Margin care
Consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble reported strong quarterly earnings and revenue growth on Friday, beating Wall Street expectations and raising its outlook for the rest of 2023, sending shares up 3% in Friday's trading.
From a PR perspective, the company behind leading brands like Tide, Pampers, Febreeze, Tampax and Crest, has almost had too good a quarter — leading to accusations of “greedflation”. Sales volume for the quarter fell, but hiking prices 10% on average helped the company's overall sales still rise 4%.
Master of all
Since its humble beginnings in 1837, Procter & Gamble has grown into a consumer giant. The company now owns more than 65 brands, meaning that if you’ve washed your hands, cleaned the dishes, done the laundry, or brushed your teeth today, there’s a decent chance that you’ve used at least one P&G product.
While some product lines have come and gone over the years — the company’s successful entry into the food & drinks market is now all but over — P&G’s core divisions are still in good shape. Across every single division, P&G boasts healthy profit margins. Its Fabric & Home Care division is its largest by sales, hauling in ~$21 billion in the 9 months to the end of March, while Grooming and Beauty make the highest margins, nearing 30% each.
