Kimberly-Clark (KMB) has announced an increase in both profit and sales for the first quarter, attributing the strong performance to product innovation and resilient consumer demand.
The consumer goods giant reported a rise in quarterly earnings and revenue, with company leadership highlighting successful market share expansion despite macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties.
Chief Executive Officer Mike Hsu stated on Tuesday that the company's focus on consumer-driven innovation, brand enhancement, and effective execution by its teams contributed to the results. He added that ongoing cost-saving measures have strengthened the company's financial foundation, enabling future strategic investments.
As the manufacturer of Kleenex tissues and Huggies diapers, Kimberly-Clark posted a net income of $665 million, or $2.00 per share, compared with $567 million, or $1.70 per share, in the same period last year.
On an adjusted basis, earnings per share came in at $1.97, surpassing the Wall Street consensus estimate of $1.93 compiled by FactSet.
The company noted that the results included a $0.13 per share benefit related to its planned acquisition of Kenvue, the parent company of Tylenol and Listerine. The $40 billion transaction is expected to close in the second half of the year.
Mike Hsu commented that with core business recovery and a strong pipeline of product innovation and commercialization efforts in the second quarter, the acquisition of Kenvue positions Kimberly-Clark to capture long-term growth opportunities.
First-quarter net sales rose 2.7% year-over-year to $4.16 billion, exceeding analysts' expectations of $4.09 billion.
Looking ahead, Kimberly-Clark expects full-year organic sales growth to be in line with or ahead of the growth rates of the categories and countries in which it operates. Analysts project full-year sales of $17.42 billion.
The company maintained its full-year earnings outlook, forecasting adjusted earnings per share to be roughly flat compared to the prior year on a constant-currency basis. In 2025, the company reported adjusted earnings per share of $7.53; the market expects $7.49 for 2026.