Procter & Gamble Co. fell as much as 3.5 per cent in early trading as investors focused on a revenue miss instead of an optimistic forecast, a sign that Wall Street is setting a high bar for quarterly earnings with stocks at record highs.
Organic sales, which exclude items like acquisitions and currency fluctuations, rose five per cent in the company’s fiscal second quarter, short of the average of analysts’ projections for growth of 5.6 per cent. Meanwhile, the company sees the measure rising four per cent to five per cent for the full year, compared with the previous lower range of three per cent.
After the shares rose 36 per cent during a strong 2019, investors may be expecting nearly flawless results. While the company posted broad strength in most of its business segments, including beauty, health care and grooming, it also boosted prices in most areas. Higher prices could backfire if economic activity slows.
At the same time, P&G’s steps to boost growth while keeping costs under control seem to have largely worked. The results indicate that strength from the past two quarters is largely holding.
P&G’s beauty business, which includes Head & Shoulders shampoo and Olay skincare products, once again outperformed other segments, with organic sales growth of eight per cent, matching estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The grooming business, which is largely driven by the Gillette brand, posted growth of four per cent, slightly outpacing expectations.
Baby, feminine and family care fell short of analyst expectations, with organic sales rising just one per cent, the weakest growth among the company’s business units.
P&G shares fell as much as 3.5 per cent in premarket trading Thursday before paring some of the decline.
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