Church & Dwight Company, Inc. (NYSE:CHD) topped fourth-quarter estimates as international growth and margin gains helped offset lingering cost pressure.
The company also lifted its dividend, but its first-quarter profit outlook came in shy of Wall Street expectations.
Quarterly Metrics
The company reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share of 86 cents, beating the analyst consensus estimate of 84 cents. Quarterly sales of $1.644 billion outpaced the Street view of $1.639 billion.
Church & Dwight posted net sales growth of 3.9%, led by international gains. Organic sales rose 0.7%.
Consumer Domestic net sales were $1.271 billion, a $45.5 million or 3.7% increase.
Consumer International net sales were $299.8 million, a $14.7 million or 5.2% increase.
Specialty Products net sales were $73.2 million, a $2.0 million or a 2.8% increase.
Adjusted gross margin improved to 45.5%, up 90 basis points. The increases was driven by productivity programs, higher volumes, business and acquisition mix, and were partially offset by inflation and tariff costs net of mitigation efforts.
The company delivered strong cash results in 2025, with cash from operations of $1.2 billion, an increase of $59.2 million versus the prior year, driven by higher cash earnings and working capital improvement actions.
Dividend
The company declared a 4.2% increase in the quarterly dividend from $0.295 to $0.3075 per share, equivalent to an annual dividend of $1.23 per share.
The annual dividend payout will increase from $287 million in 2025 to approximately $291 million.
The quarterly dividend will be payable on March 2, 2026.
Outlook
Church & Dwight forecast first-quarter adjusted earnings of 92 cents per share, below analysts’ estimate of 96 cents.
The firm forecast fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings of $3.71 to $3.81 per share, compared with analysts’ estimate of $3.73. It forecast fiscal 2026 GAAP earnings of $3.56 to $3.68 per share, below analysts’ estimate of $3.74.
“We expect new product launches in 2026 to continue to drive approximately half of our organic growth as we innovate in a number of key categories,” said CEO Rick Dierker.
Church & Dwight Price Action: CHD shares are trading higher by 3.89% to $98.30 at publication on Friday.
