Kimberly-Clark Q3 sales, EPS flat; margins hit by pricing and cost inflation

Overview

• Kimberly-Clark Q3 net sales of $4.2 bln, in line with prior year

• Adjusted EPS for Q3 was $1.82, broadly in line with prior year

• Gross margin decreased 170 basis points due to pricing and cost inflation

Outlook

• Company expects 2025 organic sales growth to align with 2% category growth

• Reported net sales to be negatively impacted by currency and divestitures

• 2025 adjusted operating profit to grow at low single-digit rate

Result Drivers

• INNOVATION-LED GROWTH - Co attributes Q3 organic sales increase to 2.4% volume growth driven by new product innovations

• COST MANAGEMENT - Effective cost management and productivity gains helped offset gross margin pressures from pricing and cost inflation

• MARKET SHARE STABILITY - Co maintained global weighted share, reflecting brand strength across geographies

Key Details

Analyst Coverage

• The current average analyst rating on the shares is "hold" and the breakdown of recommendations is 6 "strong buy" or "buy", 13 "hold" and 1 "sell" or "strong sell"

• The average consensus recommendation for the personal products peer group is "hold"

• Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Kimberly-Clark Corp is $141.00, about 17.2% above its October 29 closing price of $116.70

• The stock recently traded at 15 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 18 three months ago

Press Release: ID:nPnDmn3Za

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