Colgate-Palmolive vs Kimberly-Clark
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The short version
- Colgate-Palmolive is the larger business, with $20.4B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $16.4B for Kimberly-Clark.
- Colgate-Palmolive grew revenue faster (1.4%, against −2.1%).
- Colgate-Palmolive kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (16.2% operating margin, against 14.3%).
- Colgate-Palmolive turned more of its sales into free cash flow (17.8% FCF margin, against 10.0%).
- Colgate-Palmolive earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (37.3%, against 21.5%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Colgate-Palmolive’s earnings: a P/E of 37.2x against 18.7x for Kimberly-Clark.
| Latest fiscal year | CL · FY25 | KMB · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $75.4B | $36.7B |
| Revenue | $20.4B | $16.4B |
| Free cash flow | $3.6B | $1.6B |
| Net income | $2.1B | $2.0B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 1.4% | −2.1% |
| 5-year growth | 4.4% | −3.0% |
| Share count change | −1.5% | −1.1% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 60.1% | 36.0% |
| Operating margin | 16.2% | 14.3% |
| Net margin | 10.5% | 12.3% |
| FCF margin | 17.8% | 10.0% |
| Return on capital | 37.3% | 21.5% |
| Return on equity | — | 172.6% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $6.4B | $6.5B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 1.6x | 2.1x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $3.0B | $1.8B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 37.2x | 18.7x |
| Piotroski F-score | 5 | 6 |
Revenue
FY16
CL $15.2B
KMB $18.3B
FY17
CL $15.5B
KMB $18.3B
FY18
CL $15.5B
KMB $18.5B
FY19
CL $15.7B
KMB $18.5B
FY20
CL $16.5B
KMB $19.1B
FY21
CL $17.4B
KMB $19.4B
FY22
CL $18.0B
KMB $20.2B
FY23
CL $19.5B
KMB $17.1B
FY24
CL $20.1B
KMB $16.8B
FY25
CL $20.4B
KMB $16.4B
CL
KMB
Operating margin
FY16
CL 26.0%
KMB 18.5%
FY17
CL 24.0%
KMB 18.3%
FY18
CL 23.8%
KMB 12.1%
FY19
CL 22.7%
KMB 16.2%
FY20
CL 23.6%
KMB 17.0%
FY21
CL 19.1%
KMB 13.2%
FY22
CL 16.1%
KMB 13.3%
FY23
CL 20.5%
KMB 11.2%
FY24
CL 21.2%
KMB 16.1%
FY25
CL 16.2%
KMB 14.3%
CL
KMB
Free cash flow
FY16
CL $2.5B
KMB $2.5B
FY17
CL $2.5B
KMB $2.1B
FY18
CL $2.6B
KMB $2.1B
FY19
CL $2.8B
KMB $1.5B
FY20
CL $3.3B
KMB $2.5B
FY21
CL $2.8B
KMB $1.7B
FY22
CL $1.9B
KMB $1.9B
FY23
CL $3.0B
KMB $2.8B
FY24
CL $3.5B
KMB $2.5B
FY25
CL $3.6B
KMB $1.6B
CL
KMB
Return on capital
FY16
CL 50.9%
KMB 33.6%
FY17
CL 44.0%
KMB 34.4%
FY18
CL 49.2%
KMB 22.7%
FY19
CL 41.6%
KMB 32.6%
FY20
CL 41.1%
KMB 30.4%
FY21
CL 33.9%
KMB 22.4%
FY22
CL 26.5%
KMB 23.8%
FY23
CL 34.3%
KMB 19.2%
FY24
CL 45.9%
KMB 29.9%
FY25
CL 37.3%
KMB 21.5%
CL
KMB
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.