P&G sales grew 4.0% versus the same quarter a year earlier. But each dollar of sales kept a thinner slice, and the share move sat close to the peer pack.
Sales grew faster, and the quarter was the biggest on the chart
P&G sold a little more of almost everything. Sales grew 4.0% versus the same quarter A three-month slice of a company's financial year. Companies report results once per quarter. a year earlier. Against the quarter just before it, sales rose 9.8% in 2026Q3. The latest quarter is the tallest revenue bar in the three years the chart covers, so in plain money terms this was the company's biggest quarter on that chart. Growth also picked up from 1.5% in 2026Q2.
Glossary
- Revenue
- The money a company takes in from selling its products before any costs are paid. Also called sales.
- quarter
- A three-month slice of a company's financial year. Companies report results once per quarter.
Data table
| period | revenue | yoy |
|---|---|---|
| 2023Q4 | $21.4bn | 3.2% |
| 2024Q1 | $20.2bn | 0.6% |
| 2024Q2 | $20.5bn | -0.1% |
| 2024Q3 | $21.7bn | -0.6% |
| 2024Q4 | $21.9bn | 2.1% |
| 2025Q1 | $19.8bn | -2.1% |
| 2025Q2 | $20.9bn | 1.7% |
| 2025Q3 | $22.4bn | 3.0% |
| 2025Q4 | $22.2bn | 1.5% |
| 2026Q1 | $21.2bn | 7.4% |
| 2026Q2 | $21.2bn | 1.5% |
| 2026Q3 | $23.3bn | 4.0% |
Do not read one good quarter as a new cruising speed. Over three years, revenue has grown at 2.1% a year. The growth line in the chart has risen and fallen many times over those twelve quarters, so this is a good quarter rather than a straight climb.
Each dollar of sales kept a thinner slice
Selling more is only half the story. Gross margin The share of sales left after paying to make the goods. A thinner gross margin means less money left per dollar sold. was 49.8% in 2026Q3. Against the same quarter a year earlier the change was -1.5 pp. Operating margin The share of sales left after making the goods and running the business, before interest and tax. came in at 25.5% in 2026Q3. My reading: the cost of making the products climbed faster than the prices on the shelf, so more sales did not turn into much more profit.
Glossary
- Gross margin
- The share of sales left after paying to make the goods. A thinner gross margin means less money left per dollar sold.
- Operating margin
- The share of sales left after making the goods and running the business, before interest and tax.
How did P&G's gross margin change against the same quarter a year earlier?
Actual-1.5 pp
Against the same quarter a year earlier the change was -1.5 pp. That is the surprise hiding behind a cheerful sales headline: sales rose, and the slice kept per dollar of sales shrank at the same time.
Show answer
-1.5 pp Against the same quarter a year earlier the change was -1.5 pp. That is the surprise hiding behind a cheerful sales headline: sales rose, and the slice kept per dollar of sales shrank at the same time.
There is a friendlier side to the same figures. Against the quarter just before it, gross margin was up 1.3 pp. Operating margin was up 6.9 pp against 2026Q2. So the quarter looks better than the one before it and thinner than the one a year ago, and both readings are true at once.
The share price moved with the pack, and the rating is below it
Now the share price, which shows movement in the same window as the news, never cause. In the window before the release, P&G's cumulative return ran -3.4% behind a basket of peers. From the release day onward the same gap was 1.3%. The basket holds 3 peers: Colgate-Palmolive, Kimberly-Clark and Church & Dwight. Only a handful of trading days have passed since the release, so the after-the-news figure covers just the days available so far.
Data table
| day | series | value | series_role |
|---|---|---|---|
| -5 | Procter & Gamble | 0.4% | target |
| -4 | Procter & Gamble | 1.8% | target |
| -3 | Procter & Gamble | 0.7% | target |
| -2 | Procter & Gamble | 1.8% | target |
| -1 | Procter & Gamble | 0.2% | target |
| 0 | Procter & Gamble | 5.8% | target |
| 1 | Procter & Gamble | 2.9% | target |
| -5 | Peer basket | 1.7% | peer |
| -4 | Peer basket | 3.2% | peer |
| -3 | Peer basket | 2.7% | peer |
| -2 | Peer basket | 4.9% | peer |
| -1 | Peer basket | 3.6% | peer |
| 0 | Peer basket | 8.2% | peer |
| 1 | Peer basket | 5.0% | peer |
| -5 | Cumulative abnormal return | -1.3% | neutral |
| -4 | Cumulative abnormal return | -1.3% | neutral |
| -3 | Cumulative abnormal return | -1.9% | neutral |
| -2 | Cumulative abnormal return | -3.0% | neutral |
| -1 | Cumulative abnormal return | -3.4% | neutral |
| 0 | Cumulative abnormal return | -2.2% | neutral |
| 1 | Cumulative abnormal return | -2.1% | neutral |
The rating tells a calm story too. P&G trades at 23.8x trailing earnings The profit a company already reported over the past four quarters, rather than an analyst estimate.. The peer median The middle value among similar companies. It gives a rough sense of what the market pays for that kind of business. is 33.6x. Over the year to 2026-10-23 the stock returned 8.9% with dividends included. The market returned 14.4% in the same window.
Glossary
- trailing earnings
- The profit a company already reported over the past four quarters, rather than an analyst estimate.
- peer median
- The middle value among similar companies. It gives a rough sense of what the market pays for that kind of business.
Risks
- One-off items can flatter or dent a single quarter, so one report is weak evidence.
- The peer basket is small and the companies differ, so the share-price comparison may be noisy.
- Currency swings or accounting changes can distort the year-on-year comparison.
Sources
- SEC EDGAR XBRL companyfacts, PROCTER & GAMBLE CO — data as of 2026-09-30; fetched 2026-10-24 17:36 UTC
- FinMind USStockPrice CHD — data as of 2026-10-23; fetched 2026-10-24 17:36 UTC; License note: FinMind open data; original source TWSE/TPEx or US exchanges
- FinMind USStockPrice CL — data as of 2026-10-23; fetched 2026-10-24 17:35 UTC; License note: FinMind open data; original source TWSE/TPEx or US exchanges
- FinMind USStockPrice KMB — data as of 2026-10-23; fetched 2026-10-24 17:35 UTC; License note: FinMind open data; original source TWSE/TPEx or US exchanges
- FinMind USStockPrice PG — data as of 2026-10-23; fetched 2026-10-24 17:35 UTC; License note: FinMind open data; original source TWSE/TPEx or US exchanges