CL vs CLX: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?
Last updated August 2026
Short answer
CL and CLX are similarly sized, but CLX trades noticeably cheaper on forward earnings (16.04x vs 22.50x): the market is paying up for CL's profile and pricing CLX more conservatively, or for faster growth. Which you prefer comes down to the drivers you believe, and whether adding either over-concentrates what you already own.
CL vs CLX: the tie-breaker metrics
Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.
| Metric | CL | CLX | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward P/E | 22.50 | 16.04 | Valuation on next year's expected earnings, the same yardstick for both. Lower is cheaper for that growth; higher means the market is paying up. |
| Trailing P/E | 35.94 | 15.53 | Valuation on the last 12 months. A big drop from trailing to forward means the market expects earnings to jump, so more growth is already in the price. |
| Beta | 0.32 | 0.53 | Volatility vs the market. Above 1 swings harder than the index; below 1 is steadier. Higher beta means bigger drawdowns to hold through. |
| Price vs 52-week range | 68% of range | 25% of range | Where today's price sits between the 52-week low and high. Near the high is momentum with less margin of safety; near the low is out of favor or a discount, depending on why. |
Reading it: CLX is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.
Before you buy: how CL and CLX affect your concentration
The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. CL and CLX share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.
This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined CL and CLX exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
What does Colgate-Palmolive (CL) do?
Colgate-Palmolive is a global consumer-staples company that makes everyday household and personal-care products. It is a worldwide leader in oral care, where its Colgate-branded toothpaste, toothbrushes, and mouthwash hold a leading global share, and it also sells personal care (soaps, body wash, deodorants under brands like Palmolive, Softsoap, Irish Spring, and Sanex), home care (dish and surface cleaners such as Palmolive and Ajax), and pet nutrition through its Hill's Pet Nutrition business (Science Diet and Prescription Diet). Colgate makes money by selling these branded, frequently repurchased products at scale across more than 200 countries and territories, with a particularly large presence in emerging markets. Its competitive advantages come from powerful brands, vast distribution, and pricing power on staple goods. Headquartered in New York City, Colgate is a defensive, dividend-paying company whose products people buy regardless of the economic cycle.
What does The Clorox Company (CLX) do?
The Clorox Company is a US consumer-staples business that sells everyday household and personal-care products through four segments: Health and Wellness (Clorox cleaning and disinfecting, professional products, plus vitamins and supplements), Household (Glad bags and wraps, Kingsford charcoal, Fresh Step and Scoop Away cat litter), Lifestyle (Hidden Valley dressings, Brita water filtration, Burt's Bees natural personal care), and International. Because these are low-cost, repeat-purchase staples, demand is relatively stable across economic cycles, which is why Clorox has long been treated as a defensive holding and a dividend aristocrat with decades of consecutive annual increases.
CL vs CLX: how do they differ?
Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.
- CL drivers: Oral-care leadership and emerging markets; Hill's Pet Nutrition growth.
- CLX drivers: Defensive staple with durable brands; ERP transition moving from cost to benefit.
Which fits which kind of investor
A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: Colgate's growth is structurally slow: it competes in mature, saturated staples categories where volume gains are hard to come by and much of recent revenue growth has come from price increases that may not persist. For CLX, the near-term risk is execution: the ERP transition already caused lost market share and a guided net-sales decline, and any further disruption or slow recovery of shelf presence would delay the rebound.
CL or CLX: which should you pick?
CL vs CLX: the full fundamentals
CL. Colgate trades at a premium consumer-staples multiple that reflects its defensive, recession-resistant cash flows, leading oral-care brands, the growth of Hill's, and a multi-decade dividend-raising record. The valuation premium is the market paying for stability and pricing power, balanced against the reality of slow underlying volume growth in mature categories.
CLX. All figures here are qualitative and tied to the asOf date; Clorox reports on a fiscal year ending in June, and recent results are distorted by ERP-transition shipment timing, so headline growth and EPS comparisons can mislead without adjusting for that. Confirm live revenue, adjusted EPS, margin, dividend yield, and valuation multiples with a current source before acting. Nothing here is a price target or a recommendation.
Headline figures (approximate, early 2026): CL shows revenue (ttm) ~$20 billion, operating margin ~20-21%, net income (ttm) ~$2.7 billion, dividend yield ~2-2.5% (Dividend King); CLX shows business model Consumer staples: household cleaning, food, water filtration, natural personal care, cat litter, grilling; sold through four segments, revenue scale Multi-billion-dollar annual net sales; fiscal 2026 guided to a meaningful decline as ERP pull-forward shipments reverse (verify latest figures live), earnings trend Adjusted EPS was boosted in fiscal 2025 by transition-related shipments; that benefit reverses in fiscal 2026, so reported comparisons are noisy (check current results), margins Gross-margin rebuilding via cost savings and pricing is a core management focus; qualitative, confirm the latest trend.
The bottom line: CL vs CLX
CL and CLX are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined CL and CLX exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Wondering how CL or CLX fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in Colgate-Palmolive with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how CL fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What is the difference between CL and CLX?
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Colgate-Palmolive is a global consumer-staples company that makes everyday household and personal-care products. The Clorox Company is a US consumer-staples business that sells everyday household and personal-care products through four segments: Health and Wellness (Clorox cleaning and disinfecting, professional products, plus vitamins and supplements), Household (Glad bags and wraps, Kingsford charcoal, Fresh Step and Scoop Away cat litter), Lifestyle (Hidden Valley dressings, Brita water filtration, Burt's Bees natural personal care), and International. They show up together because they share investment themes, but they are different businesses, so the better fit depends on which thesis you are expressing.
Is CL or CLX the better stock?
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Neither is universally better; they suit different views and risk levels. Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Compare what each does, the tie-breaker metrics above, and the risks, then decide which fits your thesis and what you already own.
Which is cheaper, CL or CLX?
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On forward P/E (as of August 2026), CL trades at 22.50x and CLX at 16.04x, so CLX is the cheaper of the two on next year's expected earnings. A lower multiple is not automatically the better buy: a richer valuation can be justified by faster growth, and a lower one can reflect real risk. Weigh the multiple against how fast each business is compounding.
Should you own both CL and CLX?
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Because they share themes, owning both concentrates you in that theme. That can be intentional (a focused bet) or accidental (less diversification than it looks). Walnut can show your combined exposure across both, and whether adding either over-concentrates you, before you buy.
What are the risks of CL vs CLX?
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CL: Colgate's growth is structurally slow: it competes in mature, saturated staples categories where volume gains are hard to come by and much of recent revenue growth has come from price increases that may not persist. It faces intense competition from Procter and Gamble, Unilever, and private-label brands, plus pressure from retailers. Heavy emerging-market exposure brings currency volatility that can erode reported results. Input-cost inflation, the rise of private label during cost-of-living squeezes, and the challenge of sustaining pricing without losing volume all weigh on the outlook. The defensive premium valuation can also compress when investors rotate toward higher-growth or cyclical names. CLX: The near-term risk is execution: the ERP transition already caused lost market share and a guided net-sales decline, and any further disruption or slow recovery of shelf presence would delay the rebound. Clorox competes against much larger, better-resourced rivals (P&G, Church & Dwight, Colgate-Palmolive, Kimberly-Clark, Reckitt) plus private-label and value brands that can pressure pricing and volume when consumers trade down. Input-cost inflation (resins, commodities, freight) and currency swings in the International segment can compress margins. As a mature staple, growth is modest, so a premium valuation leaves little room for missteps. Category-specific shocks, such as demand normalizing after pandemic-era cleaning spikes, can weigh on volumes. Finally, the dividend, while long-growing, depends on cash flow recovering as one-time transition benefits reverse.
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Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell CL or CLX; figures are approximate and dated (as of August 2026). Verify current data before investing.