Kimberly-Clark (KMB) reported net income of US$ 1.8 billion in the third quarter of 2026, compared with US$ 454 million in the same period of the prior year. Net income attributable to the company was US$ 1.79 billion, and diluted earnings per share (EPS) was US$ 5.37, compared with US$ 1.34. The result includes a pre-tax gain of about US$ 1.4 billion from the completion of the International Family Care and Professional (IFP) transaction, reported as a discontinued operation.
Revenue from continuing operations was US$ 4.1 billion (US$ 4,134 million), down 0.4%. Organic sales fell 1.3%, with an impact of about 270 basis points from social media disruption in China. Operating profit was US$ 516 million, compared with US$ 621 million, with charges of US$ 106 million related to the Kenvue acquisition and US$ 55 million from the 2024 Transformation Initiative. Gross margin was 34.9%, compared with 36.0%.
In continuing operations, diluted EPS was US$ 1.19, compared with US$ 1.01. Adjusted EPS (non-GAAP, excludes items the company considers non-recurring) from continuing operations was US$ 1.70, up 17.2%, and adjusted operating profit was US$ 677 million, down 0.9%. Adjusted EPS attributable to Kimberly-Clark was US$ 1.70, down 6.6%.
In the nine months, the company generated US$ 2.4 billion in operating cash flow and paid US$ 1.3 billion in dividends. Total debt from continuing operations was US$ 6.5 billion as of September 30, 2026, compared with US$ 7.2 billion at the end of 2025. The Kenvue acquisition was completed on November 2, 2026.
For 2026, the company reaffirmed its outlook excluding Kenvue. It expects mid-single-digit growth in adjusted operating profit and high-single-digit growth in adjusted EPS from continuing operations, both on a constant-currency basis.
