Company: CL
Filing Date: 2025-03-26
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0001308179-25-000223
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Company: COLGATE PALMOLIVE CO
Filing Date: 2025-03-26
Form: DEF 14A
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 you and your interests. Together with Colgate’s management team, we remain committed to creating long-term value for you and to meeting the needs of all of Colgate’s stakeholders. We are pleased that Colgate continues to deliver strong progress against our growth strategy, even as the Company continues to navigate challenging global macroeconomic, geopolitical and market conditions. We are highly focused on overseeing Colgate’s business strategy and performance. We were deeply involved in the development of Colgate’s strategic plan and engage with management to guide its implementation. In addition to our ongoing reviews of operating divisions, product categories and competitive and marketplace trends, we review strategic choices the Company is making and the Company’s progress in developing and enhancing the capabilities needed to deliver against Colgate’s goals. In 2024 these goals included focusing on building and scaling capabilities in areas like innovation, digital, data, analytics and artificial intelligence. Colgate’s strategy is based on delivering consistent compounded earnings per share growth through driving organic sales growth and operational efficiencies and leveraging the strength of its balance sheet. We believe increased household penetration and improved brand health are the keys to consistent organic sales growth and aim to achieve these through science-led, core and premium innovation, pursuing higher-growth adjacent categories and segments and expanding in faster-growing channels and markets. Colgate aims to deliver margin expansion and cash flow growth through operating leverage and efficiency. Colgate also seeks to lead in the development of human capital and to maximize the impact of its Sustainability & Social Impact Strategy, which we believe are important investments to drive superior total shareholder return. We believe Colgate’s strategy is paying off. Since the current strategy was introduced in 2019, Colgate has delivered six straight years of organic sales growth at or above its long-term target range of three to five percent and, notably, surpassed $20 billion in annual net sales for the first time in 2024. Colgate’s growth also continues to be broad based, as it delivered organic sales growth across all four of its categories and in all six divisions in 2024. Colgate also continued to maintain its strong balance sheet and cash flow in 2024, leading us to authorize an increase in the quarterly cash dividend for the 62nd consecutive year in 2024 as part of our commitment to, and Colgate’s strong record of, returning value to shareholders. In total, Colgate returned $3.4 billion to shareholders in 2024 through dividends and share repurchases. As we come to the end of the current strategic plan in 2025, we