Kimberly-Clark Corporation (KMB), with a market capitalization of approximately $36.1 billion, is a global consumer goods company that develops and manufactures essential personal care, hygiene, and household products. The Dallas, Texas-based company and its brands focus on improving everyday health, cleanliness, comfort, and well-being through innovation and sustainable practices.
Shares of this leading consumer goods company have considerably underperformed the broader market over the past year. KMB has declined 18.5% over this period, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has rallied 20.2%. On a year-to-date basis, KMB has also underperformed, gaining 8% compared with the index’s 13.2% gain over the same period.
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Narrowing the comparison, KMB has also underperformed the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Consumer Staples ETF (RSPS), which has declined marginally over the past year and gained 6.5% year-to-date.
www.barchart.com On August 4, Kimberly-Clark reported its Q2 FY2026 earnings, with shares rising about 4% that day amid resilient results despite a China-related social media disruption. Net sales grew marginally to $4.2 billion, while one-time tariff refunds and strong productivity savings helped offset the impact of the disruption in China. Adjusted EPS from continuing operations rose 10.4% to $1.80.
Kimberly-Clark lowered its 2026 outlook, now expecting organic sales growth approximately 100 basis points below its weighted average category growth rate, reflecting the impact of the China social media disruptions. The company still expects adjusted operating profit to grow mid-single digits and adjusted EPS from continuing operations to grow high single digits, both on a constant-currency basis.
For the current fiscal year ending in December 2026, analysts expect KMB’s diluted EPS to decrease 1.3% to $7.43. However, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates in three of the past four quarters, while missing in one quarter.
Among the 16 analysts covering KMB stock, the consensus rating is a “Moderate Buy.” The rating is based on five “Strong Buys,” one “Moderate Buy,” nine “Holds,” and one “Strong Sell.”
www.barchart.com KMB’s analyst configuration is more bullish than it was a month ago, when the stock had four “Strong Buy” recommendations.
On August 5, 2026, Evercore ISI analyst Javier Escalante maintained a “Hold” rating on Kimberly-Clark with a $115 price target.
The mean price target of $117.47 implies a 7.8% upside from KMB’s current share price, while the Street-high target of $162 suggests a potential upside of 48.7%.
On the date of publication, Kritika Sarmah did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
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