ii view: P&G bullish as new chief executive named

Fourth-quarter (Q4) and Full-Year (FY) results to 30 June

• Q4 Net sales up 2% to $20.9 billion
• FY net sales flat at $84.3 billion
• Q4 currency adjusted core earnings per share (EPS) up 5% to $1.47
• Quarterly dividend unchanged from Q3 at $1.0568 per share

Guidance:

• Expects adjusted or organic full-year 2026 sales growth of between flat to up 4%
• Expects adjusted or core earnings per share growth of between flat to up 4%

Chief executive Jon Moeller said:

“We grew sales and profit in fiscal 2025 and returned high levels of cash to shareowners in a dynamic, difficult and volatile environment.”

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ii round-up:

Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG) today forecast sales growth for the year ahead that exceeded Wall Street expectations, with the news coming just hours after had it had appointed a new chief executive. 

Full-year 2025 sales remained little changed from a year ago at $84.3 billion, with the maker of goods such as Ariel and Gillette razors estimating sales growth for the 2026 year ahead of up to 4%. Analysts had been estimating growth of around 2.6%. 

Shares in the Dow Jones company rose 1% in early US trading having come into these latest results down around 6% so far in 2025. That’s similar to rival consumer goods maker Colgate-Palmolive Co (NYSE:CL). The Dow Jones index is up 5% year-to-date. 

P&G also competes against the likes of Unilever (LSE:ULVR), making and selling an array of branded personal consumer goods products such as shampoos and home care items like washing powder. Shailesh Jejurikar, who joined P&G in 1989 with promotion to the global leadership team in 2014, will lead the company from the beginning of 2026. 

Fourth-quarter sales to late June rose 2% to $20.9 billion, helping push adjusted or core earnings up 5% to $1.47 per share. Organic sales growth of 2% in healthcare products such as toothpaste led the way during this latest quarter.

P&G returned over $16 billion to shareholders during the full-year 2025 via $9.9 billion in dividend payments and $6.5 billion of share repurchases. A quarterly dividend payment of $1.0568 per share is unchanged from the prior quarter although with the payment in April raised by 5%. 

ii view:

Tracing its history back to 1837, P&G today employs more than 105,000 people across 70 countries. The Cincinnati headquartered company operates across the five divisions of Beauty, Grooming, Healthcare, Fabric and Homecare, and Baby, Feminine & Family Care.  Other group brands include Tide, Febreze, Always, Pantene, Pampers, and Tampax. Geographically, the USA is its biggest market at just under a half of all sales with the rest of the world the balance.  

For investors, elevated borrowing costs pressuring disposable consumer income may continue to see shoppers seeking cheaper supermarket own branded alternatives. Volatility in raw material costs given ongoing US trade talks and continued global geopolitical tensions should not be forgotten. Sizeable sales overseas mean currency moves are a feature, while the impact of product chemicals and packaging on the environment continues to warrant consideration.

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To the upside, P&G’s long list of household goods feature regularly for shoppers across the globe. Management initiatives to sharpen productivity and reduce costs are ongoing. Wide geographical diversity should help positives for one region counter challenges for another, while more than 65 years of consecutive annual dividend increases puts the shares on a forecast dividend yield of around 2.6%.

In all, and despite ongoing risks, this consumer goods giant looks to remain worthy of its place in many diversified long-term focused investment portfolios.    

Positives: 

• Product and geographical diversity
• Progressive dividend policy

Negatives:

• Uncertain economic outlook
• Currency movements can hinder performance

The average rating of stock market analysts:

Buy