Colgate-Palmolive's (CL) US business could start stabilizing in Q1 2027 as it benefits from lapping its "self-inflicted" missteps and narrowing share losses, but significant reacceleration will require tougher choices, such as launching a new US brand, RBC Capital Markets said in a Tuesday research report.
The company's international business has consistently delivered mid-to-high single-digit organic growth, while the US business has capped further upside, the investment firm said.
RBC said competitive encroachment and innovation gaps in whitening and premium therapeutics have contributed to the company's US business underperformance, which produced negative organic sales for most of the past two years.
The Colgate Total relaunch addresses the short-term urgency, but it is working within the limits of a single brand attempting to occupy both mainstream and therapeutic positioning at the same time, which is a structural limitation its European two-brand playbook was specifically designed to solve, according to the note.
RBC has an outperform rating and a $104 price target on the company's stock.
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