Church & Dwight tops quarterly profit estimates on stable demand for household staples

Church & Dwight

30/01/2026 13:55

Jan 30 (Reuters) - Church & Dwight CHD.N beat Wall Street expectations for quarterly profit on Friday, boosted by steady demand for affordable and premium household goods such as laundry detergent and personal care products.

Shares of the OxiClean maker, which expects 2026 gross margin to expand about 100 basis points from last year, were up 3.3% in premarket trading.

U.S. consumer goods companies have leaned on product innovation, higher promotions and aggressive marketing to counter a weakening consumer backdrop amid still-high inflation and macroeconomic uncertainties.

Peer Colgate-Palmolive CL.N also gave an upbeat annual sales forecast on Thursday on the back of firm demand for branded essentials.

Church & Dwight has spent the past year reshaping its portfolio, exiting its dietary supplements, Flawless grooming tools and Waterpik showerhead businesses to focus resources on faster-growing value and premium categories.

The maker of Arm & Hammer liquid laundry detergent and Therabreath mouthwash reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of 86 cents per share, above analysts' estimate of 84 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG.

A balanced portfolio of value and premium products and operational discipline helped drive share gains in several categories despite a mixed consumer and macroeconomic environment, CEO Rick Dierker said.

Church & Dwight's organic consumer domestic sales were down 0.1% during the quarter, while its international and specialty products were up 3.6% and 2.8% each.

The New Jersey-based company expects volume-driven organic sales growth of about 3% to 4% for 2026 and also sees sales declining 1.5% to 0.5%, impacted by business exits last year.

It expects full-year adjusted earnings growth of 5% to 8% for 2026, the midpoint of which is slightly below analysts' estimate of 6.6%.

Its quarterly net sales came in at $1.64 billion, in line with analysts' estimates.

 (Reporting by Angela Christy in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)

 ((AngelaChristy.M@thomsonreuters.com;))