Orin
KMBNasdaq·Household & Personal Products

Kimberly-Clark Corporation KMB

Market cap $32.6BP/E 16.6× trailingGross margin 36.7%Reports Thu 29 Oct, before the open
$98.33
+0.64 (+0.65%)live 09:30 ET
52-wk $92.42 – $125.32
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Orin's take
0.60conviction · moderate
Refreshed 19 Aug · take v7. A new filing or a print queues the next refresh.

Hold Kimberly-Clark — the stock trades at an 18.9% P/E discount to peers (18.32x vs 22.59x median) with smart money improving to a slightly positive 0.0333 score as of the quarter ended 2026-06-30, but FY2025 revenue fell 14.17% to $17.2B, EPS dropped 19.6% to $6.07, and FCF compressed to $1.639B. Management's August 14, 2026 cut to the 2026 outlook on China diaper disruption confirms the turnaround is not yet de-risked, while $7.296B total debt against $1.502B equity limits financial flexibility.

The Kenvue synergy story ($1.9B cost and $1.4B revenue targets) and management's mid-to-high single-digit EPS CAGR guidance for 2026–2028 offer a credible but unproven recovery path, leaving the stock range-bound below its 50-day MA at $107.72.

What could go wrong

  • China disruption persists. The diaper quality issue in China forced a 2026 outlook cut on August 14; if the disruption extends beyond a few quarters, revenue and margin recovery could be delayed further.
  • Kenvue integration underdelivers. Synergy targets of $1.9B cost and $1.4B revenue are ambitious; failure to realize them would leave the deal dilutive to EPS as initially expected.
  • Leverage constraints. Total debt of $7.296B against $1.502B equity limits financial flexibility to invest in growth or absorb further headwinds.
  • FCF compression. FY2025 FCF fell to $1.639B from $2.513B in FY2024 as capex rose to $1.138B, narrowing the cushion for dividend sustainability.

What would change my mind

China disruption resolution. Management confirms China diaper quality issue is resolved and restores 2026 guidance to prior levelsbullish
Kenvue synergy acceleration. Q3 or Q4 2026 results show synergy realization tracking ahead of plan with EPS accretion ahead of schedulebullish
Further guidance cut. Another reduction in 2026 sales or profit outlook, particularly if driven by North America weakness beyond Chinabearish
FCF falls below dividend coverage. Trailing FCF declines below annual dividend cost, forcing a dividend freeze or cutbearish

Where this comes from: peer_relative · peer_relative · smart_money · FMP FY2025 + derived_metrics. Orin's read on KMB; not advice.

Twelve months actual closes to 2026-09-23 · actual filings

Sept 25Nov 25Jan 26Mar 26May 26Jul 26

50-day average 200-day average · volume below

Largest holders · 13F Q2 2026

Money flow
FilerPositionOf fund
Vanguard Capital Management$2.4B0.1% of fund
State Street$2.3B0.1% of fund
Vanguard Portfolio Management$1.8B0.1% of fund
Fmr$1.4B0.1% of fund
Geode Capital Management$1.2B0.1% of fund
Charles Schwab Investment Management$1.2B0.2% of fund

108 filers · quarter ended Q2 2026 · positions, not flows

Insiders, last 24 months: 170 Form 4 filings, net −$17.8M. Of the 50 on hand, 1 was an open-market purchase and 3 sales— the rest are grants, option exercises and tax withholding.

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Where it trades

vs its own 5y · Consumer Defensive
MetricNowOwn medianSector
P/E16.6×23.3×38.3×
EV/EBITDA12.4×15.7×
P/S1.96×2.20×
P/B18.6×52.6×

Its P/E sits below all 5 of the last 5 years (−1.27σ from its own mean).

What the price assumes

7.6%

free-cash-flow growth every year for 10 years, discounted at 10%, is what today’s price implies — starting from $1.6B of trailing free cash flow. It is an assumption the market is making, not a forecast Orin is making.

What Wall Street published

31 firms · 2026-09-23
Consensus target

$112

$100$118 · +14% against today's price

How they rate it
  • 10 buy or overweight
  • 18 hold
  • 3 underweight or sell

The analysts’ consensus and their own ratings, not Orin’s. A target is a twelve-month opinion published by the firm that wrote it.

Against the companies it is compared to

median P/E 22.8× of 7 peers
CompanyMarket capP/EEV/EBITDAGrossNetROE
KMBKimberly-Clark Corporation$32B16.6×12.4×36.7%11.8%123%
ADMArcher-Daniels-Midland Company$40B22.5×8.9×6.9%2.2%8%
CHDChurch & Dwight Co., Inc.$23B30.8×20.5×45.6%12.0%18%
ELThe Estée Lauder Companies Inc.$36B197.7×48.8×75.5%1.2%5%
HSYThe Hershey Company$34B22.8×14.9×38.1%12.2%32%
KDPKeurig Dr Pepper Inc.$43B31.9×21.0×49.4%7.1%6%
KVUEKenvue Inc.$34B20.3×13.0×58.2%10.8%16%
SYYSysco Corporation$37B21.0×13.1×18.5%2.1%75%

The median is of the 7 peers listed above and nothing else — check it against the column. This company trades 27.2% below it. The peer set is the vendor’s, so a company can appear here that a person would not have chosen.

What it has traded at

P/E by fiscal year
FY14 28.4×FY25 16.6×

What its sector has traded at

Consumer Defensive
FY14 22.9×FY26 39.1×

Two scales, drawn separately on purpose: a sector median and one company’s multiple are not the same number and putting them on one axis invites a comparison neither series supports.

Discounted cash flow

not recomputed since
ModelFair valueAgainstComputed
Standard DCF$158$101.82 · +55%2026-06-10
Levered DCF$170$101.82 · +67%2026-06-10

The vendor’s intrinsic-value models. Treat them as a low-growth anchor — for a fast grower the market routinely pays well above a DCF. These were computed against the price in the “against” column, not today’s.

Every estimate on one scale

price $98.33
52-week range$92 – $125
Analyst targets$100 – $118
Standard DCF$158 as of 2026-06-10, when it was $101.82
Levered DCF$170 as of 2026-06-10, when it was $101.82
At own 5y-median P/E (23×)$137
At 5y P/E range (17–27×)$98 – $156
At sector P/E (38×)$225

The vertical rule is the current price. Ranges and point estimates are the backend’s, published as they were calculated; an arrow means the estimate sits beyond this scale, and its number is on the right.