Despite Steady Gains Since 2018, Colgate-Palmolive Stock Has Underperformed The S&P
Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL) stock price rose almost 1.25x from $60 at 2018 end to around $73 currently, primarily due to favorable changes in its sales. During this period, the company witnessed a steady 14% rise in revenues, and combined with a 4.3% rise in its P/S multiple and a 3% drop in the outstanding share count, the company’s stock price has rallied. However, over the same period, the S&P 500 returned around 50%, meaning that CL stock has underperformed the index since 2018-end.
In our interactive dashboard, Why Colgate Palmolive Stock Moved: CL Stock Has Gained 23% Since 2018, we break down the factors behind this move.
(A) CL’s Total Revenue has grown 14% from $15.5 billion in FY 2018 to $17.7 billion on an LTM basis
- CL’s total revenue rose steadily from $15.5 billion in FY ’18 to $17.4 billion in FY ’21, and as demand has remained strong since the pandemic, with sales rising to $17.7 billion currently.
- Colgate-Palmolive is a leading manufacturer and distributor of household, health care, personal care, and veterinary products, operating in markets across the world.
- As of FY ’21, Oral, Personal and Home Care sales make up the majority of CL’s total revenue, bringing in 81% of the company’s sales, with Pet Nutrition making up the remaining 19%.
- For additional details about CL’s revenues and comparison to peers, see Colgate-Palmolive (CL) Revenue Comparison
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(B) Revenue per share (RPS) increased 20% from $18.00 in FY 2018 to $21.13 currently
- Colgate-Palmolive revenue rose from $15.5 billion in FY ’18 to $17.7 billion currently, while the outstanding share count decreased from around 863.6 million in FY 2018 to 837.5 million currently.
- Due to this, RPS has jumped from $18.00 in FY ’18 to $21.13 currently.
(C) Price-To-Sales (P/S) multiple for Colgate-Palmolive rose steadily from 3.3x in 2018 end to 4.4x by 2020 end but has since pulled back to 3.5x currently, still around 4% higher than what it was in late 2018
- Colgate-Palmolive’s performance since 2018-end saw its P/S multiple rise from 3.3x in 2018 to 4.4x in 2020.
- Despite CL’s consistent sales performance over the years, the P/S multiple has dropped to 3.5x currently due to increased uncertainty surrounding global economic conditions.
- For additional details about the company’s historical returns and comparison to peers, see Colgate-Palmolive (CL) Stock Return.
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| Returns | Oct 2022 MTD [1] |
2022 YTD [1] |
2017-22 Total [2] |
| CL Return | 3% | -15% | 10% |
| S&P 500 Return | 3% | -22% | 66% |
| Trefis Multi-Strategy Portfolio | 2% | -25% | 198% |
[1] Month-to-date and year-to-date as of 10/19/2022
[2] Cumulative total returns since the end of 2016
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