Preliminary brief— based on press release only. Full analysis including management tone and Q&A will be added when the transcript is available.

CHD · Q4 2025 Earnings

Church & Dwight

Reported January 30, 2026

30-second summary

30-second take: Q4 organic sales grew 0.7% — below the ~1.5% guide — though ex the now-divested VMS business, organic was +1.8% (VMS was a ~110bps Q4 drag, 130bps for the full year). Adjusted EPS of $0.86 beat the $0.83 guide by $0.03 on a much better gross-margin print: adjusted GM 45.5% was +90bps YoY and 140bps better than the ~50bps contraction outlook. With the VMS exit closed Dec 31, 2025, management guided FY2026 organic to +3-4% (volume-led), adjusted GM +100bps off a 45.2% adjusted base, and adjusted EPS +5-8% — a step-up that depends on volume acceleration, with management openly conceding "we have work to do" on Batiste.

Headline numbers

EPS

Q4 FY2025

$0.86

Revenue

Q4 FY2025

$1.64B

+3.9% YoY

Gross margin

Q4 FY2025

45.8%

Operating margin

Q4 FY2025

16.2%

Key financials

Q4 FY2025

Metric	Q4 FY2025	YoY	Q3 FY2025	QoQ
Revenue	$1.64B	+3.9%	$1.59B	+3.7%
EPS	$0.86	—	$0.81	+6.2%
Gross margin	45.8%	—	45.1%	+70bps
Operating margin	16.2%	—	16.1%	+10bps

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	Q4 FY2025	approximately $0.83	$0.86	+$0.03 above guide	Beat
Organic sales growth	Q4 FY2025	approximately 1.5%	0.7%	-0.8pts below guide	Missed
Adjusted gross margin	Q4 FY2025	approximately 50 bps contraction	45.5%	Better than expected contraction guidance	Beat
Adjusted EPS	FY 2025	approximately $3.49	$3.53	+$0.04 above guide	Beat
organic sales growth	FY 2025	approximately 1%	1.6%	In-line with guidance range	Met
reported sales growth	FY 2025	approximately 1.5%	1.6%	+0.1pts above guide	Beat
Cash from operations	FY 2025	approximately $1.2 billion	$1.215 billion	In-line with guidance	Met

New guidance

Metric	Period	Guide	YoY
Adjusted EPS growth	FY 2026	5% to 8%	—
Organic sales growth	FY 2026	approximately 3% to 4%	—
Reported sales change	FY 2026	decline approximately 1.5% to 0.5%	—
Adjusted gross margin expansion	FY 2026	approximately 100 basis points	—
Adjusted other expense	FY 2026	approximately $75.0 million	—
Adjusted tax rate	FY 2026	approximately 21.5%	—

Segment performance

Q4 FY2025

Segment	Q4 FY2025	YoY
Consumer Domestic	$1.271B	+3.7%
Consumer International	$0.3B	+5.2%
Specialty Products	$0.073B	+2.8%
Household Products	$0.645B	-1.5%
Personal Care Products	$0.626B	+9.6%

Platform metrics

Q4 FY2025

Segment	Q4 FY2025
Organic Sales Growth (Q4)	0.7%
Operating Cash Flow (FY2025)	$1.215 billion
Free Cash Flow (FY2025)	$1.093 billion
Marketing as % of Sales (Q4)	12.9%

Profitability

Q4 FY2025

Segment	Q4 FY2025
Adjusted Gross Margin (Q4)	45.5%
Adjusted EPS Growth (Q4)	+11.7%

Other KPIs

Q4 FY2025

Segment	Q4 FY2025
Share Repurchases (FY2025)	$900 million
Dividend per Share (Annual)	$1.23

Management tone

Portfolio reshaping moved from "review" to "complete." The VMS divestiture (VITAFUSION/L'IL CRITTERS) closed Dec 31, 2025, sold to Piping Rock with a one-time after-tax charge of $45.6M in Q4. Combined with the prior FLAWLESS, SPINBRUSH, and WATERPIK showerhead exits, management is now explicitly framing 2025 as the year of portfolio repositioning — and quantifying the impact: US consumption was 0.9% reported in 2025 but 3.5% excluding the exited businesses. The narrative shift is from "we are working on this" to "the cleanup is done; now we run."

The 2026 guide leans hard on volume. Management explicitly described the +3-4% organic outlook as "volume driven," with new product launches expected to drive approximately half of organic growth. This is a more assertive volume claim than the price/mix-tilted framing of recent years, and it places the burden on innovation execution (TheraBreath toothpaste, Hero MIGHTY SHIELD and cleansers, Arm & Hammer DUAL DEFENSE litter and Baking Soda Fresh detergent, Trojan G.O.A.T.).

Three new multi-year growth initiatives announced. Management unveiled three incremental growth initiatives for 2026-2030: (1) expansion of the Arm & Hammer brand, (2) growing the oral care portfolio behind TheraBreath, and (3) international expansion with an acquisition focus. The framing — "evergreen business growth even if category growth remains sluggish" — is a defensive structural response to the category deceleration management has been flagging all year.

Category deceleration remains the dominant macro frame. Press release acknowledges "a deceleration in category growth" as a driver of the FY organic shortfall, and the 2026 guide is built to deliver "industry leading" growth even if categories don't normalize.

Recurring themes management leaned on this quarter:

Category deceleration and share gain as growth offsetTariff mitigation and margin defense as operational priorityInternational expansion as underpenetrated growth leverM&A strategy focused on scaling acquired brands (Hero, TheraBreath playbook)E-commerce penetration expansion (2% to 23% over decade)Portfolio rationalization and strategic review of underperformers

Risks management surfaced:

Macro volatility and tariff uncertainty impacting consumer sentimentCategory growth deceleration (4.5% to 1.5% year-over-year)Competitive pressures in dry shampoo (Batiste share erosion)Zycam Origel swab recall costsVitamin business underperformance requiring strategic review

Answers to last quarter's watch list

Q4 adjusted EPS hits the $0.83 guide (+8% YoY) — $0.86 actual, +$0.03 above guide, +11.7% YoY. The earnings beat held even as reported organic missed; gross margin outperformance carried the print. Status: Resolved positively

Q4 organic sales of ~1.5% ex-discontinued — +0.7% reported organic, -0.8pts below the guide; ex-VMS organic was +1.8%, modestly above the guide. The underlying trajectory is better than the headline, but the VMS drag was material. Status: Mixed — reported missed, ex-VMS met

Marketing % of sales settling above 11% in Q4 — 12.9% in Q4, alongside an FY2026 guide of >11%. The reinvestment is now structural. Status: Resolved positively

Touchland household penetration trajectory off the 7% base — no updated penetration disclosure on the print; press release notes Touchland's "strong double-digit sales growth" as the principal driver of Consumer Domestic reported growth, consistent with continued runway, but the specific penetration metric was not refreshed. Status: Continue monitoring

Vitamin business decision — VITAFUSION and L'IL CRITTERS sold to Piping Rock, closed Dec 31, 2025; $45.6M after-tax charge taken in Q4; VMS excluded from 2026 organic reporting. Status: Resolved (divested)

Competitor promo intensity softening into 2026 — not addressed quantitatively in the release. Household Products -1.5% suggests the competitive environment did not ease in CHD's favor in Q4. Status: Continue monitoring

What to watch into next quarter

Whether Q1 FY2026 organic lands at the ~3% guide — the +3-4% FY guide rests on Q1 hitting this number out of the gate; a print closer to the Q4 +1.8% ex-VMS run-rate would force scrutiny of the H2 acceleration assumption.

Adjusted gross margin trajectory toward the FY2026 +100bps target — Q4 finished at 45.5% adjusted (+90bps YoY); the FY26 path implies ~46.2% adjusted GM, and Q1 needs to show visible YoY expansion to validate the arc.

Batiste consumption trajectory — management's "we have work to do" framing (delivered at the Barclays conference in the prior period) set an explicit expectation that subsequent quarters must show visible scanner-data recovery; continued weakness would compound the Personal Care narrative reliance on Touchland alone.

Household Products inflection — -1.5% in Q4 with the product line representing ~40% of Consumer Domestic revenue is a meaningful risk to the +3-4% organic guide; watch for Q1 stabilization in laundry/cleaning consumption.

Innovation contribution to organic growth — management said new product launches are expected to drive approximately half of 2026 organic growth; tracking sell-in and consumption data on TheraBreath toothpaste, Hero MIGHTY SHIELD and cleansers, A&H DUAL DEFENSE litter, A&H Baking Soda Fresh detergent, and Trojan G.O.A.T. is the cleanest leading indicator.

International M&A — management explicitly flagged a focus on the next acquisition being outside the U.S. (Europe/Asia presence built out); deal flow disclosure would directly bear on the third growth initiative.

Sources

Church & Dwight Q4 2025 press release (SEC 8-K Ex. 99.1), filed January 30, 2026 — https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/313927/000119312526030474/chd-ex99_1.htm
Church & Dwight 2026 Analyst Day prepared remarks (concurrent with Q4 earnings release, January 30, 2026)

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