COLGATE-PALMOLIVE COMPANY vs UNILEVER PLC, two Household Products stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Colgate-Palmolive concentrates on oral and home care and converts 10.04% of sales into profit. Unilever casts a far wider net across food and personal care, nearly double the margin at 19.82% and larger by half at $132.2B against $74.1B. The valuation gap is stark: Colgate trades at 35.66 times earnings, Unilever at 12.87, so buyers pay almost three times as much per dollar of Colgate profit. Free cash favors Unilever slightly, 5.7% versus 5.09%. Both reward holders directly, though Colgate's 2.26% dividend comes from a more concentrated book. Unilever carries no net debt; Colgate's balance sheet is thinned by years of buybacks. Similar staples DNA, different prices.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | CL | UL |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $92.27 | $61.73 |
| Market cap | $74.3B | $134.8B |
| Sector | Household Products | Household Products |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +0.1% | — |
| P/E | 35.8 | 13.1 |
| P/B | 152.85 | 7.05 |
| P/S | 3.57 | 2.46 |
| EV/EBITDA | 21.1 | 11.6 |
| Revenue growth | +4.3% | -0.4% |
| Gross margin | 60.6% | 47.0% |
| Operating margin | 18.1% | 17.9% |
| Net margin | 10.0% | 19.8% |
| Return on equity | 429.6% | 56.9% |
| Return on assets | 12.6% | 14.2% |
| Return on invested capital | 28.9% | 36.7% |
| FCF yield | 5.1% | 5.6% |
| Dividend yield | 2.3% | — |
| Debt / equity | 16.33 | 0.00 |
| Current ratio | 1.02 | 0.79 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 6.48 | 2.47 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 7 / 9 | 7 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.