New York-based Colgate-Palmolive Company (CL) is a global leader in the oral care hygiene market. It produces and distributions household, healthcare and personal care products. With a market cap of $73.5 billion, Colgate operates through Oral, Personal & Home Care and Pet Nutrition segments.
The oral hygiene giant has lagged behind the broader market over the past year, but has outpaced it in 2025. CL stock prices have observed a marginal 10 bps uptick on a YTD basis and dipped 2.3% over the 52 weeks, compared to the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 4.7% dip in 2025 and 8.2% gains over the past year.
Narrowing the focus, CL has also underperformed the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLP) 3.5% gains on a YTD basis and 7.2% returns over the past year.
Colgate-Palmolive’s stock prices gained 1.3% after the release of its better-than-expected Q1 results on Apr. 25. The company’s topline was severely impacted by currency headwinds and lower private label pet volume; its net sales for the quarter dropped 3.1% year-over-year to $4.9 billion. But this figure surpassed the Street’s estimates by 1.2%. Meanwhile, its adjusted EPS increased 5.8% year-over-year to $0.91, exceeding the consensus estimates by a notable margin. However, following the initial uptick, CL stock prices dropped 3.1% in the next trading session.
For the current fiscal year 2025, ending in December, analysts expect CL to report a 1.4% year-over-year increase in adjusted EPS to $3.65. Meanwhile, the company has a solid earnings surprise history. It has surpassed the Street’s bottom-line estimates in each of the past four quarters.
The stock holds a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating overall. Of the 22 analysts covering the CL stock, opinions include 11 “Strong Buys,” two “Moderate Buys,” seven “Holds,” and two “Strong Sells.”
This configuration has been mostly stable over the past three months.
On Apr. 28, Citigroup (C) analyst Filippo Falorni maintained a “Buy” rating on CL, while raising the price target from $103 to $108.
CL’s mean price target of $99.14 represents a premium of 8.9% to current price levels, while its street-high target of $110 suggests a 20.9% potential upside.
