Key Highlights

  • Fiscal first-quarter sales at CLX totaled $1.905 billion, a 33% advance over $1.429 billion one year before.
  • Organic sales expanded 18%, and the GOJO Acquisition contributed 15 percentage points to reported growth.
  • Clorox's diluted per-share profit surged 114%, reaching $1.39 against $0.65 previously, and attributable net Earnings hit $170 million.
  • Gross Margin shrank 130 basis points to 40.4%, as commodity, Manufacturing and logistics costs climbed.
  • Management now sees fiscal 2027 input cost Inflation near $240 million, approximately $40 million above its first estimate.

Purchase of GOJO and a Depressed Prior-Year Base Lift Sales 33%

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) posted results for its fiscal first quarter, which closed on Sep 30, 2026; the release date was Nov 2, 2026. Revenue hit $1.905 billion, compared with $1.429 billion previously, a 33% jump. Volume rose 31%: the ERP transition had held down shipments a year ago, and GOJO, the Purell maker, was bought on Apr 1, 2026.

Organic sales, which exclude acquisitions and currency effects, grew 18% and organic volume rose 17%. The acquisition added 15 points to reported growth.

The company's net earnings rose to $170 million from $80 million. Helped by stronger sales, savings and a lower tax burden (effective rate 16.4% versus 23.4%), diluted EPS hit $1.39, up 114%.

Health and Wellness Segment Surges 62% as Gross Margin Narrows to 40.4%

Sales in the Health and Wellness segment surged 62% to $918 million, and 39 of those points came from the acquisition. Household products grew 17%, reaching $423 million; Lifestyle expanded 16% to $283 million; International climbed 11% to $281 million.

Gross profit reached $770 million, a 29% rise, but gross margin contracted to 40.4% from 41.7%. Increased commodity, manufacturing and logistics expenses more than wiped out volume growth and savings.

Operating Cash, Dividend Payouts and Borrowing Following the GOJO Deal

Operating cash generation reached $143 million, compared with $93 million, while Capital spending came to $38 million. Dividends paid totaled $151 million, and the company made no share repurchases, versus $129 million in Buybacks during the year-earlier quarter.

About $1.175 billion of notes and loans payable, mostly commercial paper, funded the acquisition and a venture termination payment. Interest expense, at $52 million, compared with $23 million a year earlier, as acquisition borrowings rose. Current liabilities were $1.023 billion higher than current assets. Clorox held $1.964 billion in revolving Credit availability, with nothing drawn.

Forecast Built Around Roughly $240 Million of Cost Pressure, Price Increases and January Leadership Handover

Fiscal 2027 input cost inflation is forecast at roughly $240 million, about 2.5 times the usual yearly average, with resin and transportation cited as the main culprits. Oil around $100 per barrel is the working assumption, according to management, and it expects the pressure to concentrate in the first half.

Organic sales for the full year are expected to rise 3.5% to 4.5%, with about 3.5 points attributable to lapping the ERP transition. Without that effect, growth would be flat to 1%. Organic Sales in the second quarter are seen flat to down 2%. In July the Glad trash bag line received a high single-digit price hike, and another round of pricing is planned for the second half.

Regarding the GOJO deal, leadership upgraded its first-year earnings outlook from neutral to positive and sees a route to capturing all $50 million of planned cost synergies. A successor chief executive has been chosen and takes over in January. Watch next for second-quarter numbers and how quickly pricing and margins recover.