Stock Story -
Consumer products behemoth Proctor & Gamble (NYSE:PG) fell short of analysts' expectations in Q2 CY2024, with revenue flat year on year at $20.53 billion. It made a non-GAAP profit of $1.40 per share, improving from its profit of $1.37 per share in the same quarter last year.
Is now the time to buy Procter & Gamble? Find out by reading the original article on StockStory, it's free.
Procter & Gamble (PG) Q2 CY2024 Highlights:
- Revenue: $20.53 billion vs analyst estimates of $20.74 billion (small miss)
- EPS (non-GAAP): $1.40 vs analyst estimates of $1.37 (1.9% beat)
- Full year EPS (non-GAAP) guidance: $6.98 vs analyst estimates of $6.96 (slight beat)
- Gross Margin (GAAP): 49.6%, in line with the same quarter last year
- Free Cash Flow of $4.97 billion, up 51% from the previous quarter
- Organic Revenue rose 2% year on year (8% in the same quarter last year) (miss vs. expectations of up 3.2%)
- Sales Volumes rose 1% year on year (-1% in the same quarter last year)
- Market Capitalization: $401.1 billion
Founded by candle maker William Procter and soap maker James Gamble, Proctor & Gamble (NYSE:PG) is a consumer products behemoth whose product portfolio spans everything from facial tissues to laundry detergent to feminine care to men’s grooming.
Household ProductsHousehold products stocks are generally stable investments, as many of the industry's products are essential for a comfortable and functional living space. Recently, there's been a growing emphasis on eco-friendly and sustainable offerings, reflecting the evolving consumer preferences for environmentally conscious options. These trends can be double-edged swords that benefit companies who innovate quickly to take advantage of them and hurt companies that don't invest enough to meet consumers where they want to be with regards to trends.
Sales GrowthProcter & Gamble is one of the most widely recognized consumer staples companies in the world. Its influence over consumers gives it extremely high negotiating leverage with distributors, enabling it to pick and choose where it sells its products (a luxury many don't have).
As you can see below, the company's annualized revenue growth rate of 3.4% over the last three years was sluggish as consumers bought less of its products. We'll explore what this means in the "Volume Growth" section.
This quarter, Procter & Gamble missed Wall Street's estimates and reported a rather uninspiring 0.1% year-on-year revenue decline, generating $20.53 billion in revenue. Looking ahead, Wall Street expects sales to grow 3.2% over the next 12 months, an acceleration from this quarter.
Volume GrowthRevenue growth can be broken down into changes in price and volume (the number of units sold). While both are important, volume is the lifeblood of a successful staples business as there’s a ceiling to what consumers will pay for everyday goods; they can always trade down to non-branded products if the branded versions are too expensive.
To analyze whether Procter & Gamble generated its growth from changes in price or volume, we can compare its volume growth to its organic revenue growth, which excludes non-fundamental impacts on company financials like mergers and currency fluctuations.
Over the last two years, Procter & Gamble's average quarterly sales volumes have shrunk by 1.8%. This decrease isn't ideal as the quantity demanded for consumer staples products is typically stable. Luckily, Procter & Gamble was able to offset fewer customers purchasing its products by charging higher prices, enabling it to generate 5.4% average organic revenue growth. We hope the company can grow its volumes soon, however, as consistent price increases (on top of inflation) aren't sustainable over the long term unless the business is really really special.
In Procter & Gamble's Q2 2024, year on year sales volumes were flat. This result was a well-appreciated turnaround from the 1% year-on-year decline it posted 12 months ago, showing the company is heading in the right direction.
Key Takeaways from Procter & Gamble's Q2 Results The company's revenue unfortunately missed analysts' expectations, driven by weaker-than-expected organic sales growth. While full year EPS guidance was in line, the market seems to be focusing on the disappointing topline results. The stock traded down 4.2% to $162.90 immediately after reporting.
