Church & Dwight Beats Its Own Outlook Again, and Arm & Hammer Laundry Does the Heavy Lifting

Church & Dwight reported third-quarter net sales of $1.6 billion, up 1%, beating its own guidance of a 1% decline. Organic sales grew 5.1%, driven mostly by volume, and adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.92, up 13.6% and ahead of the company's own $0.89 outlook.

The growth leaned on a specific set of brands: Arm & Hammer liquid laundry detergent and cat litter, Therabreath, and Waterpik carried the domestic business, while Therabreath, Batiste, Touchland, and OxiClean did the same internationally. Marketing expense actually fell as a share of sales, down 90 basis points to 11.9%, which makes the sales beat look even better on paper.

The company raised its full-year guidance across nearly every metric and had its board approve a new $1 billion share repurchase program with no expiration date. For a portfolio built on toothpaste, cat litter, and pregnancy tests, outperforming your own conservative guidance for two quarters running is the unglamorous version of a hot streak, and Wall Street tends to reward it the same way.

Source: Church & Dwight

Kyle Duford, Founder & Editor, BRNDWIRE. More from Kyle →