Pet nutrition drives quarterly growth at Colgate-Palmolive despite annual headwinds

Hill’s Pet Nutrition posted a net sales growth of 4.9% year-over-year (YoY) for the fourth quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2025, ending 31 December 2025. 

The pet food division of Colgate-Palmolive also reported a 1.5% increase in organic sales in the same period. With these results, the pet nutrition segment accounted for 23% of the company’s sales. 

Operating profit for the brand was $286 million (€263M), up 4% YoY and representing nearly 24% of the segment’s net sales. 

“Hill’s delivered strong results in the fourth quarter as performance improved sequentially from a difficult third quarter,” the company says.

The Prime100 pet food business acquired in February 2025 contributed a 1.8% growth to the segment’s reported volume for the period. 

Full year overview 

For the full year, however, the figures are less positive. Net sales rose 2.9%, and organic sales grew 1.2%. However, both reported and organic sales volumes decreased by 0.6% and 1.7%, respectively. 

“While the pet food category remains challenging, we continue to gain share in key retail channels for both Hill’s Science Diet and Hill’s Prescription Diet through our premium innovation, increased advertising support and our use of data and analytics,” the company says.

Company performance

Colgate-Palmolive reported global net sales of $5.2 billion (€4.8B) in Q4, reflecting a 5.8% YoY increase. Organic sales rose 2.2% YoY, but were negatively impacted by the company’s exit from the private-label pet food business in 2025.

Revenue and organic sales increased across all categories, led by strength in oral care and pet nutrition, “driven by premium innovation, strong advertising support and in-market execution,” it says. Despite this, it registered a net loss of $37 million (€31.3M) during the quarter. 

The consumer products manufacturer’s net sales grew 1.4% YoY to $20.3 billion (€18.7B) in 2025. Organic sales also rose by 1.4%. On the other hand, net income decreased 26%, to $2.1 billion (€1.8B).

Year ahead 

Colgate-Palmolive forecasts global net sales to rise between 2% and 6% for FY2026. This includes a low-single-digit positive impact from foreign exchange.

The company expects organic sales to grow between 1% and 4%, with an approximately 20-basis-point impact from the private-label exit. This impact will be predominantly in the first half of the year. 

This guidance reflects the estimated impact of tariffs. “If there are additional tariffs announced and implemented, we could incur additional costs,” it says.