This leading consumer goods company's shares are among Wall Street's top recommendations for 2026

Colgate-Palmolive Expected to Outpace Rivals in Sales Growth

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According to Morgan Stanley analysts, Colgate-Palmolive is projected to achieve stronger sales growth than its industry peers throughout this year.

Main Insights

• Analysts at Morgan Stanley anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will rebound in 2026, following a period of slower sales growth and a decline in share price during 2025.
• The firm has identified Colgate-Palmolive as their leading choice within the Household & Personal Care sector, expecting the company’s sales to outpace competitors in the current year.

Morgan Stanley has highlighted the well-known consumer goods company, famous for its toothpaste, as one of their preferred investment options for the year.

Colgate-Palmolive (CL) now stands as Morgan Stanley’s top recommendation in the Household & Personal Care category. The analysts predict that after a challenging 2025, the company’s sales growth will regain momentum in 2026. They have reiterated their “overweight” rating and set a price target of $87 per share, which is consistent with the Wall Street average from Visible Alpha and implies a potential 13% increase from the previous closing price.

The analysts noted that Colgate-Palmolive, which owns a diverse portfolio of personal care and cleaning brands, was affected by overall weakness in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) sector in 2025. Additionally, a particularly strong performance in 2024 made year-over-year comparisons more difficult and slowed the company’s market share gains in its core categories.

Investor Perspective

Overall, Wall Street maintains a positive outlook on Colgate-Palmolive shares. Although the stock experienced a double-digit decline in 2025, Morgan Stanley expects it to rebound by approximately 13% this year, aligning with the consensus forecast.

After organic sales growth dropped to just 0.4% in the company’s October quarterly report—considered by analysts to be the lowest point—Morgan Stanley now forecasts that Colgate-Palmolive will surpass its competitors in organic sales growth over the next several quarters.

The analysts believe that forecasts of 3% organic sales growth and 6% earnings per share growth for 2026 are “reasonable,” though they expect the company to take a cautious approach when providing guidance in its upcoming fourth-quarter results.

Looking ahead to 2026, Morgan Stanley anticipates that Colgate-Palmolive will deliver stronger organic sales growth, driven by easier year-over-year comparisons, expansion in emerging markets, and a recovery in market share within its oral care division, among other contributing factors.

“While none of these elements alone are transformative, together they form a solid foundation for Colgate to accelerate its organic sales growth beyond that of its peers,” the analysts commented.

On Thursday, Colgate-Palmolive shares climbed 5% to over $81, though the stock remains down about 7% over the past year, having dropped just over 10% last year.