate-Palmolive passes 3 of 8 consumer staples checks; dividend growth of 3.1 % a year since 2015 misses the 6 % bar.

Is Colgate-Palmolive expensive or cheap?

Colgate-Palmolive trades at a P/E of 37.3 over the last 12 months, 33 % above its ten-year median of 28.0. It has traded at a lower P/E in 92 % of the past decade, within a range of 21.8 to 48.4. Against the consumer staples sector, where the median is 22.4, the gap is wider. An EV/EBITDA of 21.2× points the same way. The free cash flow yield of 5.8 % looks better than the 3.4 % earnings yield because cash generation runs ahead of reported profit. After a 21 % gain over 12 months, the stock sits 5 % below its 52-week high of $99.14.

How is the business doing?

Sales are barely moving: revenue rose 1.4 % over the last 12 months, while earnings per share dropped 25 % year on year. The operating margin of 20.7 % over the last 12 months is below fiscal 2025 (21.3 %) and the 2014-2025 average of 23.3 %, so profitability is drifting down rather than collapsing. The capital the business uses still earns a lot. ROIC of 30 % over the last 12 months is 21 points above the sector median of 9 %, and it has stayed above 10 % in each of the last 10 fiscal years.

How strong is the balance sheet?

Debt looks manageable when measured against earnings power. Net debt came to $8.62 per share in fiscal 2025, about 9 % of the current price, and 1.7× EBITDA, inside the 2.5× level considered healthy for consumer staples. The Altman Z-score of 6.8 over the last 12 months is in the safe zone, and the Piotroski score is 6 of 9. Debt to equity of 33.3 and a price to book of 317.4× reflect a very thin equity base, so those ratios say little here. The tighter point is the dividend: a 2.2 % yield, raised for 5 straight years, took 86 % of fiscal 2025 earnings.

What to expect from the next earnings?

Colgate-Palmolive reports on October 30, 2026, and the consensus calls for quarterly EPS of $0.93. The company has beaten the EPS estimate in each of the last 8 quarters. On July 31, 2026 it delivered $0.99 against $0.95 expected, a 4.5 % beat. Expectations are steady: over the last 30 days the 2026 EPS consensus barely moved, from $3.87 to $3.86 across 11 analysts, and the revenue consensus held. Of the 45 analysts covering the stock, 18 rate it a buy, 25 a hold and 2 a sell. With the P/E well above its decade median, the margin trend matters more than another beat.

Is it as stable as the sector promises?

Consumer staples are the dull businesses Buffett favours. Investors want stability and a rising dividend rather than fast growth, so the checks focus on margins, cash conversion, payout and dividend growth. Colgate-Palmolive clears the quality tests: a 60 % gross margin in fiscal 2025 against a 35 % floor, and free cash flow at 171 % of net income against a 90 % bar. The income tests are weaker. Dividend growth averaged 3.1 % a year over 2015-2025, below the 6 % healthy level, and EPS grew 5.6 % a year, just short of it. An 86 % payout leaves little room to speed up, and ROE of 6.3 % misses the 15 % threshold.

How this was prepared: the data comes from companies' official filings, collected by a professional provider, and from Kaplio's analysis engine (trailing-12-month ratios, 10 years of history and sector medians computed across US-listed companies). The text is written from that data alone, every figure is checked against it before publication, and it is reviewed when the company reports results. This is not investment advice.