New York, January 23, 2026, 11:01 EST — Regular session
- Procter & Gamble shares edged up roughly 0.2% in late morning trading, after climbing nearly 3% the previous day.
- A quarterly revenue miss and declining U.S. volumes kept demand under scrutiny, despite profits beating estimates.
- JPMorgan and Wells Fargo raised their targets, shifting focus to U.S. volumes and the policy outlook due next week.
Procter & Gamble shares edged up roughly 0.2% to $150.28 in late morning trading Friday in New York, after a higher open and a short-lived peak at $151.63.
The modest uptick keeps attention on this defensive heavyweight, a key barometer for everyday U.S. spending. P&G has been working to return to more consistent growth.
This week’s focus shifts from price to volume. P&G can hold onto margins for now if consumers keep trading down or postponing buys, but the company risks losing market share in the process.
The stock rose roughly 2.7% on Thursday, standing out as one of the top contributors to the Dow’s gain, MarketWatch data shows.
P&G’s fiscal second-quarter net sales edged up about 1% to $22.21 billion, falling just short of analysts’ consensus of $22.28 billion. Adjusted earnings came in at $1.88 a share, beating estimates. Reuters noted the sales miss was linked to softer demand in the U.S. and government shutdown-related disruptions. Finance chief Andre Schulten said volumes declined 1%, adding, “We need to get the U.S. growing.” Brian Mulberry of Zacks Investment Management pointed to consumers making cost-driven choices, while David Wagner at Aptus Capital Advisors commented the market “can look past the organic sales miss.” Reuters
Procter & Gamble reported fiscal second-quarter net sales of $22.2 billion, up 1% from a year earlier. Organic sales, which exclude currency effects and acquisitions or divestitures, held steady as a 1% gain from higher pricing was offset by a 1% drop in unit volume. CEO Shailesh Jejurikar said the results “keep us on track to deliver within our fiscal year guidance ranges.” The company also returned $4.8 billion to shareholders via dividends and buybacks during the quarter. Procter & Gamble
The company cut its fiscal 2026 diluted earnings growth forecast to 1% to 6%, pointing to higher non-core restructuring charges. It maintained its core EPS growth outlook at in-line to up 4%, with a core EPS range of $6.83 to $7.09. Tariff costs are projected at about $400 million after tax for fiscal 2026, while currency effects are expected to boost results by roughly $200 million after tax.
A separate SEC filing revealed that P&G provided slides cited during the earnings conference call.
Analyst updates came fast on Friday. JPMorgan bumped P&G to Overweight from Neutral, lifting its price target to $165 from $157. The firm pointed to the company’s potential to speed up organic sales growth and boost margins, highlighting management’s confidence that they are “on the right track.” TipRanks
Wells Fargo bumped its price target to $165 from $158, maintaining its Overweight rating, but pointed to a recurring issue: U.S. trends. The firm said the question remains whether “if improves” will play out. TipRanks
Household and staples stocks showed a mixed picture: Colgate-Palmolive gained roughly 0.5%, Unilever climbed about 0.7%, while Kimberly-Clark dipped nearly 0.3%.
The risk is clear. Should U.S. volumes continue to fall and promotional activity increase, P&G might need to boost spending to protect shelf space. That comes on top of mounting pressure from tariffs and restructuring costs weighing on the gap between “core” and reported profit.
Investors are now focused on signs that U.S. demand might be stabilizing, while also eyeing the Federal Reserve’s meeting on January 27–28. That gathering could shift expectations for interest rates and set the mood for defensive stocks.
