Barclays Lifts Colgate (CL) Target as 2026 Growth Outlook Improves

Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) is included among the 15 Best Wide Moat Dividend Stocks to Invest in.

On February 3, Barclays analyst Lauren Lieberman raised the price recommendation on Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) to $88 from $83. The firm kept an Equal Weight rating. The analyst said in the research note that growth in 2026 should look better than 2025, but the company likely won’t get the same lift from inflation-driven pricing in emerging markets that it has relied on for years.

That view lines up with what the company shared a few days earlier. On January 30, Colgate forecast full-year sales above Wall Street expectations. Demand for everyday household products has stayed steady, especially in Latin America and Europe, where consumers have been more resilient than in North America.

Across the consumer staples space, companies have slowed price increases and leaned more on marketing to bring shoppers back. Price sensitivity is still an issue in North America. Even so, Colgate has held its ground. Toothpaste, manual toothbrushes, and household cleaning products continue to sell, even after price hikes. That steady demand has helped protect margins and absorb higher tariffs and raw material costs. This is often how staples companies quietly outperform. They don’t need big volume growth to make the numbers work.

Hill’s Pet Nutrition also showed improvement during the quarter. The segment bounced back after a weak third quarter that followed the company’s exit from private-label pet food. In the fourth quarter, prices rose 2.7%, while volumes were flat year over year. North America organic sales fell 1.8%, driven by a 2.3% decline in volumes, partly offset by a 0.5% increase in pricing.

For the quarter ended December 31, net sales reached $5.23 billion, ahead of the $5.12 billion consensus estimate from LSEG. Adjusted earnings came in at 95 cents per share, above expectations of 91 cents. Looking ahead, Colgate expects 2026 net sales growth of 2% to 6%, including the impact of tariffs announced as of January 28 by all countries. The midpoint of that range sits above analysts’ expectations of 3.5%.

Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) continues to frame itself as a growth company, focused on Oral Care, Personal Care, Home Care, and Pet Nutrition.

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