Clorox (CLX)
Consumer Staples · $10.5B market cap · SEC CIK 0000021076
fundamentals score out of 100
Next reports on Nov 2, 2026, with analysts expecting $1.12 in earnings per share.
The case for CLX
- Free cash flow of 7.2% of its market value a year: a lot of cash for the price.
- Pays a 3.4% dividend while you wait.
- Reasonably priced at 17.9× earnings.
- Moves less than the market (beta 0.59).
The case against
- Revenue fell 5.4% year over year.
- Earnings per share down 26.3%.
- Down 30.2% over the past year.
- Owes more than it owns: shareholder equity is -$125M, usually the result of buybacks funded with debt. ROE and price-to-book mean little here.
- Revenue has shrunk 1.8% a year over five years.
- Current liabilities exceed current assets (ratio 0.66).
What the score is made of
Each factor is half a curve over reported figures and half a rank among the other Consumer Staples companies (momentum is judged against fixed thresholds only), and the five are blended by weight. It describes the last filing and the current price. It is not a forecast.
| Valuewhat you pay for the earnings, sales, assets and cash | 78 |
|---|---|
| Growthhow fast revenue and earnings are moving, this year and over five | 13 |
| Profitabilityhow much of the revenue becomes profit, and how much of that is cash | 58 |
| Momentumhow the price has behaved lately | 17 |
| Stabilityhow violently it moves, what it owes and what it pays you | 34 |
- Shareholder equity is negative, so return on equity, price-to-book and debt-to-equity are left out.
- Each factor except momentum is half fixed thresholds, half rank among the 36 Consumer Staples companies.
Key numbers
| Price / earnings | 17.9× |
|---|---|
| Price / book | n/m (negative equity) |
| Price / sales | 1.6× |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | -5.4% |
| EPS growth (YoY) | -26.3% |
| Gross margin | 42% |
| Operating margin | 12% |
| Net margin | 9% |
| Return on assets | 9.3% (ROE not meaningful: negative equity) |
| Debt / equity | n/m (negative equity) |
| Current ratio | 0.66 |
| Dividend yield | 3.40% |
| Beta | 0.59 |
| 52-week range | $82.51 – $128.90 |
| Position in that range | 10% of the way up |
| 3-month return | -11.4% |
| 1-year return | -30.2% |
Five years of financials, as filed
Pulled from Clorox's XBRL filings on SEC EDGAR. Italic rows are derived from the rows above.
| FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $7.1B | $7.1B | $7.4B | $7.1B | $7.3B |
| Gross profit | $3.2B | $3.0B | $2.9B | $2.5B | $3.2B |
| Net income | $810M | $280M | $149M | $462M | $710M |
| Operating cash flow | $981M | $695M | $1.2B | $786M | $1.3B |
| Capital expenditure | $220M | $212M | $228M | $251M | $331M |
| Total assets | $5.6B | $5.6B | $5.9B | $6.0B | $6.2B |
| Total liabilities | $5.6B | $5.5B | $5.7B | $5.6B | $5.7B |
| Shareholder equity | -$125M | -$41.0M | $53.0M | $321M | $313M |
| Cash | $227M | $290M | $355M | $168M | $192M |
| Long-term debt | $2.5B | $2.5B | $2.5B | $2.5B | $1.9B |
| Free cash flow | $761M | $483M | $930M | $535M | $945M |
| Gross margin | 45.2% | 43.0% | 39.4% | 35.8% | 43.6% |
| Net margin | 11.4% | 3.9% | 2.0% | 6.5% | 9.7% |
| Diluted shares | 124M | 125M | 124M | 124M | 127M |
Share count is essentially flat over 4 years.
What Clorox says it does
1 Item 1.A. Risk Factors 7 Item 1.B. Unresolved Staff Comments 20 Item 1.C. Cybersecurity 21 Item 2. Properties 22 Item 3. Legal Proceedings 22 Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 22 Information About Our Executive Officers 23 Part II Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities 26 Item 6. Reserved 26 Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations 26 Item 7.A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 26 Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 26 Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure 27 Item 9.A. Controls and Procedures 27 Item 9.B. Other Information 27 Item 9.C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections 27 Part III Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 28 Item 11. Executive Compensation…
Risk factors CLX lists in its 10-K
- Financial Information about Operating Segments and Principal Products
- Principal Markets and Methods of Distribution
- Sources and Availability of Raw Materials
- Unfavorable or uncertain global macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions beyond the Company's control could negatively impact its financial results
- Market and category declines and the Company’s product and geographic mix may adversely impact the Company’s ability to meet sales growth targets, profitability and financial results
- The Company faces intense competition in its markets, which could lead to reduced net sales, net earnings and cash flow
- The changing retail environment and changing consumer preferences could adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations
- The Company may not successfully execute or realize the anticipated benefits of its strategic or transformational initiatives
- Acquisitions, joint ventures, new venture investments and divestitures may not be successful, which could have an adverse effect on the Company’s business
- Harm to the Company’s reputation or the reputation of one or more of its leading brands or products could have an adverse effect on its business, financial condition and results of operations
- The Company may not be able to attract, develop or retain the highly skilled personnel needed to support its business
- Dependence on key customers could adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations
- Failure of key technology systems, cyberattacks, privacy breaches or data breaches could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations and reputation
- Supply chain issues can result in product shortages or disruptions to the Company’s business