KVUE · Q2 2026 Earnings

Neutral

Kenvue

Reported August 6, 2026

30-second summary

Organic sales grew 1.6% with volume +0.7% and price/mix +0.9% — the first quarter under Perry in which all three segments printed positive organic growth, and a clean step-up from Q1's +0.7%. Reported revenue rose 3.0% to $3.96B, helped by a 1.4% FX tailwind that has narrowed sharply from Q1's +3.8%. Self Care organic finally turned positive (+0.6% organic, +2.2% reported) after four quarters of decline, Skin Health & Beauty sustained mid-single-digit reported growth (+5.1% reported, +3.7% organic), and North America disclosure returned. With the Kimberly-Clark deal still pending Q4 2026 close, forward guidance remains suspended.

Headline numbers

EPS

Q2 FY2026

$0.31

Revenue

Q2 FY2026

$3.96B

+3.0% YoY

Gross margin

Q2 FY2026

58.2%

Operating margin

Q2 FY2026

17.7%

Key financials

Q2 FY2026

Metric	Q2 FY2026	Q2 FY2025	YoY	Q1 FY2026	QoQ
Revenue	$3.96B	$3.84B	+3.0%	$3.91B	+1.2%
EPS	$0.31	$0.28	+8.8%	$0.32	-3.1%
Gross margin	58.2%	—	—	58.9%	-70bps
Operating margin	17.7%	—	—	19.6%	-190bps

Guidance

No forward guidance provided due to pending Kimberly-Clark transaction; company maintained policy of withholding guidance announcements.

Segment performance

Q2 FY2026

Segment	Q2 FY2026	YoY
Self Care	$1.589B	+2.2%
Skin Health and Beauty	$1.113B	+5.1%
Essential Health	$1.253B	+2.3%

Platform metrics

Q2 FY2026

Segment	Q2 FY2026	Q2 FY2025	YoY
Organic Sales Growth	1.6%	—	—
Price/Mix (Value Realization)	0.9%	—	—
Volume Growth	0.7%	—	—
Foreign Currency Benefit	1.4%	—	—

Profitability

Q2 FY2026

Segment	Q2 FY2026
Adjusted Operating Margin	22.1%
Adjusted Gross Profit Margin	60.2%

Other KPIs

Q2 FY2026

Segment	Q2 FY2026	YoY
North America	$1.905B	+1.4%
Europe, Middle East, and Africa	$0.956B	+2.9%
Asia Pacific	$0.723B	+2.4%
Latin America	$0.371B	+13.8%

Management tone

No earnings call was held. Kenvue has now missed three consecutive quarterly calls (Q4 FY2025, Q1 FY2026, Q2 FY2026), and the press release is the only communication channel. Tone analysis is limited to release language and the absence of it.

Narrative arc: Self-induced complexity (Q2 FY2025) → Decisive actions (Q3 FY2025) → Deal closeout (Q4 FY2025) → Caretaker mode (Q1 FY2026) → Caretaker mode with operational improvement (Q2 FY2026).

The Q2 release preserves the caretaker template established in Q1: standardized segment figures, margin lines, and the boilerplate Kimberly-Clark transaction paragraph. What has shifted is not the tone but what the numbers underneath the tone are showing — the operational trajectory has quietly moved from stabilization to modest expansion. Perry's Q3 FY2025 "decisive actions" framing has been absent from releases for three quarters now, but the delayed effect of those actions is visible in this print: Self Care inflected positive at the organic line, Skin Health & Beauty sustained solid growth, and North America returned to positive reported growth. Kimberly-Clark is now inheriting a stabilized asset rather than a deteriorating one.

The restoration of geographic YoY growth disclosure — absent in Q1, back in Q2 — is worth flagging. It suggests either investor pushback on the Q1 disclosure regression or an SEC comment; either way, transparency did not continue to compress.

Answers to last quarter's watch list

Kimberly-Clark transaction regulatory progress — The Q2 release continues to reference an expected Q4 2026 close subject to foreign regulatory approvals. No specific EU or APAC antitrust milestones are surfaced in the extraction data.

Continue monitoring

Self Care organic trajectory — Reported Self Care revenue grew +2.2% in Q2 (organic +0.6%) after four quarters of decline, breaking the trend the Q1 watch flagged, though six-month organic remains -0.9%. This is the cleanest operational win in the print.

Resolved positively

Skin Health & Beauty sustainability — Reported +5.1% (organic +3.7%) in Q2, sustained above the +3% organic threshold set on the watch. Two consecutive solid quarters confirms the recovery.

Resolved positively

FX tailwind durability — FX contribution compressed from +3.8% in Q1 to +1.4% in Q2. Reported growth of +3.0% now maps much more closely to organic +1.6%, so the optical gap has narrowed. FX did not reverse into a drag. Status: Resolved (as expected — moderation, not reversal)

North America growth disclosure — Restored. Q2 discloses North America at $1.905B (+1.4% YoY), reversing the Q1 disclosure regression.

Resolved positively

What to watch into next quarter

Kimberly-Clark transaction regulatory milestones: with the operational story now trending positive, deal timing is the dominant variable. Watch for specific EU and key APAC antitrust clearances in the Q3 release; Q4 2026 close leaves limited runway.

Self Care follow-through: +0.6% organic in Q2 is the first positive organic print in five quarters, but modest. Watch whether Q3 sustains positive Self Care organic growth or whether the Q2 inflection was a one-quarter bounce driven by lapping weak year-ago comps.

North America durability: +1.4% reported in Q2 is a return from Q4's -4.5%, but growth remains the weakest of the four regions. Watch whether the segment can accelerate above +2% or whether it stalls.

FX contribution glide path: +3.8% Q1 → +1.4% Q2. If FX turns to zero or negative in Q3, reported growth will be roughly equal to organic — a cleaner read on underlying trend and the last standalone quarter before Kimberly-Clark's optics take over.

Deal-related charges scaling: prior quarters have broken out Proposed Transaction costs as adjustments. Watch whether the dollar amount grows meaningfully in Q3 as close approaches, and whether any incremental integration-related items appear.

Sources

Kenvue Q2 FY2026 press release (SEC filing): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1944048/000194404826000141/q226earningspressrelease.htm
Kenvue Q1 FY2026 brief (prior-quarter context and watch list)
Kenvue Q4 FY2025 brief (guidance withdrawal and deal cadence context)
Kenvue Q3 FY2025 brief (Kimberly-Clark merger agreement announcement)

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