CL Earnings Predictions — 2026-07-31

Ticker Report or Guide KPI Prediction Answer Confidence
CL Report Organic sales growth (Q2) BEAT pred ~3.5% vs. cons ~3.0% MEDIUM
CL Report Base Business EPS (Q2) IN-LINE pred ~$0.97 vs. cons ~$0.96 MEDIUM
CL Report Base gross margin (Q2) MISS pred ~59.4% vs. cons ~59.9% MEDIUM
CL Guide FY26 organic sales growth UNCHANGED guide ~+1% to +4% vs. cons ~+3% (FY2026) MEDIUM
CL Guide FY26 base EPS growth UNCHANGED guide low-to-mid-single-digit (~+4%) vs. cons ~+4% (FY2026) MEDIUM
CL Guide FY26 gross margin outlook UNCHANGED guide ~'down' (~-30 to -50 bps) vs. cons ~-40 bps (FY2026) MEDIUM
CL Guide North America organic sales (sequential inflection) UNKNOWN pred ~-0.5% vs. cons ~0% (Q2 sequential from -2.2% Q1) LOW
CL Return Day-1 residual (stock − beta × S&P 500) -1.5% MEDIUM
CL Return 5-day cumulative residual -2.0% (STABILIZE) EPS/organic likely in-line-to-modestly-above, but the gross-margin decline as commodity inflation peaks and a stretched ~24x multiple after an ~18% YTD run tilt the reaction to 'good but not good enough.' A held (not raised) EPS range with an explicitly lower margin line keeps out-period estimates drifting slightly lower, but CL's defensive quality, FX tailwind and dividend/buyback support limit further downside, so an initial negative move stabilizes rather than cascading. LOW