Clorox expects fiscal 2027 adjusted earnings near the low end of its existing range as higher costs weigh on quarterly margins, despite strong first-quarter sales and profit growth.
Clorox retained its fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS target at $5.70 to $6 and its sales growth projection at 13% to 14%. It now sees adjusted EPS closer to $5.70, the bottom of that range. For gross margin, the company estimates an average of about 41.5% over the full fiscal year.
Clorox's first-quarter sales and margin report put net sales at $1.905 billion for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with $1.429 billion a year earlier, a 33% increase. Adjusted diluted EPS rose 82% to $1.55 from $0.85; diluted earnings under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) were $1.39, up from $0.65. Adjusted EPS is calculated on a non-GAAP basis, so it differs from the GAAP figure.
Reported growth included a roughly 15-percentage-point contribution from GOJO, while organic sales rose 18%. The organic comparison was against a period when retailers ordered less during Clorox's U.S. enterprise resource planning (ERP) transition in fiscal 2026, reducing shipments. With fewer products shipped in that earlier period, the year-over-year comparison started from a lower base.
Gross margin came in at 40.4%, compared with 41.7% in the same quarter last year, a decline of 1.3 percentage points. Clorox identified commodity, manufacturing and logistics costs as the main quarterly pressures; greater volume and cost savings cushioned part of the impact. At about 41.5% for the year, the company's margin projection is 1.1 percentage points above the first-quarter reading and 0.2 points below the year-earlier figure.
Clorox Chair and CEO Linda Rendle said, “The cost environment has become more challenging.”
