Colgate-Palmolive (CL) Q3 2026: Six Straight Beats and a Raised Margin Outlook
As seen on the 24/7 Wall St. homepage on October 30, 2026.
Management raised full-year Base Business EPS growth guidance to 5% to 7% and now guides to gross margin expansion, after exceeding expectations for a sixth straight quarter. Latin America net sales growth offset a North America volume decline. The margin upgrade is the part a defensive staples holder cannot ignore.
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Colgate-Palmolive beat Wall Street's EPS estimate for the sixth consecutive quarter, with adjusted earnings of $0.97 per share exceeding expectations. Revenue also came in ahead of expectations on organic sales growth.
Base Business gross margin expanded 90 basis points even as the company raised advertising spending, a combination that points to operating leverage for long-term holders.
Latin America net sales rose 12.5% and Hill's Pet Nutrition kept growing, while North America volumes and operating profit fell. That soft spot is worth monitoring: it is the company's highest-margin region.
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Management raised full-year Base Business EPS growth guidance to 5% to 7% from a prior mid-single-digit target, and now forecasts gross margin expansion on both a GAAP and adjusted basis.
CEO Noel Wallace pointed to four consecutive quarters of sequential improvement in worldwide volume growth as evidence the company's 2030 strategy is gaining traction. With six straight beats now on record and guidance moving higher, the bar for the fourth quarter is set meaningfully above where it was just three months ago.
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