Colgate-Palmolive CEO Expects Tepid US Demand But Sees Sequential Gains: ‘Consumer Still Remains Relatively Weak Across North America’

• CEO Noel Wallace said that consumer remains relatively weak across North America.
• Wallace noted that category takeaway in the U.S., particularly in September, was slightly softer than anticipated and softer than preceding months.
• The company stated that it now expects organic sales growth to be 1% to 2%, down from the previously forecast sales coming in at the low end of 2% to 4%.

Colgate-Palmolive (CL) CEO Noel Wallace stated that the company’s categories were slightly weaker in North America during the third quarter, but noted that performance improved sequentially, and the company expects this trend to continue.

“Consumer still remains relatively weak across North America … We're seeing higher levels of couponing. Hispanic traffic is still down,” Wallace said during a post-earnings call.

Retail sentiment on Colgate-Palmolive remained unchanged in the ‘bullish’ territory, with message volumes at ‘high’ levels, according to data from Stocktwits.

U.S. Sluggishness

Wallace noted that category takeaway in the U.S., particularly in September, was slightly softer than anticipated and softer than preceding months.

“We expect that to continue … we're anticipating a continued sluggishness, but we're making the changes necessary to stimulate growth not only for our business but for the categories,” Wallace said. 

He noted that in Europe, the company was experiencing slightly lower pricing than before, with Western Europe performing strongly and some incremental weakness in Eastern Europe, particularly in Poland. 

Colgate-Palmolive’s Q3 Results

Shares of the company were down nearly 1% in morning trading after Colgate-Palmolive said that it now expects organic sales growth to be 1% to 2%, versus the previously forecast low end of 2% to 4%.

Colgate-Palmolive’s third-quarter net sales came in at $5.13 billion, in line with Wall Street expectations. Its quarterly adjusted earnings per share were $0.91, topping estimates of $0.89, according to data compiled by Fiscal AI.

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive have declined nearly 19% in the last 12 months.

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