CL
Colgate-Palmolive Company
CL's fundamentals are mixed, but it looks expensive: trading at 38x earnings, above its usual 29x. Analysts expect earnings growth.
CL Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy |
CL's cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue and profitability are stable.
CL PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 25x | $63.39 | -35% |
| Forward | 25x | $97.90 | — |
| Fair | 28x | $72.66 | -26% |
| Expensive | 35x | $90.47 | -7.6% |
| Current | 38x | $97.90 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
CL's PE is in its expensive range at 38x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 25x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
CL Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect CL's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady.
CL Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $4.00 | +56% |
| Q3 2026 | $2.56 | -28% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.53 | -29% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.58 | -27% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.63 | -25% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.56 | +2.3% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.55 | +3.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $3.53 | +12% |
| Q4 2024 | $3.51 | +27% |
CL's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $2.56 over the past year, against $3.56 in late 2025.
CL Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $5.4B | +4.6% |
| Q2 2026 | $5.4B | +4.9% |
| Q1 2026 | $5.3B | +8.4% |
| Q4 2025 | $5.2B | +5.8% |
| Q3 2025 | $5.1B | +1.9% |
| Q2 2025 | $5.1B | +1% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.9B | -3% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.9B | -0.1% |
CL's revenue has grown year over year for six quarters in a row: $5.4B last quarter, up 4.6% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 20% | -0.4 points |
| Q2 2026 | 19% | -2.2 points |
| Q1 2026 | 18% | -3.8 points |
| Q4 2025 | 1.8% | -20 points |
| Q3 2025 | 21% | -0.5 points |
| Q2 2025 | 21% | -0.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 22% | +1.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 22% | -0.2 points |
CL's operating margin was 20% last quarter, about level with the same quarter a year ago.
CL Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1B | -6.2% |
| Q2 2026 | $867M | +12% |
| Q1 2026 | $609M | +28% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.3B | +18% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.1B | +7.1% |
| Q2 2025 | $776M | -11% |
| Q1 2025 | $476M | -14% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.1B | +16% |
CL's free cash flow has been positive every quarter for seven years: $3.8B over the past year, up 10% from the year before.
CL Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.3% | -2.1M shares |
| 1 year | -1.3% | -10.5M shares |
| 3 years | -3.3% | -27.6M shares |
| 5 years | -5.5% | -46.7M shares |
| Available history | -7.1% | -61.4M shares |
CL has 800M diluted shares, down 1.3% from a year ago, with $1.3B in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $330M |
| Q2 2026 | $291M |
| Q1 2026 | $306M |
| Q4 2025 | $406M |
| Q3 2025 | $288M |
| Q2 2025 | $232M |
| Q1 2025 | $284M |
| Q4 2024 | $455M |
CL spent $1.3B buying back its own shares over the past year, up 5.9% from the year before.
CL Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.4x | Healthy |
CL's net debt is about 1.5 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 1.2 years a year ago.
CL Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 65.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 77.5 | Neutral |
CL's weekly RSI is 65 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 78 (neutral).
CL PE vs Consumer Defensive Sector
| Metric | CL | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 38x | 19x | 96% above |
| PE % | 90 | 18 | 72 pts above |
CL is trading at 38x earnings, a 96% premium to the Consumer Defensive sector's median of 19x.
CL Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $92.1 | 6.3% above |
| 20 week MA | $91.5 | 7.1% above |
| 50 week MA | $88.9 | 10% above |
| 100 week MA | $88.0 | 11% above |
| 200 week MA | $86.3 | 13% above |
CL is in an uptrend: it's above all five of its weekly moving averages, and 13% above its 200-week average.
CL Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $69.2 | $85.0 | +23% |
| 2021 | $85.0 | $82.8 | -2.6% |
| 2022 | $82.8 | $79.5 | -4% |
| 2023 | $79.5 | $79.7 | +0.3% |
| 2024 | $79.7 | $91.8 | +15% |
| 2025 | $91.8 | $79.7 | -13% |
| 2026 YTD | $79.7 | $97.9 | +23% |
CL has finished lower in three of the last six years. It's up 23% so far in 2026.