CLX

Business profile & competitive position

The Clorox Company is a multinational manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products classified in the Consumer Defensive sector and Household & Personal Products industry. Its fiscal 2026 net sales were $6.7 billion, generated by roughly 9,200 employees operating in about 25 countries and selling into roughly 95 markets. Consumer brands include Clorox, Pine-Sol, Glad, Fresh Step, Kingsford, Hidden Valley, Brita, and Burt’s Bees, while the professional portfolio is sold under Purell, CloroxPro, and Clorox Healthcare.

In April 2026, Clorox closed the acquisition of GOJO Industries, expanding its health and hygiene footprint and adding scale to the business-to-business channel. In an industry where shelf placement, brand recognition, and repeat purchase matter, the breadth of this portfolio is the company’s real competitive asset. However, competitive advantage must also be read through profitability: the reported net margin is 8.7% and ROE is -1,893.5%. The net margin shows the company earns a modest but positive profit on each dollar of sales, consistent with a stable staples business. The extremely negative ROE is not a margin story; it reflects an equity base that has been driven deeply negative, most commonly by accumulated deficits, significant share repurchases, or treasury-stock activity. In that context, ROE alone is not a useful gauge of operating returns, but it does flag a highly leveraged capital structure and limited accounting equity cushion.

Financial posture

Clorox’s current market capitalization is $11.3 billion, it trades at 19.3x earnings, and it carries a beta of 0.54. The P/E multiple sits in the mid-range for a large-cap consumer staples name, while the low beta signals the stock has historically been far less volatile than the broader equity market, which is typical for a defensive household-products company. Net profitability is positive at 8.7%, but the -1,893.5% ROE reinforces that the balance sheet is carrying very little, or negative, common equity; leverage is the dominant feature once the operating business is stripped back.

Near the date of this snapshot, the stock was $93.06, below its 50-day EMA of $100.14, and the RSI was 30.1, a reading associated with near-term downside momentum. Those technical readings are descriptive, not directive, but they do show that price action has weakened against its short-term trend.

Strategic priorities & outlook

Clorox’s most recent 10-K frames near-term execution around the IGNITE strategy, which is built on four choices: fueling long-term profitable growth, innovating consumer experiences, reimagining how the company and its people work, and continuously evolving the product portfolio. Operationally, management is focused on completing and optimizing a new enterprise-resource-planning (ERP) system and a broader digital transformation aimed at generating long-term efficiencies across supply chain, digital commerce, innovation, and brand building.

The company also says it intends to invest in strong brands, strategic digital capabilities, and a streamlined operating model to build a more resilient business and deliver consistent, profitable growth. Health and hygiene expansion is another stated priority, including integrating the GOJO acquisition and growing professional and institutional markets. Fiscal 2026 was a setback: organic sales and earnings declined, and diluted EPS fell 26%, partly because macro headwinds and ERP transition timing had pulled some sales forward into fiscal 2025. Customer concentration adds another operational wrinkle: Walmart alone accounted for 26% of fiscal 2026 consolidated net sales, and the five largest customers represented about half of consolidated net sales. Additionally, the Glad bags and wraps venture with P&G expired on January 31, 2026, after which Clorox purchased P&G’s 20% interest, with Glad retaining core intellectual-property licenses on a royalty-free basis.

Macro & geopolitical exposure

As a Household & Personal Products company, Clorox sits in the consumer staples value chain and is exposed to the macrotrends that shape that industry. Input-cost inflation is a persistent factor: resins used in bags and wraps, agricultural commodities for food-oriented brands like Hidden Valley, energy for manufacturing and logistics, and transportation rates all filter directly into cost of goods sold. The industry is also competitive on price and private-label share, meaning margin pressure is hard to pass through instantly.

Regulatory exposure is real in this sector. Disinfectant and cleaning products are overseen by agencies such as the EPA in the United States; product-label claims, chemical compositions, and safety standards can create compliance costs or limit formulations. Currency translation affects roughly 95-market sales exposure, and supply-chain reliability matters for a business selling everyday consumables through mass retail. Customer concentration is another macro-adjacent risk: when the top retail channel accounts for a quarter of sales, changes in merchandising terms, shelf allocation, or promotional cadence have outsized revenue implications.

Recent developments

• September 3, 2026 — Can Cost Savings Offset Inflation & Protect Clorox's Margins? (zacks.com). The headline reflects ongoing market attention on whether Clorox’s cost-saving initiatives can keep 8.7% net margin intact amid inflationary pressure.
• September 2, 2026 — Clorox (CLX) Down 9.3% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Rebound? (zacks.com). This flags the negative price action since the August 3 report and raises questions about whether the post-earnings momentum can reverse.
• September 1, 2026 — ADRNY or CLX: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now? (zacks.com). The piece places Clorox in a relative-value conversation against another consumer staples name, implicitly comparing its 19.3 P/E to an alternative.
• August 31, 2026 — 32,488 Shares in The Clorox Company $CLX Acquired by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (defenseworld.net). Institutional accumulation, even in a modest size, can signal longer-horizon interest at current levels.

Earnings behavior & post-earnings drift

Over the last eight reported quarters, Clorox has beaten earnings expectations 6 times, for a beat rate of 75%, with an average earnings surprise of 9.6%. The average five-day price move following those reports is +1.67%, classified as an upward drift. That combination suggests the company has historically delivered results ahead of the market’s real expectation and has generally seen modest positive follow-through in the days after reporting.

The most recent results show a more mixed next-day reaction. On August 3, 2026, Clorox reported actual EPS of $1.66 against an estimate of $1.64, a 1.2% beat; the stock rose 6.52% the next day and 9.61% over the following five sessions. On April 30, 2026, actual EPS of $1.64 beat the $1.55 estimate by 5.8%, yet the stock fell 9.67% the next day and 4.49% over five days, illustrating that a beat does not guarantee a positive price response. On February 3, 2026, EPS of $1.39 missed the $1.43 estimate by 2.8%, but the stock still gained 2.43% the next day and 5.63% over five days. On November 3, 2025, EPS of $0.85 beat the $0.818 estimate by 3.9%, producing a 1.17% next-day gain but a -4.08% drift over the next five sessions.

Clorox’s next scheduled earnings release is November 3, 2026 After Close, with a current consensus EPS estimate of $1.11. Traders watching the stock should weigh the 75% historical beat rate and positive average drift against the recent volatility of individual post-earnings reactions, where forward guidance and margin commentary have driven larger moves than the headline EPS number alone.