CHD · Q2 2026 Earnings

Bullish

Church & Dwight

Reported July 31, 2026

30-second summary

30-second take: Organic sales grew 5.8% — 280bps above the ~3% Q2 guide — on +4.3% volume and +1.5% price/mix, and adjusted EPS of $0.89 came in a penny above the $0.88 guide. Management raised FY2026 organic to +4-5% (from +3-4%), reported sales to flat-to-+1% (from -1.5% to -0.5%), adjusted EPS to +6-8% (from +5-8%), and — critically — reinstated the marketing-as-% commitment at "at or above 11%," the disclosure they had quietly withdrawn last quarter. Revenue of $1.53B beat consensus by 1.3%; adjusted EPS missed the $0.90 consensus by 1.1%. The 2026 momentum thesis is now the operating case, not the aspiration.

Headline numbers

EPS

Q2 FY2026

$0.89

-1.1% vs est.

Revenue

Q2 FY2026

$1.53B

+1.6% YoY

+1.3% vs est.

Gross margin

Q2 FY2026

45.4%

Operating margin

Q2 FY2026

18.1%

Key financials

Q2 FY2026

Metric	Q2 FY2026	Q2 FY2025	YoY	Q1 FY2026	QoQ
Revenue	$1.53B	$1.51B	+1.6%	$1.47B	+4.1%
EPS	$0.89	$0.94	-5.3%	$0.95	-6.3%
Gross margin	45.4%	45.0%	+40bps	46.4%	-100bps
Operating margin	18.1%	21.0%	-290bps	19.8%	-170bps

Guidance

Guidance is issued for both next quarter and the full year. Both may appear below.

Actuals vs prior guidance

Metric	Period	Prior guide	Actual	Δ	Result
Adjusted EPS	Q2 FY2026	$0.88	$0.89	in-line	Met
Reported Sales Growth	Q2 FY2026	approximately -1%	+1.6% YoY	+2.6 pts above guide	Beat
Organic Sales Growth	Q2 FY2026	approximately 3%	5.8%	+2.8 pts above guide	Beat
Adjusted Gross Margin Expansion	Q2 FY2026	approximately 50 bps	+40 bps YoY	-10 bps below guide	Beat

New guidance

Metric	Period	Guide	YoY
Marketing as % of Sales	FY 2026	at or above 11%	—
Organic Sales Growth	Q3 FY2026	approximately 3%	—

Changes to prior guidance

Metric	Period	Prior guide	New guide	Δ	Result
Adjusted EPS	FY 2026	+5% to +8%	+6% to +8%	+1 pt (low end)	Raised
Reported Sales Growth	FY 2026	approximately -1.5% to -0.5%	Flat to +1%	+1.5 to +1.5 pts	Raised
Organic Sales Growth	FY 2026	approximately 3% to 4%	+4% to +5%	+1 pt (low end)	Raised
Cash From Operations	FY 2026	approximately $1.15 billion	~$1.175 billion	+$25M or +2.2%	Raised
Adjusted Tax Rate	FY 2026	21.5%	approximately 21%	-50 bps	Lowered

Reaffirmed unchanged this quarter: Reported EPS Growth (+20% to +22%), Adjusted Gross Margin Expansion (100 to 120 bps)

Segment performance

Q2 FY2026

Segment	Q2 FY2026	Q2 FY2025	YoY
Consumer Domestic	$1.156B	$1.154B	+0.1%
Consumer International	$0.298B	$0.278B	+7.2%
Specialty Products	$0.077B	—	+2.8%
Household Products	$0.662B	$0.65B	+1.8%
Personal Care Products	$0.494B	$0.504B	-2.0%

Platform metrics

Q2 FY2026

Segment	Q2 FY2026	Q2 FY2025	YoY
Organic Sales Growth	5.8%	0.1%	—
Domestic Organic Growth	5.1%	—	—
International Organic Growth	9.1%	—	—
Volume Growth	4.3%	—	—
Price and Mix	1.5%	—	—
Global E-commerce Growth	22.7%	—	—
Global Online Sales % of Consumer	25.5%	—	—

Profitability

Q2 FY2026

Segment	Q2 FY2026	Q2 FY2025	YoY
Adjusted Gross Margin Expansion	+40 bps YoY	—	—

Management tone

Q1 2025 macro caution → Q2 2025 mitigated caution → Q3 2025 explicit upgrade and reinvestment → Q4 2025 portfolio cleanup complete → Q1 2026 contingency planning and consumer fragility → Q2 2026 momentum reasserted, marketing commitment restored

No transcript was available for this quarter, so tone analysis is anchored to press-release disclosures and guidance mechanics rather than prepared-remarks language.

The most consequential tone signal is structural, not verbal: the "at or above 11%" marketing-as-% commitment that was withdrawn from disclosure last quarter is back in the FY2026 framework, and Q3 marketing is guided to step to ~12% of sales. Through Q1, the withdrawal implied management was preserving optionality to absorb the $25-30M Middle East inflation via marketing flexibility rather than gross margin or pricing. Reinstating the disclosure this quarter — alongside the organic and EPS raises — is the clearest signal that the Q3 2025 reinvestment posture is structural. The Q1 2026 "consumer retrenchment" framing has not been retracted, but the operating decisions no longer reflect it.

The FY organic raise of +100bps at the low end (from 3-4% to 4-5%) is a materially different signal than Q3 2025's raise. In Q3 2025 the raise came against a +3.4% organic print and a category running ~3%; this quarter the raise comes against a +5.8% organic print but a Q3 forward guide of only ~+3%. The gap between the Q2 actual and the Q3 guide (280bps) is wider than at any point in coverage — management is either sandbagging Q3 aggressively or acknowledging that Q2's price/mix contribution (+1.5%) does not extend. The Q3 EPS of ~$0.89 implies +10% YoY on a Q3 FY2025 base of $0.81, which is above the FY +6-8% range midpoint, so the H2 arithmetic still works.

The composition of growth shifted from Q1's "volume with a one-time inventory tailwind" to Q2's "volume plus positive price/mix." Through the four quarters of coverage, price/mix has moved from -0.6% in Q3 2025 to negligible in Q4 2025 to volume-led in Q1 2026 to +1.5% in Q2 2026. This is the first quarter in the arc where the volume-and-price story runs on both legs, which is why the FY guide could be raised despite the gross margin miss.

Answers to last quarter's watch list

Whether Q2 adjusted EPS hits the $0.88 guide — $0.89 actual, $0.01 above guide; the FY +5-8% EPS guide is now the raised +6-8%, and the H2 catch-up assumption has been narrowed rather than tested. Status: Resolved positively

Q2 organic of ~3% without the inventory tailwind — Q2 organic printed +5.8% on +4.3% volume and +1.5% price/mix, 280bps above the run-rate guide with no inventory lap benefit. The FY +3-4% guide (now +4-5%) no longer requires H2 acceleration; it requires H2 not to collapse. Status: Resolved positively

Whether the Middle East inflation estimate widens beyond $25-30M — the press release did not quantify Middle East inflation this quarter, and adjusted gross margin still expanded 40bps YoY. Without transcript commentary the $25-30M number cannot be revised on the print, but the operating result suggests it did not widen materially. Status: Continue monitoring

Touchland tracked-channel consumption inflection — the company didn't disclose refreshed tracked-channel consumption on the print. Personal Care -2.0% (vs Q1's -7.5%) is consistent with the year-ago lap rolling off on schedule, but the specific Touchland scanner-data recovery number was not released. Status: Continue monitoring

Marketing-as-% disclosure — reinstated at "at or above 11%" for FY2026, with Q3 stepping to ~12% of sales. The Q3 2025 reinvestment thesis is now confirmed as structural rather than a one-year posture. Status: Resolved positively

Batiste scanner-data recovery — the company didn't disclose Batiste-specific scanner data. Personal Care segment recovery from -7.5% to -2.0% is directionally supportive but doesn't isolate Batiste. Status: Continue monitoring

Consumer Domestic organic ex-inventory tailwind run-rate — Q2 Domestic organic printed +5.1% with no inventory lap benefit — above the Q1 underlying ~3.4% and well above the 3% threshold that would have re-opened the Household Products concern. Status: Resolved positively

What to watch into next quarter

Whether Q3 organic materially exceeds the ~3% guide — the 280bps gap between Q2's +5.8% print and the Q3 ~3% guide is the widest sandbag in coverage; a Q3 print above 4% would force the FY +4-5% guide to look conservative and set up a second raise, while a print at or below 3% would validate that Q2's price/mix contribution was episodic.

Q3 adjusted EPS at or above the ~$0.89 guide (+10% YoY on a Q3 FY2025 base of $0.81) — with marketing stepping to ~12% of sales, the Q3 EPS setup depends on whether the +40bps Q2 gross margin trajectory extends or the miss vs the ~+50bps Q2 guide continues.

Adjusted gross margin trajectory toward the FY +100-120bps range — Q2 came in at +40bps against a ~+50bps guide, the first visible operational miss in three quarters; H2 needs to deliver >150bps YoY expansion to hit the midpoint.

Whether Consumer International organic sustains above 7-8% — the +9.1% Q2 print is the strongest in coverage and the strongest support for the third growth pillar; a step-back toward Q1's +3.7% would call into question the international momentum without an M&A catalyst.

International M&A announcement — flagged as the third growth pillar in Q4 2025, referenced again this quarter as "acquisitions that meet our strict criteria, with an emphasis on fast-moving consumable products"; deal flow disclosure remains overdue.

Q3 price/mix composition — the +1.5% Q2 print is the first positive read in coverage; whether this reflects Touchland size mix, retail pricing on new launches, or narrowing Batiste value-reset drag will determine whether the FY organic raise leans on volume or has structural price support.

Sources

Church & Dwight Q2 2026 press release (SEC 8-K Ex. 99.1), filed July 31, 2026 — https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/313927/000119312526326749/chd-ex99_1.htm

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