CL vs KMB vs EPC Stock Comparison

Colgate Palmolive, Kimberly Clark and Edgewell Personal Care Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CL Colgate Palmolive Co
$94.02 +9.4% 1M +19.9% 1Y
Market cap
$74.31B
P/E
36.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$21.05B
Div. yield
0.02%
Personal Care Products Consumer Staples
5 wins
KMB Kimberly Clark Corp
$110.15 +12.7% 1M -7.2% 1Y
Market cap
$36.43B
P/E
18.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$16.58B
Div. yield
0.05%
Personal Care Products Consumer Staples
5 wins
EPC EDGEWELL PERSONAL CARE Co
$28.06 +3.6% 1M +41.6% 1Y
Market cap
$1.30B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$2.24B
Div. yield
–
Personal Care Products Consumer Staples
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Colgate Palmolive leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Colgate Palmolive 5, Kimberly Clark 5, Edgewell Personal Care 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCLKMBEPCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $74.31B $36.43B $1.30B CL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 36.5x 18.6x -13.9x KMB
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 25.1x 14.5x 15.1x KMB
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.2% +0.7% +11.6% EPC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 9.7% 11.8% -4.2% KMB
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 27.2% 19.4% 0.4% CL
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.7x 1.7x 8.8x KMB
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.05% 0.00% KMB
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +19.9% -7.2% +41.6% EPC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +4.5%/yr -3.7%/yr -4.4%/yr CL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 23.2% 29.4% 43.0% CL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 59/100 54/100 40/100 CL

Percentile Scorecard

CLKMBEPC

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisCLKMBEPC
Valuation 45 #28 of 50 51 #25 of 50 65 #18 of 50
Growth 54 #23 of 49 44 #28 of 49 23 #38 of 49
Profitability 95 #3 of 44 81 #9 of 44 44 #25 of 44
Financial Health 50 #28 of 55 39 #34 of 55 33 #37 of 55
Shareholder Returns 50 #16 of 31 53 #15 of 31 33 #21 of 31
Overall 59 54 40
  • CL ranked among 59 companies in Household and Personal Products
  • KMB ranked among 59 companies in Household and Personal Products
  • EPC ranked among 59 companies in Household and Personal Products

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodCLKMBEPCSPY
1 month +9.4%+12.7%+3.6% -1.0%
3 months +3.6%+0.4%+1.6% +2.9%
6 months +11.1%+12.6%+19.9% +6.4%
Year to date +19.0%+9.2%+64.6% +11.4%
1 year +19.9%-7.2%+41.6% +13.1%
3 years +29.1%-8.6%-20.4% +79.4%
3 years, per year +8.9%-3.0%-7.3% +21.5%
5 years +24.5%-17.2%-20.3% +67.7%
5 years, per year +4.5%-3.7%-4.4% +10.9%
10 years +32.6%-7.9%-63.1% +255.2%
10 years, per year +2.9%-0.8%-9.5% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureCLKMBEPCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 23.2%29.4%43.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 22.1%33.0%40.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.150.040.18 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.85-0.250.97 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -31.1%-37.3%-69.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -5.2%-8.7%-5.4% -2.5%
52-week high $99.14$120.66$29.66 $779.14
52-week low $74.98$93.05$15.91 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleCLKMBEPC
P/E now vs peer median 36.9xmedian 18.7x 18.7xmedian 18.7x -13.9xmedian 18.7x
P/S now vs peer median 3.6xmedian 1.6x 2.2xmedian 1.6x 0.6xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 21.6xmedian 13.0x 13.0xmedian 13.0x 21.7xmedian 13.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 19.4xmedian 19.0x 20.1xmedian 19.0x 24.7xmedian 19.0x
P/B now vs peer median 132.4xmedian 2.3x 19.5xmedian 2.3x 0.9xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 3.04median 0.97 2.85median 0.97 0.33median 0.97

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsCLKMBEPC
Revenue $21.05B $16.58B $2.24B
Gross profit $12.72B $6.10B $885.90M
Operating income $3.13B $2.51B $17.90M
Net income $2.16B $1.99B -$93.20M
Free cash flow $3.86B $1.82B $52.40M
R&D – – $59.40M
EPS (diluted) $2.54 $5.87 $-2.00
Cash & equivalents $1.37B $956.00M $397.10M
Total debt $7.86B $28.07B $1.28B
Shares (diluted) 801.80M 333.30M 46.60M
Enterprise value $69.04B $33.63B $149.84M

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricCLKMBEPC
P/E 36.9x 18.7x -13.9x
P/FCF 19.4x 20.1x 24.7x
P/Operating cash flow 16.8x 11.0x 10.7x
P/S 3.6x 2.2x 0.6x
P/B 132.4x 19.5x 0.9x
P/Tangible book -80.7x 20.3x 2.0x
EV/EBITDA 21.6x 13.0x 21.7x
EV/EBIT 26.0x 16.8x 121.5x
EV/Revenue 3.9x 2.5x 1.0x
EV/FCF 21.1x 23.2x 41.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 18.3x 12.7x 17.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.04 2.85 0.33

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCLKMBEPC
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.2% 0.7% 11.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.1% -6.7% -0.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 5.0% 2.0% 1.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 6.2% -2.8% -1.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) -26.9% -5.8% -85.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 1.1% 3.5% -57.5%
Net income growth (1Y) -29.2% -18.9% -243.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 8.9% 6.5% -40.7%
EPS growth (1Y) -29.0% -19.5% -245.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 12.2% 6.6% -42.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 13.7% 16.1% 135.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.9% 1.5% -15.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 14.5% -13.4% 112.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 17.9% -8.7% -29.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCLKMBEPC
Gross margin 60.4% 36.8% 39.5%
EBITDA margin 17.9% 19.5% 4.5%
Operating margin 14.9% 15.2% 0.8%
Pretax margin 14.0% 13.5% -1.5%
Net margin 9.7% 11.8% -4.2%
FCF margin 18.3% 11.0% 2.3%
Operating cash flow margin 21.2% 20.1% 5.4%
Return on equity 410.8% 105.0% -4.8%
Return on assets 12.9% 11.1% -2.0%
Return on invested capital 27.2% 19.4% 0.4%
Return on capital employed 29.7% 23.1% 0.6%
Asset turnover 1.3x 0.9x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.1x 1.7x -1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 0.8% 0.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCLKMBEPC
Debt / assets 46.8% 35.1% 36.2%
Debt / equity 13.9x 3.5x 0.9x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.7x 1.7x 8.8x
Debt / FCF 2.0x 3.6x 24.4x
Liabilities / assets 96.6% 89.9% 58.7%
Equity / assets 3.4% 10.1% 41.3%
Interest coverage 12.3x 10.7x 0.3x
Current ratio 1.0x 0.9x 1.8x
Quick ratio 0.5x 0.4x 0.9x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.1x 0.7x
Altman Z-score 6.91 3.35 1.59

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCLKMBEPC
Dividend yield 2.2% 4.6% 2.1%
Net buyback yield 1.5% 0.0% 1.2%
Shareholder yield 3.7% 4.7% 3.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) 84.3% 84.4% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 47.2% 92.3% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 1.1% 2.2% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 1.9% – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusCLKMBEPC
Forward P/E 25.1xFY2026 14.5xFY2026 15.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.75FY2026 $7.61FY2026 $1.86FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +1.6%FY2026 +1.1%FY2026 -26.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +11.7% -7.8% +13.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $22.42BFY2026 $16.98BFY2026 $2.08BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +10.0%FY2026 +3.2%FY2026 -6.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +2.1% +5.2% -9.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCLKMBEPC
Held by institutions 83.8% 96.8% 100.0%
Institutions holding 2,015 1,710 223
Change in shares held, QoQ 0.0% +9.1% +3.0%
Institutions buying 919 827 107
Institutions selling 720 620 79
Buyers to sellers 1.28 1.33 1.35

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

CLKMBEPC
CL 1.00 0.60 0.44
KMB 0.60 1.00 0.42
EPC 0.44 0.42 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CL, KMB and EPC?

Colgate Palmolive (CL) is the largest by market capitalisation: Colgate Palmolive (CL) $74.31B, Kimberly Clark (KMB) $36.43B, Edgewell Personal Care (EPC) $1.30B.

Which stock is cheaper, CL, KMB and EPC?

Kimberly Clark (KMB) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Colgate Palmolive (CL) 36.5x, Kimberly Clark (KMB) 18.6x, Edgewell Personal Care (EPC) -13.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Kimberly Clark (KMB) is cheapest (Colgate Palmolive (CL) 25.1x, Kimberly Clark (KMB) 14.5x, Edgewell Personal Care (EPC) 15.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Edgewell Personal Care (EPC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Colgate Palmolive (CL) +5.2%, Kimberly Clark (KMB) +0.7%, Edgewell Personal Care (EPC) +11.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Kimberly Clark (KMB) has the highest net margin (Colgate Palmolive (CL) 9.7%, Kimberly Clark (KMB) 11.8%, Edgewell Personal Care (EPC) -4.2%). On return on invested capital, Colgate Palmolive (CL) leads (Colgate Palmolive (CL) 27.2%, Kimberly Clark (KMB) 19.4%, Edgewell Personal Care (EPC) 0.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Edgewell Personal Care (EPC) returned the most: Colgate Palmolive (CL) +19.9%, Kimberly Clark (KMB) -7.2%, Edgewell Personal Care (EPC) +41.6%. Over five years, Colgate Palmolive (CL) compounded fastest (Colgate Palmolive (CL) +4.5%/yr, Kimberly Clark (KMB) -3.7%/yr, Edgewell Personal Care (EPC) -4.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Kimberly Clark (KMB) has the highest dividend yield: Colgate Palmolive (CL) 0.02%, Kimberly Clark (KMB) 0.05%, Edgewell Personal Care (EPC) 0.00%. Edgewell Personal Care (EPC) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Colgate Palmolive (CL) has been the steadiest (Colgate Palmolive (CL) 23.2%, Kimberly Clark (KMB) 29.4%, Edgewell Personal Care (EPC) 43.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CL, KMB and EPC?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Colgate Palmolive (CL) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.