Kenvue Grows Sales 3.2% as Kimberly-Clark Combination Nears
Kenvue posted its fourth straight quarter of sales growth as the maker of Tylenol, Neutrogena and Listerine heads toward completing its combination with Kimberly-Clark, the company said Friday.
Net sales rose 3.2% in the fiscal third quarter ended Sept. 27, according to the earnings release filed with an 8-K. Organic sales, which exclude currency effects, grew 2.9%, with volume up 1.6% and pricing and mix, which Kenvue calls value realization, adding 1.3%. Currency added 0.3 percentage point.
Diluted earnings per share rose 5% to $0.22 from $0.21, and adjusted diluted EPS increased 4% to $0.29 from $0.28.
Margins move higher
Gross margin improved to 59.5% from 59.1%, and adjusted gross margin rose to 61.5% from 61.2%. Kenvue credited supply chain productivity, U.S. tariff refunds and pricing, partly offset by inflation and unfavorable currency.
Operating margin widened to 18.2% from 16.7%, while the adjusted operating margin reached 21.9%, up from 21.5%, helped by savings from the company's 2026 restructuring and its Our Vue Forward cost program. Those gains were partly offset by higher spending on brand support.
Net interest expense eased to $89 million from $93 million. The effective tax rate rose to 29.4% from 24.3%.
No guidance during the merger
Because of the pending transaction with Kimberly-Clark, Kenvue said it will not provide forward-looking guidance.
"As we near the completion of our value-creating combination with Kimberly-Clark and bring together our two companies, the team is excited about the opportunities ahead," CEO Kirk Perry said. He pointed to strong performance in the Self Care and Essential Health segments.
Why it matters
Kenvue shareholders are set to become part of a larger consumer-health and personal-care company once the Kimberly-Clark deal closes. Steady organic growth and wider margins give investors a read on the business Kimberly-Clark is getting.
By the numbers
- 3.2%: net sales growth
- 2.9%: organic sales growth
- $0.29: adjusted diluted EPS, up 4%
- 61.5%: adjusted gross margin
- 21.9%: adjusted operating margin
- 4: consecutive quarters of net and organic sales growth
Sources
- Kenvue Form 8-K with third-quarter 2026 earnings release (Exhibit 99.1), filed Oct. 30, 2026 (accession 0001944048-26-000167)
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