Company Description
Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE: CL) is a global consumer products manufacturer focused on four main categories: Oral Care, Personal Care, Home Care and Pet Nutrition. According to the company’s own descriptions in recent press releases, Colgate-Palmolive sells its products in more than 200 countries and territories and is recognized for its focus on a healthier future for people, their pets and the planet. The company’s common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CL, and it has paid uninterrupted dividends on its common stock since 1895.
Business Focus and Product Categories
Colgate-Palmolive states that it is a "caring, innovative growth company" centered on everyday consumer products. Its Oral Care portfolio includes the Colgate brand and other oral care brands such as elmex, hello, meridol, Sorriso and Tom’s of Maine. In Personal Care, the company highlights brands such as Palmolive, Irish Spring, Lady Speed Stick, PCA SKIN, Protex, Sanex and Softsoap. The Home Care category features brands including Ajax, Axion, Fabuloso, Murphy, Soupline and Suavitel. In Pet Nutrition, Colgate-Palmolive owns Hill’s, which markets Hill’s Science Diet, Hill’s Prescription Diet and Prime100 pet nutrition products.
In addition to these brands, Colgate-Palmolive’s press materials reference skin health brands such as EltaMD and Filorga, which are associated with its personal care and skin health offerings. The company describes itself as selling products for people and pets that are used in daily routines, from oral hygiene to home cleaning and pet feeding.
Global Reach and Sales Mix
Company statements note that Colgate-Palmolive sells its products in more than 200 countries and territories. Earlier descriptive information indicates that international sales account for a significant portion of total business, and that the company’s products are present in both developed and emerging markets. The firm’s Hill’s pet nutrition business is described as a specialty pet food maker, with a majority of its products sold through veterinarians and specialty pet retailers.
Financial Profile, Dividends and Capital Allocation
Colgate-Palmolive regularly reports its financial results and guidance through earnings press releases and related webcasts. In its full year 2024 results release, the company reported that it delivered over $20 billion in net sales for the year and highlighted organic sales growth across all four of its categories. The company also emphasizes metrics such as organic sales growth, gross profit margin and base business earnings per share, and explains the use of non-GAAP measures like "Base Business" and "organic sales growth" to describe underlying performance.
Colgate-Palmolive’s Board of Directors has declared regular quarterly cash dividends for many years, and the company states that it has paid uninterrupted dividends on its common stock since 1895. In a March 2025 announcement, the Board increased the quarterly common stock cash dividend and also authorized a share repurchase program with an aggregate purchase price authorization of up to $5 billion, replacing a prior program. The company describes these actions as a continuation of its history of returning cash to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.
Debt Securities and Capital Markets Activity
In an 8-K filing dated November 10, 2025, Colgate-Palmolive reported that it executed an underwriting agreement for the issuance and sale of €600,000,000 aggregate principal amount of 3.250% Senior Notes due 2035. The filing notes that the offering was made under an automatic shelf registration statement on Form S-3 and that the notes were issued under an existing indenture with The Bank of New York Mellon as trustee. The company also lists several series of notes registered on the New York Stock Exchange, including 0.500% Notes due 2026, 0.300% Notes due 2029, 1.375% Notes due 2034 and 0.875% Notes due 2039.
Geographic and Segment Reporting
Colgate-Palmolive’s financial disclosures discuss performance by geographic division and by the Hill’s pet nutrition segment. In its earnings releases, the company presents net sales and organic sales growth for divisions such as North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Africa/Eurasia, along with a separate Hill’s division. The company has noted that it recast historical geographic segment information to reflect changes in reporting structure, including reporting skin health businesses with other skin health operations in the North America segment.
Productivity and Strategic Programs
In 8-K filings dated August 1, 2025 and October 31, 2025, Colgate-Palmolive described a multi-year productivity initiative. The company refers to this as a three-year productivity program, and in a later filing as the Strategic Growth and Productivity Program, designed to support its 2030 strategy. According to these filings, the program includes initiatives to better align the organizational structure with strategic priorities, optimize the global supply chain to drive agility and efficiencies, and simplify and streamline the organization to reduce overhead costs. The company estimates that this program will result in cumulative pre-tax charges, once all initiatives are approved and implemented, totaling between $200 million and $300 million, with a majority related to employee-related costs and the remainder to asset-related and other charges. It expects substantially all charges to be incurred by December 31, 2028.
Sustainability, Community Programs and Market Share
Colgate-Palmolive emphasizes sustainability and community wellbeing in its corporate communications. The company states that it is recognized for its leadership and innovation in areas such as decreasing plastic waste and promoting recyclability, saving water, conserving natural resources and improving children’s oral health. A central initiative highlighted in multiple press releases is the Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures program, which the company reports has reached approximately 1.8 billion to 2 billion children and their families since 1991 through oral health education and related activities.
In its financial releases, Colgate-Palmolive also references market share information. The company reports that its leadership in toothpaste and manual toothbrushes continued, citing global market share percentages for these categories. It explains that market share data is based on third-party vendor data and internal estimates, and notes limitations related to coverage of certain retail channels.
Subsidiary and Brand Example: Tom’s of Maine
Tom’s of Maine is identified in press materials as a Colgate-Palmolive company. A separate news release about Tom’s of Maine describes it as a certified B Corporation that has been making natural personal care products for decades, with offerings such as toothpaste, deodorant, mouthwash, bar soap, body wash, dental floss and toothbrushes. Tom’s of Maine products are described as made from naturally sourced and naturally derived ingredients and not tested on animals. The brand’s connection to Colgate-Palmolive illustrates the group’s participation in the natural and purpose-driven personal care segment.
Use of Non-GAAP Measures and Investor Communications
Colgate-Palmolive’s earnings releases explain several non-GAAP financial measures that management uses, including Base Business operating results, organic sales growth and free cash flow before dividends. The company states that these measures are used internally for budgeting, evaluating segment and overall performance and determining compensation, and that they are intended to provide supplemental information on underlying business performance and trends. The company regularly hosts earnings conference calls and investor webcasts, and posts prepared materials and presentations in the Investor Center section of its website.
Stock and Note Listings
In its SEC filings, Colgate-Palmolive lists its securities registered under Section 12(b) of the Securities Exchange Act. These include its common stock, $1.00 par value, trading under the symbol CL on the New York Stock Exchange, as well as multiple series of notes with separate trading symbols on the same exchange. The company is not identified as an emerging growth company in these filings.
Summary
Overall, Colgate-Palmolive Company presents itself as a global consumer products manufacturer with a focus on oral care, personal care, home care and pet nutrition, supported by a portfolio of well-known brands and a long history of dividend payments. Its public disclosures emphasize both financial performance and long-term initiatives in productivity, sustainability and community health, particularly through oral health education programs and environmental efforts.