Church & Dwight reported adjusted EPS of $0.86 for the fourth quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.84. This result represents an 11.7% increase over Q4 2024 adjusted EPS of $0.77. The company achieved net sales of $1.64 billion, up 3.9% year-over-year and exactly in line with Wall Street projections. Organic sales grew 0.7%, and when excluding the recently divested vitamin segment, organic growth rose to 1.8%, driven by stronger performance in personal care and home products.

Adjusted gross margin expanded by 90 basis points to 45.5%, exceeding internal guidance of 44.1%. Margin improvement was fueled by productivity initiatives, higher production volumes, and a favorable product mix. These gains more than offset inflationary headwinds and tariff costs. Marketing investments increased by $4.4 million to $212.3 million as the company accelerated promotional support for key brands, while adjusted SG&A rose modestly by 20 basis points to 15.4% of net sales.

On December 31, Church & Dwight completed the sale of its VITAFUSION and L’IL CRITTERS vitamin brands to Piping Rock, incurring a one-time after-tax charge of $45.6 million. The divestiture, which accounted for less than 5% of 2025 net sales, allows the company to focus resources on faster-growing core categories. In 2025 the company repurchased $900 million of stock and ended Q4 with $409 million in cash and $2.2 billion of total debt, maintaining strong liquidity for further share repurchases or acquisitions.

For full-year 2026, management forecasts organic sales growth of 3% to 4% and adjusted EPS growth of 5% to 8%. First-quarter 2026 guidance calls for approximately 3% organic sales growth and adjusted EPS of $0.92. The board approved a 4.2% increase in the quarterly dividend to $0.3075 per share, marking the 30th consecutive year of dividend hikes and an annualized payout of $1.23 per share. This increase raises the annual dividend outlay to roughly $291 million, reflecting confidence in cash flow generation.