Clorox Co (CLX) stock analysis

P/E below its 5-year median

Clorox's P/E of 19.2 is below its own 5-year median of 44.3.

P/E below the industry

Clorox's P/E of 19.2 is below the Soap, Detergents, and Cleaning Preparations; Perfumes, Cosmetics, and Other Toilet Preparations median of 29.9.

EV/EBITDA below its 5-year median

Clorox's EV/EBITDA of 13.7 is below its 5-year median of 24.0.

P/S below the industry

Clorox's price-to-sales of 1.80 is below the Soap, Detergents, and Cleaning Preparations; Perfumes, Cosmetics, and Other Toilet Preparations median of 2.66 (book value is negative, so we use sales).

Trading below fair value

The share price of $106.86 is below our fair value estimate of $197.33.

Margin of safety over 20%

The price is 45.8% below fair value, more than the 20% cushion we look for.

Revenue growing under 10% a year

Revenue grew -3.1% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.

EPS growing 10%+ a year

Diluted EPS grew 58.9% a year over the last three fiscal years.

Earnings growth not accelerating

Net income grew -14.4% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of -3.7% a year.

Growing faster than the industry

Revenue grew 6.3% over the last twelve months; the Soap, Detergents, and Cleaning Preparations; Perfumes, Cosmetics, and Other Toilet Preparations median is 6.0%.

Guidance raised

Clorox raised its Fiscal Year 2027 effective tax rate outlook on Nov 2, 2026.

Gross margin slipping

Gross margin was 41.9% over the last twelve months, against 44.3% a year earlier.

Return on equity

Needs positive equity and five years of results.

Return on invested capital

Needs operating income and invested capital.

Return on equity against the industry

Needs positive equity.

Earnings shrank over 5 years

Net income shrank 3.7% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.

Net margin above its 5-year average

Net margin was 9.4% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 6.5%.

Net margin above the industry

Clorox's net margin of 9.4% is above the Soap, Detergents, and Cleaning Preparations; Perfumes, Cosmetics, and Other Toilet Preparations median of 0.2%.

Debt level

Needs debt and equity figures.

Debt trend

Needs a balance sheet from five years ago with positive equity.

Debt not well covered by cash flow

Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 12.8% of total debt; we look for at least 20%.

Interest coverage

Interest expense is not reported separately.

Short-term assets don't cover short-term debts

Current assets are 0.65 times current liabilities.

Bankruptcy risk in the grey zone

The Altman Z-score is 1.81; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.

Pays a dividend

Clorox paid dividends worth 3.5% of the share price over the last twelve months.

Yield below Treasuries

The 3.5% yield is below the 4.4% on a 1-year Treasury.

Yield below the top quarter

The top quarter of US dividend payers yield 3.8% or more; Clorox yields 3.5%.

Dividend not cut

The dividend per share has not fallen by more than 10% in any of the last 10 fiscal years.

Covered by earnings

Dividends take 88.9% of net income.

Not covered by free cash flow

Dividends take 133% of free cash flow.