Clorox (NYSE:CLX) said it began fiscal 2027 with better-than-expected first-quarter results, supported by execution and favorable timing, while maintaining its focus on market-share recovery and managing elevated input costs.
Chair and CEO Linda Rendle said the company is seeing steady improvement in organic sales and market share, though the consumer environment remains challenging. Consumers continue to seek value, competition remains elevated, and commodity, transportation and other supply-chain costs are pressuring margins, she said.
“The underlying trajectory of the business continues to move in the right direction,” Rendle said, pointing to progress in brand superiority, innovation, portfolio development and transformation initiatives.
Inflation outlook rises as cost pressures broaden
CFO Luc Bellet said Clorox now expects fiscal 2027 input-cost inflation of about $240 million, up $40 million from its initial outlook. The expected increase is approximately 2.5 times the company’s historical annual average inflation rate, he said.
While oil remains an important variable, Bellet said cost pressures extend beyond energy. Resin is a significant driver, alongside inflation in a broad range of commodities, supplier costs, transportation and logistics. Clorox’s outlook assumes an average annual Brent crude-oil price of about $100.
The company expects inflation to be more pronounced in the first half of the fiscal year. Mitigation actions, including productivity initiatives, revenue-growth management and targeted pricing, are expected to build during the second half.
Bellet said the majority of Clorox’s margin recovery for the year is expected to come from cost savings and productivity, with revenue-growth management contributing more than pricing. He said the first quarter included one of the company’s highest quarterly cost-savings totals on record.
Clorox expects full-year gross-margin compression on average but anticipates exiting the year with a stronger gross-margin profile as inflation moderates relative to the first half and recovery actions take effect. The company expects its second-half gross margin to exceed the average level in the first half.
Sales outlook calls for gradual improvement
Clorox maintained its fiscal-year organic-sales-growth outlook of 3.5% to 4.5%, including approximately 3.5 percentage points of benefit from lapping the prior-year ERP transition. Excluding that ERP comparison, the company expects organic sales to range from flat to up 1% for the full year.
Bellet said organic sales excluding the ERP effect are expected to decline slightly in the first half before increasing slightly in the second half. U.S. retail consumption is expected to be roughly flat in the first half and slightly positive in the back half.
For the second quarter, Clorox expects organic sales to range from flat to down 2%, reflecting shipment comparisons, merchandising timing and other lapping effects. The company said its professional and international businesses are expected to be leading contributors, while consumption trends are expected to remain about flat in U.S. retail.
Rendle said category growth remains in line with Clorox’s prior expectation of flat to up 1% for the fiscal year. She cited consumer behaviors including purchases of both larger and smaller pack sizes, delayed purchases and continued value-seeking.
Share gains led by home care, Brita and Hidden Valley Ranch
Rendle highlighted market-share improvement across several businesses. Home care gained more than half a share point during the quarter, supported by innovation activation and back-to-school merchandising. Brita also posted strong share growth, aided by back-to-school and back-to-college programs, promotions and innovation.
Hidden Valley Ranch gained nearly two share points despite pressure on the broader category following a Cyclospora outbreak that affected salad consumption. Rendle said the brand benefited from its positioning as a condiment used beyond salads.
Burt’s Bees and Glad trash posted roughly flat share performance, while the company continued to identify cat litter as an area requiring further improvement. Clorox has invested in price within portions of its litter portfolio and expects product innovation, much of which is weighted toward the second half, to support a better consumer proposition and potentially allow some pricing investments to be removed over time.
Kingsford’s category remained pressured by weather and other factors, but the company reported high-single-digit growth and share gains during the Labor Day period. Rendle said the performance reflected improved execution during a key holiday for the business.
Pricing, innovation and GOJO integration remain key priorities
Clorox has already implemented targeted pricing across each of its four reportable segments. Rendle cited Glad trash as an example, where the company took a high-single-digit price increase in July because of resin exposure. The increase began appearing in market data near the end of September, she said.
The company is evaluating further targeted pricing in the second half, particularly where commodity pressure is most acute. However, management emphasized that it intends to balance pricing with investments in brand superiority and market-share recovery. Clorox also expects broad-based revenue-growth-management activity, including work on price-pack architecture.
Rendle said the company has one of its strongest innovation plans on record, with most launches scheduled for the second half. The pipeline includes extensions of existing successful platforms such as Clorox PURE allergy-removing products.
Meanwhile, Clorox said its integration of GOJO Industries is progressing ahead of expectations. Bellet said the acquired business is performing well and that the company has line of sight to its previously identified $50 million in cost synergies, with potential for more. Some synergies are expected to begin contributing during fiscal 2027, earlier than initially anticipated, helping shift the first-year adjusted earnings-per-share impact from neutral to positive.
Leadership transition underway
Rendle said the board has appointed Fabian Garcia as Clorox’s next CEO. She described Garcia as an experienced global consumer-products executive with a record in brand building, innovation, portfolio evolution, talent development and disciplined growth.
Rendle said she will remain focused on executing the company’s plans and supporting a seamless transition until Garcia takes the role on Jan. 5. The call was Rendle’s final earnings call as Clorox CEO.
About Clorox (NYSE:CLX)
The Clorox Company, founded in 1913 and headquartered in Oakland, California, is a consumer and professional products company. It began with household bleach and has expanded into a portfolio of brands serving cleaning, household, personal care, food, and professional markets.
Its brands include Clorox disinfecting and cleaning products, Pine-Sol cleaners, Liquid-Plumr drain care, Kingsford charcoal, Fresh Step and Scoop Away cat litter, Hidden Valley dressings and dips, Brita water filtration products, and Burt’s Bees personal care items.
