Colgate Palmolive (CL) Operating Margin (2009 - 2026)
Colgate Palmolive (CL) recorded Operating Margin of 20.26% in Q3 2026, down 0.37 percentage points from 20.64% a year earlier but up 1.31 percentage points from the prior quarter.
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Analysis
Colgate Palmolive (CL) Operating Margin (2009 - 2026) Analysis & Trends
On a TTM basis, Colgate Palmolive's Operating Margin came in at 14.85% as of Sep 30, 2026, down 6.44 percentage points year-over-year; for FY2025, it came in at 16.22%, down 5.01 percentage points from FY2024.
- Annual Operating Margin has a five-year change of -7.37 percentage points (FY2020 to FY2025).
- Across earlier years, Operating Margin came in at 21.23% in FY2024 (+0.76 pp), 20.48% in FY2023 (+4.37 pp), 16.10% in FY2022 (-3.02 pp) and 19.13% in FY2021 (-4.46 pp).
- Quarterly Operating Margin has ranged from 1.76% in Q4 2025 to 21.91% in Q1 2025 over the past five years.
- On a year-over-year basis, Operating Margin has declined for six consecutive quarters, with an average year-over-year change of -3.25 percentage points over the last eight quarters.
- Peak year-over-year performance for Operating Margin in the last five years was a gain of 17.29 percentage points in Q4 2023, against a drop of 19.74 percentage points in Q4 2025 at the low end.
- Per Business Quant, the preceding three quarters came in at 18.95% (Q2 2026), 18.11% (Q1 2026) and 1.76% (Q4 2025).
Peer Set
Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | Operating Margin (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Procter & Gamble | 385.85 Bn | 337.41 Bn | 11.60 Bn | 25.51% |
| 2 | Colgate Palmolive | 77.62 Bn | 72.10 Bn | 3.23 Bn | 20.26% |
| 3 | Estee Lauder Companies | 41.03 Bn | 28.13 Bn | 2.81 Bn | 10.98% |
| 4 | Kenvue | 37.02 Bn | 32.73 Bn | 2.31 Bn | 18.17% |
| 5 | Kimberly Clark | 36.20 Bn | 32.14 Bn | 1.44 Bn | 12.48% |
| 6 | Church & Dwight | 26.09 Bn | 24.48 Bn | 749.40 Mn | 18.19% |
| 7 | Clorox | 12.34 Bn | 10.60 Bn | 770.00 Mn | 23.67% |
| 8 | e.l.f. Beauty | 7.07 Bn | 5.89 Bn | 370.22 Mn | 10.07% |
| 9 | Reynolds Consumer Products | 5.06 Bn | 4.75 Bn | 236.00 Mn | 13.77% |
| 10 | Bath & Body Works | 4.79 Bn | 1.99 Bn | 692.00 Mn | 14.27% |
Historic Data
Download Data
Historic Data
| Date | Value |
|---|---|
| Sep 30, 2026 | 20.26% |
| Jun 30, 2026 | 18.95% |
| Mar 31, 2026 | 18.11% |
| Dec 31, 2025 | 1.76% |
| Sep 30, 2025 | 20.64% |
| Jun 30, 2025 | 21.14% |
| Mar 31, 2025 | 21.91% |
| Dec 31, 2024 | 21.50% |
| Sep 30, 2024 | 21.16% |
| Jun 30, 2024 | 21.59% |
| Mar 31, 2024 | 20.67% |
| Dec 31, 2023 | 21.66% |
| Sep 30, 2023 | 20.94% |
| Jun 30, 2023 | 20.20% |
| Mar 31, 2023 | 19.06% |
| Dec 31, 2022 | 4.36% |
| Sep 30, 2022 | 21.26% |
| Jun 30, 2022 | 19.71% |
| Mar 31, 2022 | 19.55% |
| Dec 31, 2021 | 8.29% |
API Access
Colgate Palmolive Operating Margin API
Pull this series into your own models, spreadsheets and apps with the Business Quant
Historical Metrics API. The request below matches the chart above — change the
frequency, period or values and it follows. Swap YOUR_API_KEY for your own key.
https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=operating-margin&ticker=CL&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEYimport requests
url = "https://data.businessquant.com/historic"
params = {"slug": "operating-margin", "ticker": "CL", "period": "max", "api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY"}
data = requests.get(url, params=params).json()const res = await fetch("https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=operating-margin&ticker=CL&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY");
const data = await res.json();