OAKLAND, Calif., Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Clorox Company (NYSE: CLX) today reported results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2026, which ended December 31, 2025.
Second-Quarter Fiscal Year 2026 Summary
Following is a summary of key results for the second quarter. All comparisons are with the second quarter of fiscal year 2025 unless otherwise stated.
Net sales decreased 1% to $1.67 billion, primarily driven by lower consumption and partially offset by shipments ahead of consumption for several businesses. Organic sales1 decreased 1%.
Gross margin decreased 60 basis points to 43.2% from 43.8% in the year-ago quarter, primarily driven by higher manufacturing and logistics costs, partially offset by cost savings.
Diluted net earnings per share (diluted EPS) decreased 16% to $1.29 from $1.54 in the year-ago quarter. This includes lapping cyberattack insurance recoveries, as well as lower costs related to the company’s investment in its digital capabilities and productivity enhancements in the current period.
Adjusted EPS1 decreased 10% to $1.39 from $1.55 in the year-ago quarter, primarily due to lapping tax rate benefits in the prior period and lower gross profit.
Year-to-date net cash provided by operations was $404 million compared to $401 million in the year-ago period, representing a 1% increase.
“Our second‑quarter results were generally in line with our expectations and reflect continued progress against our strategic priorities. These results support our ability to reaffirm our fiscal year outlook in what remains a challenging and volatile environment,” said Chair and CEO Linda Rendle. “We remain laser-focused on executing our back-half plans, supported by a strong slate of innovation and investments. At the same time, we are advancing our transformation and are excited to expand our leadership position in health and hygiene through our recently announced acquisition of GOJO Industries. We are well positioned to deliver more consistent, profitable growth and long-term shareholder value.”
This press release includes certain non-GAAP financial measures. See “Non-GAAP Financial Information” at the end of this press release for more details.
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1Organic sales growth / (decrease) and adjusted EPS are non-GAAP measures. See Non-GAAP Financial Information at the end of this press release for reconciliations to the most comparable GAAP measures. |
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Strategic and Operational Highlights
The following are recent strategic and operational highlights:
Entered into a definitive agreement to acquire GOJO Industries, adding Purell® to the company’s portfolio of trusted brands and expanding its position in health and hygiene for consumers and businesses around the world.
Successfully completed the final phase of its U.S. ERP implementation in January, marking a major milestone in the company’s digital transformation.
Introduced new products across its portfolio, including the new allergen-neutralizing platform, Clorox PURE, expanded scent offerings for Clorox Scentiva Bleach, Glad’s first liquid-locking ForceFlex MaxStrength LeakGuard Trash Bags, Burt’s Bees’ trend-forward Lip Butter and Lip Oil, along with limited-edition holiday offerings such as Kingsford Christmas Coal and Burt’s Bees holiday gift sets.
The company was named among America’s Most Responsible Companies in 2026 by Newsweek.
Key Segment Results
The following is a summary of key second-quarter results by reportable segment. All comparisons are with the second quarter of fiscal year 2025 unless otherwise stated.
Health and Wellness (Cleaning; Professional Products)
Net sales increased 2%, driven by 2 points of higher volume, primarily due to incremental shipments related to the final phase of the ERP transition and strong shipments in Professional Products.
Segment adjusted EBIT2 decreased 2%, primarily due to higher manufacturing and logistics costs, partially offset by higher net sales.
Household (Bags and Wraps; Cat Litter; Grilling)
Net sales decreased 6%, driven by 3 points of lower volume and 3 points of unfavorable price mix. The volume decrease was primarily due to lower consumption. Unfavorable price mix was primarily due to a shift to larger sizes in Bags and Wraps.
Segment adjusted EBIT decreased 54%, mainly due to higher manufacturing and logistics costs and lower net sales, partially offset by cost savings.
Lifestyle (Food; Water Filtration; Natural Personal Care)
Net sales decreased 5%, driven by 5 points of lower volume primarily due to lower consumption.
Segment adjusted EBIT increased 3%, primarily due to lower advertising investments and partially offset by lower net sales.
International (Sales Outside the U.S.)
Net sales increased 7%, mainly driven by favorable price mix, favorable foreign exchange rates and higher volume. Organic sales grew 5%.
Segment adjusted EBIT increased 48%, primarily due to higher net sales and cost savings.
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2 Adjusted EBIT is a non-GAAP measure. See Non-GAAP Financial Information at the end of this press release for reconciliations to the most comparable GAAP measures. |
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Fiscal Year 2026 Outlook
The company is maintaining its full-year outlook for net sales, gross margin and adjusted EPS. The impact of the order fulfillment challenges experienced earlier in the year, which led to consumption and market share losses, keeps the company’s current expectations in the lower end of the range. This outlook does not include the impact from the company’s acquisition of GOJO Industries, which is currently expected to close before the end of fiscal year 2026.
The most significant driver of the company’s fiscal year 2026 outlook is a transitory one. The company shipped about two weeks of inventory ahead of consumption at the end of the fourth-quarter of fiscal year 2025 as retailers built inventory in advance of its ERP transition. The company expected retailers to draw down on these inventories in the first quarter of this fiscal year, resulting in year-over-year shipments decline. From a year-over-year sales growth perspective, the reduction in sales from this inventory draw down translates to about 7.5 points of decline in fiscal year 2026 as compared to the higher base in fiscal year 2025. Inventory draw down is expected to reduce fiscal year 2026 earnings per share by about 90 cents. In comparison to the higher base in fiscal year 2025, this results in a year-over-year reduction of about 30% to fiscal year 2026 diluted earnings per share and about 23% to fiscal year 2026 adjusted earnings per share.
The company is confirming the following elements of its fiscal year 2026 outlook:
The company still expects net sales to be down 6% to 10%, including less than a point of negative impact from the divestiture of its VMS business. Organic sales are still expected to decrease 5% to 9%, including a negative impact of about 7.5 points related to the reversal of the impact from incremental shipments associated with the ERP transition in the prior year.
Gross margin is still expected to be down 50 to 100 basis points. The reversal of the impact from incremental shipments associated with ERP transition in the prior fiscal year is expected to result in about 100 basis points of headwinds.
Selling and administrative expenses are still expected to be about 16% of net sales. It continues to include about 90 basis points of impact from the company’s strategic investments in digital capabilities and productivity enhancements.
Advertising and sales promotion spending is still expected to be about 11% of net sales, reflecting the company’s ongoing commitment to invest behind its brands.
The company’s effective tax rate is still expected to be about 24%.
Fiscal year diluted EPS is still expected to be between $5.60 and $5.95, a year-over-year decrease of 14% to 9%, respectively. This includes the negative impact of about 90 cents related to the reversal of the impact from incremental shipments associated with the ERP transition in the prior fiscal year.
Adjusted EPS is still expected to be between $5.95 and $6.30, or a decrease between 23% and 18%, respectively. Adjusted EPS excludes the long-term strategic investment in digital capabilities and productivity enhancements, estimated to be about 35 cents. This includes the negative impact of about 90 cents related to the reversal of the impact from incremental shipments associated with the ERP transition in the prior fiscal year.
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Net sales (percentage change versus the year ago period) |
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Fiscal year 2025 full year |
Fiscal year 2026 full year outlook |
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Impact |
Low |
High |
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Net sales growth / (decrease) (GAAP) |
0 % |
(10) % |
(6) % |
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Add: Foreign Exchange |
— |
— |
— |
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Add/(Subtract): Divestitures/acquisitions |
5 |
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