Colgate-Palmolive

In 1806, William Colgate started a starch, soap and candle business on Dutch Street in New York City.⁠[1]

Colgate sold toothpaste in jars from 1873 and in a collapsible tube from 1896.⁠[1]

Palmolive and Peet merged in 1926 to form the Palmolive-Peet Company, which merged with Colgate in 1928 to become the Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Company.⁠[1]

On March 13, 1930, Colgate was first listed on the New York Stock Exchange.⁠[1]

In 1939, Buddy, the guide dog of a blind man named Morris Frank, had kidney failure, and veterinarian Mark Morris Sr. developed a new pet food for him. In 1948 Morris contracted with Burton Hill of the Hill Packing Company in Topeka, Kansas, and Prescription Diet k/d became the world’s first veterinarian-prepared food for managing a canine disease. Hill’s Science Diet was created in 1968, and Colgate-Palmolive purchased Hill’s Pet Nutrition in 1976.⁠[2]

Reuben Mark served as chief executive officer from 1984 and also as chairman of the board.⁠[3][4]

In March 1992, the company acquired The Mennen Company for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $670 million, paid with 11.6 million unregistered common shares and $127 million in cash.⁠[4]

On January 10, 1995, the company acquired the worldwide Kolynos oral care business from American Home Products Corporation for $1.04 billion in cash.⁠[5]

In 2006, Colgate-Palmolive completed a deal for an 84 percent share of Tom’s of Maine at a cost of approximately $100 million, with the Chappell family keeping 16 percent. The brand was founded in 1970 by Tom and Kate Chappell.⁠[6]

In April 2007, the board announced that Reuben Mark would retire as chief executive officer on July 1, 2007, remaining chairman at the board’s request for up to 18 months, and that Ian Cook, then president and chief operating officer, would become chief executive officer.⁠[3]

On June 20, 2011, the company completed the purchase of Sanex, a premium-priced personal care brand in Europe, from Unilever PLC for €672 million (approximately US$952 million); the agreement had been announced in March 2011. Ian Cook, then chairman, president and CEO, said the deal would “strengthen Colgate’s positions in the shower gel and deodorant categories in Europe.”⁠[7]

In a December 2014 ruling on 13 consumer goods companies, the French competition authority fined the company’s French subsidiary $57 million; France’s Supreme Court denied its appeal in March 2019.⁠[8]

In April 2015, a Los Angeles jury awarded a total of $13 million to Judith Winkel, who had mesothelioma she attributed to Cashmere Bouquet talcum powder made by Colgate-Palmolive, finding the company 95 percent responsible. Colgate said it was “disappointed with the verdict.” The parties reached a confidential settlement before the jury was to hear evidence on punitive damages. Colgate had sold the product in 1995.⁠[9]

In January 2018, the company acquired Physicians Care Alliance, LLC for about $730 million in cash.⁠[8]

On February 11, 2019, the company announced that Noel Wallace would become president and CEO on April 2, with Ian Cook becoming executive chairman. Wallace joined Colgate in 1987.⁠[10]

On July 11, 2019, the company signed a share purchase agreement with Filorga Initiatives to acquire the French company Laboratoires Filorga Cosmétiques for an equity purchase price of €1,495.5 million in cash.⁠[11]

The deal closed on September 19, 2019, for €1,548 million.⁠[8]

In August 2022, the company announced a $700 million purchase of three Red Collar Pet Foods dry pet food plants in Orangeburg, South Carolina; Clinton, Oklahoma; and Court House, Ohio, for its Hill’s Pet Nutrition business. The sale was completed on September 30.⁠[12]

On February 8, 2023, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a recall of about 4.9 million bottles of Fabuloso multipurpose cleaners that could contain Pseudomonas species bacteria, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, posing a risk of serious infection to people with weakened immune systems and others.⁠[13]

The cause was a manufacturing issue in which a preservative was not added at intended levels, affecting products made between December 14, 2022, and January 23, 2023; about 3.9 million of the bottles were never released for sale.⁠[14]

In February 2025, Colgate-Palmolive agreed to acquire Australia-based Care TopCo, owner of the Prime100 fresh pet food brand, which was set up in 2014 and is based in Melbourne. The company did not disclose financial terms; the deal was to be financed with debt and cash and was expected to close in the second quarter of 2025, subject to Australian regulatory approval.⁠[15]

In 2025, oral, personal and home care products accounted for 44%, 17% and 16% of net sales and Hill’s Pet Nutrition for 23%; the company had about 33,600 employees as of December 31, 2025.⁠[16]

Net sales in 2025 were $20,382 million, up 1.4%; net income attributable to Colgate-Palmolive was $2,132 million, compared with $2,889 million in 2024. In the fourth quarter the company took a $794 million non-cash, after-tax impairment charge on its skin health business, primarily Filorga, partly reflecting weaker performance in China.⁠[17]

On October 30, 2026, the company announced third-quarter net sales of $5,369 million, up 4.6%. Its Strategic Growth and Productivity Program restructuring generated $327 million of charges in the first nine months of 2026. The release referred to the acquired Prime100 pet food business and an exit from private label pet food.⁠[18]