Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) reported first-quarter 2026 results that topped Wall Street estimates on Friday, driven by stronger organic sales growth, margin expansion and continued demand across its consumer portfolio.
The consumer products company posted adjusted earnings of 95 cents per share, beating the consensus estimate of 93 cents. Revenue rose 0.2% year over year to $1.469 billion, ahead of estimates of $1.456 billion.
Organic sales grew 5.0%, above the company’s prior outlook of 3%, supported by volume growth of 5.3% across all three divisions. Domestic organic sales increased 5.4%, while international organic sales rose 3.7%.
Margin Expansion And Profitability
Adjusted gross margin expanded 130 basis points to 46.4%, driven by higher volumes, productivity gains and favorable product mix, partially offset by inflation and tariff costs.
Reported earnings per share were 91 cents, up from 89 cents a year earlier, while adjusted EPS increased 4.4% year over year.
Operating income totaled $291 million, with adjusted operating income of $302.6 million, roughly flat compared with the prior year as higher marketing investments and acquisition-related costs offset top-line gains.
Segment Performance
Consumer domestic sales declined 1.1% to $1.12 billion due to prior portfolio actions, though organic growth remained strong, led by brands such as THERABREATH, ARM & HAMMER and OXICLEAN.
International sales rose 4.6% to $273.9 million, with growth driven by THERABREATH, HERO and BATISTE brands.
Specialty products sales increased 3.1% to $77.7 million, supported by both volume and pricing gains.
Cash Flow And Balance Sheet
Cash from operations totaled $174.8 million during the quarter. Capital expenditures rose to $31.9 million from $16.5 million a year earlier.
As of March 31, the company held $503.4 million in cash and reported total debt of $2.2 billion.
Outlook
Church & Dwight affirmed its full-year 2026 adjusted EPS guidance in the range of $3.71 to $3.81, roughly in line with the $3.75 analyst estimate, and continues to expect net sales between $6.110 billion and $6.172 billion, compared with estimates of $6.161 billion.
The company maintained its outlook for organic sales growth of 3% to 4% and a reported sales decline of 1.5% to 0.5%, reflecting the impact of prior portfolio actions.
CEO Rick Dierker said the company expects to offset ongoing macro pressures, noting that geopolitical tensions in the Middle East are creating incremental volume and cost headwinds tied to commodities and transportation, but are viewed as transitory.
“While the situation in the Middle East remains fluid and is creating some incremental volume and inflationary pressure on commodities and transportation, we believe we can offset this transitory pressure and maintain our outlook for 2026,” Dierker said.
For the second quarter, Church & Dwight guided for adjusted EPS of about 88 cents and revenue of approximately $1.491 billion, both below analyst expectations of 97 cents and $1.509 billion, respectively.
CHD Price Action: Church & Dwight shares were down 1.31% at $95.79 at the time of publication on Friday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Image via Shutterstock
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