Kimberly-Clark Q4 adjusted EPS rises 24%, organic sales up 2.1%

Overview

• Consumer goods company's Q4 organic sales grew 2.1% despite a 0.6% decline in net sales

• Adjusted EPS for Q4 rose 24% yr/yr, driven by strong operating profit

• Company's strategic transformation includes exiting private label diaper business

Outlook

• Kimberly-Clark expects 2026 organic sales growth to align with or exceed 2%

• Reported net sales to be negatively impacted by 50 basis points due to diaper business exit

• Adjusted EPS from continuing operations expected to grow double-digit on constant-currency basis

Result Drivers

• VOLUME-PLUS-MIX GROWTH - Organic sales growth driven by volume-plus-mix growth of 3.0%, partially offset by price investments

• COST DISCIPLINE - Strong productivity savings and lower marketing, research, and general expenses boosted operating profit

• TRANSFORMATION INITIATIVE - Exit of private label diaper business in the US impacted net sales, part of strategic transformation

Key Details

Analyst Coverage

• The current average analyst rating on the shares is "hold" and the breakdown of recommendations is 5 "strong buy" or "buy", 11 "hold" and 1 "sell" or "strong sell"

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

• Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Kimberly-Clark Corp is $114.00, about 12.8% above its January 26 closing price of $101.06

• The stock recently traded at 13 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 16 three months ago

Press Release: ID:nPn9zlcfma

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