Procter & Gamble vs Colgate-Palmolive: Two Consumer Giants, Two Strategies, One Invests, Other Optimizes

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) and Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) some posted apical and bottommost enactment beats successful their astir caller quarters.

PG's fiscal Q3 2026 leaned connected Beauty and wide determination strength. Colgate's Q1 2026 leaned connected Latin America and Hill's Pet. Same shelf, precise antithetic engines.

Beauty Powers P&G. Latin America Powers Colgate.

P&G's header was breadth. Revenue of $21.23 cardinal roseate 7.4% YoY, and each 1 of the 5 segments grew. Beauty led with 11% reported growth, powered by Hair Care, Skin Care and premium play SK-II, which the CFO said grew 18% wide with double-digit gains successful China.

Core EPS of $1.59 bushed consensus, the 4th consecutive 4th of doing so. The catch: halfway gross borderline fell 100 ground points connected tariffs and mix, and currency-neutral halfway EPS was flat.

Colgate's communicative was geographic imbalance. Total gross of $5.32 cardinal grew 8.4% YoY, with Latin America up 14.8% and Europe up 11.9%. North America went the different way, sliding 1.8% connected a 3.2% measurement decline.

CEO Noel Wallace said "North America was going to instrumentality immoderate time" and pointed to precocious support resets and heavier rival couponing. Hill's Pet Nutrition kept humming, up 6.7% with a boost from Prime100.

One Reinvests Into Momentum. One Restructures Harder.

CEO Shailesh Jejurikar said P&G is "increasing investments to accelerate momentum with consumers contempt the challenging geopolitical and economical environment".

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That framing runs done Tide Evo, the biggest look upgrade successful 25 years, and Mr. Clean innovation delivering 18x just stock of bath cleaning class maturation since launch. Tariffs sting to the tune of astir $400 cardinal after-tax, and absorption present guides to the debased extremity of the $6.83 to $7.09 halfway EPS range.