Kimberly-Clark previews third quarter with $1.70 adjusted profit per share and reaffirms 2026 outlook

Kimberly-Clark Corporation (KMB) said in a regulatory filing on Thursday that preliminary net sales for the third quarter ended Sept. 30 were $4,134 million, down from $4,150 million a year earlier.

The figures are unaudited and not yet final. The company said its quarter-end closing process could lead to adjustments, and its independent auditor, Deloitte & Touche LLP, has not reviewed them.

Operating profit fell to $516 million from $621 million. Adjusted operating profit, which excludes items the company does not consider part of its underlying operations, was $677 million compared with $683 million a year earlier.

Here's how the company did:

• Net sales: $4,134 million vs. $4,150 million a year earlier
• Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations: $1.19 vs. $1.01 a year earlier
• Adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations: $1.70 vs. $1.45 a year earlier
• Diluted earnings per share attributable to Kimberly-Clark: $5.37 vs. $1.34 a year earlier
• Adjusted earnings per share attributable to Kimberly-Clark: $1.70 vs. $1.82 a year earlier
• Gross profit: $1,441 million vs. $1,493 million a year earlier
• Cash and cash equivalents: $1,874 million vs. $617 million a year earlier

Diluted earnings per share attributable to Kimberly-Clark of $5.37 includes a gain of $4.33 per share recognized on completion of the IFP Transaction. The company removes that gain from its adjusted figure.

The IFP Transaction is the International Family Care and Professional joint venture transaction with Suzano S.A., which the company completed. Adjusted earnings per share attributable to Kimberly-Clark also excludes $0.16 per share of IFP separation costs.

The company said those separation costs are reported in discontinued operations.

Organic sales, which exclude currency translation and divestitures and business exits, fell 1.3% from a year earlier. The prior-year quarter showed organic sales growth of 2.5%.

Net sales fell 0.4% from a year earlier, after rising 0.1% in the prior-year quarter.

Adjusted gross profit was $1,468 million, compared with $1,527 million a year earlier.

The reported effective tax rate was 20.2%, compared with 45.4% a year earlier. The adjusted rate was 19.5%, down from 26.5%.

Reported operating profit included $106 million of acquisition-related costs tied to the pending acquisition of Kenvue Inc., a Delaware corporation. The company excludes those costs from its adjusted results, and they equal $0.27 per diluted share.

The company also excluded $55 million of charges from its 2024 Transformation Initiative, which was designed to create a more agile and focused operating structure. That item equals $0.13 per share.

Per-share figures are based on 333.7 million weighted-average dilutive shares, compared with 333.1 million a year earlier.

The company reaffirmed its previously announced 2026 outlook. It said the outlook remains consistent with its earlier guidance.

Organic sales growth is expected to be approximately 100 basis points below the weighted average category growth in the categories and countries where the company competes. The company attributes about 100 basis points of that gap to China social media disruptions.

The company said its weighted average category growth is now approximately 1.7% on a trailing 12-month basis.

For 2026, the company expects adjusted operating profit to grow mid-single digits on a constant-currency basis. It expects adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations to grow high single digits, and adjusted earnings per share attributable to Kimberly-Clark to see a low single digit decline, both on a constant-currency basis.

The outlook reflects assumptions subject to change given the macro environment. It excludes any potential acquisitions, including the pending Kenvue Acquisition, as well as divestitures and other items not yet identified and quantified.

The company will issue final third-quarter and nine-month results on Nov. 5, with a press release and supplemental materials, it said.