Procter & Gamble has forecast annual results largely below estimates and said it would raise prices on some products in the US, a day after naming insider Shailesh Jejurikar as CEO to steer it through tariff uncertainty.
Economic volatility and “consumer anxiety” stemming from US President Donald Trump’s erratic tariff policies and crackdown on immigration and employment status have forced shoppers to temper spending in order to stretch their budgets, executives told Wall Street.
“There is a level of baseline uncertainty that we reflect in the guidance range,” outgoing CEO and company veteran Jon Moeller said on a post-earnings call. “To the extent that people are frustrated with the lack of certainty, and the breadth of the range, trust me, there’s no one more frustrated with that than I.”
P&G, which makes household basics spanning from Bounty paper towel to Metamucil fiber supplements, forecast fiscal 2026 annual net sales growth of between 1% and 5%, largely below analysts’ estimate of 3.09% growth, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Packaged food maker Nestle also said last week consumers in North America remained weak.
Shares of P&G, a bellwether for the consumer goods industry, were up marginally in volatile early trading.
At the same time, P&G’s pantry staples like Charmin toilet paper and Dawn dish soap, and demand for new products such as Tide Evo, a laundry detergent tile, have given the company room to raise prices to help offset the approximately $1 billion impact on its costs from tariffs.
P&G, which topped fourth-quarter estimates, said it would raise prices on about a quarter of its products in the US in the mid-single digit range starting this month.
“We believe that customers will still pay up for these products,” said Kim Forrest, chief investment officer at Bokeh Capital Partners. “During soft economic times, consumers may trade down but P&G has many products that people are willing to pay up for, regardless of tariffs or a slow economy.”
For the three months ended June 30, the company’s revenue rose to $20.89 billion, topping analysts’ estimate of $20.82 billion. Its core profit of $1.48 per share also beat expectations.
P&G is also trying to grow in categories where it has lost ground, such as its Luvs value-priced diapers and Olay skincare, Chief Financial Officer Andre Schulten said.
“The consumer clearly is more selective in terms of shopping behavior in our categories and we see a desire to find value either by going into larger pack sizes in the club channel or online or big-box retailers or by lowering the cash outlay,” Schulten said, adding that the company is also seeing U.S. shoppers turn to dollar stores.
P&G rolled out a restructuring effort in June to exit some businesses, including its operations in Bangladesh, and said on Tuesday it is streamlining its feminine care pad products in several Asian markets over the next two years.
The restructuring plan also includes cutting about 7,000 jobs to increase productivity. Jobs at the Cincinnati-based company will be broader, and teams will be smaller, executives said.
Some imports P&G is paying tariffs on include psyllium fiber sourced from India for Metamucil and oils sourced from tropical regions, according to a company spokesperson.
P&G expects fiscal 2026 core net earnings per share in the range of $6.83 and $7.09, compared with the estimate of $6.99.
