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Kimberly-Clark's Powering Care Plan: Can It Strengthen Growth?
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Key Takeaways
KMB posts 3% volume plus mix growth in Q1, backed by innovation and market share gains.
Kimberly-Clark targets 6% gross productivity improvement for fiscal 2026.
KMB expects 70-80 basis points of gross and operating margin expansion this year.
Kimberly-Clark Corporation’s (KMB - Free Report) Powering Care growth engine continues to support strong base business momentum across the portfolio. At its first-quarter 2026 earnings call, management highlighted the company’s focus on delivering differentiated, science-backed innovation across multiple price tiers within its good, better and best product offerings, helping strengthen competitiveness and support long-term growth.
KMB’s innovation continued to support solid organic sales growth in the first quarter of 2026, with volume plus mix growth increasing to 3%. Management noted that this performance builds on two consecutive years of broad-based volume plus mix growth across the business, with ongoing market share gains within its key focus categories, including Baby Care, Women’s Health and Active Aging.
Pricing philosophy remains focused on maintaining pricing net of costs neutral over time as part of its integrated margin management strategy under the Powering Care plan. Kimberly-Clark highlighted several key drivers supporting the strategy, including revenue growth management initiatives and a strong pipeline of productivity programs. The company has already delivered two consecutive years of 6% gross productivity improvement and reported another 6% productivity gain in the first quarter of fiscal 2026. Kimberly-Clark also expects to maintain approximately 6% gross productivity improvement for the full year.
Furthermore, the program is on track to meet or exceed $200 million in savings. As a result, Kimberly-Clark forecasts that both gross and operating profit margins will expand by 70 to 80 basis points for the full year. The company also said that its previously announced $2 billion investment in the North American supply chain is progressing as planned.
Overall, Kimberly-Clark’s Powering Care strategy appears well-positioned to strengthen growth through innovation, productivity gains, margin expansion and supply chain investments, supporting long-term competitiveness and profitability.
The Zacks Rundown for KMB
Shares of KMB have lost 12.7% in the past three months compared with the industry’s decline of 14.6%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, KMB trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 12.87, lower than the industry’s average of 17.55. KMB currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for KMB’s current fiscal year earnings implies a year-over-year decline of 0.7%, and the same for next fiscal year earnings implies year-over-year growth of 0.4%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Stocks to Consider
Some better-ranked stocks have been discussed below:
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DNUT’s current fiscal-year sales implies a decline of 14%, and the same for earnings implies growth of 80% from the year-ago reported figures. DNUT delivered a trailing four-quarter negative earnings surprise of 6.3%, on average.
ARKO Corp. (ARKO - Free Report) operates a chain of convenience stores in the United States. ARKO currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ARKO's current fiscal-year sales implies a decline of 2.8%, while the same for current fiscal-year earnings implies growth of 93.3% from the year-ago reported figures. ARKO delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 43.2%, on average.
Ryohin Keikaku Co., Ltd. (RYKKY - Free Report) engages in the retail of household goods and food items in Japan and internationally. RYKKY currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RYKKY's current fiscal-year sales and earnings implies growth of 5.6% and 5.6%, respectively, from the year-ago actuals.
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Kimberly-Clark's Powering Care Plan: Can It Strengthen Growth?
Key Takeaways
Kimberly-Clark Corporation’s (KMB - Free Report) Powering Care growth engine continues to support strong base business momentum across the portfolio. At its first-quarter 2026 earnings call, management highlighted the company’s focus on delivering differentiated, science-backed innovation across multiple price tiers within its good, better and best product offerings, helping strengthen competitiveness and support long-term growth.
KMB’s innovation continued to support solid organic sales growth in the first quarter of 2026, with volume plus mix growth increasing to 3%. Management noted that this performance builds on two consecutive years of broad-based volume plus mix growth across the business, with ongoing market share gains within its key focus categories, including Baby Care, Women’s Health and Active Aging.
Pricing philosophy remains focused on maintaining pricing net of costs neutral over time as part of its integrated margin management strategy under the Powering Care plan. Kimberly-Clark highlighted several key drivers supporting the strategy, including revenue growth management initiatives and a strong pipeline of productivity programs. The company has already delivered two consecutive years of 6% gross productivity improvement and reported another 6% productivity gain in the first quarter of fiscal 2026. Kimberly-Clark also expects to maintain approximately 6% gross productivity improvement for the full year.
Furthermore, the program is on track to meet or exceed $200 million in savings. As a result, Kimberly-Clark forecasts that both gross and operating profit margins will expand by 70 to 80 basis points for the full year. The company also said that its previously announced $2 billion investment in the North American supply chain is progressing as planned.
Overall, Kimberly-Clark’s Powering Care strategy appears well-positioned to strengthen growth through innovation, productivity gains, margin expansion and supply chain investments, supporting long-term competitiveness and profitability.
The Zacks Rundown for KMB
Shares of KMB have lost 12.7% in the past three months compared with the industry’s decline of 14.6%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, KMB trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 12.87, lower than the industry’s average of 17.55. KMB currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for KMB’s current fiscal year earnings implies a year-over-year decline of 0.7%, and the same for next fiscal year earnings implies year-over-year growth of 0.4%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Stocks to Consider
Some better-ranked stocks have been discussed below:
Krispy Kreme, Inc. (DNUT - Free Report) produces doughnuts in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Canada, Japan, and internationally. At present, DNUT carries a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DNUT’s current fiscal-year sales implies a decline of 14%, and the same for earnings implies growth of 80% from the year-ago reported figures. DNUT delivered a trailing four-quarter negative earnings surprise of 6.3%, on average.
ARKO Corp. (ARKO - Free Report) operates a chain of convenience stores in the United States. ARKO currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ARKO's current fiscal-year sales implies a decline of 2.8%, while the same for current fiscal-year earnings implies growth of 93.3% from the year-ago reported figures. ARKO delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 43.2%, on average.
Ryohin Keikaku Co., Ltd. (RYKKY - Free Report) engages in the retail of household goods and food items in Japan and internationally. RYKKY currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RYKKY's current fiscal-year sales and earnings implies growth of 5.6% and 5.6%, respectively, from the year-ago actuals.