Standard&Poor's Ratings Services derives its 'A' corporate credit rating on Kimberly-Clark Corp. from: Our anchor of 'a', based on our "strong" business risk and "modest" financial risk profile assessments for the company. Modifiers, which had no impact on the rating outcome. Diverse product portfolio with high brand equity; Very good global market position; Good geographic diversity; and Positive restructuring actions. The nondiscretionary nature of its product portfolio should continue to provide fairly consistent, strong cash flows; Shareholder returns, via share repurchases and dividends, will be primarily funded with internally-generated cash flows; and We expect leverage will increase slightly but remain below 2x. The outlook on Kimberly-Clark is stable, reflecting our forecast for steady profitability because of Kimberly-Clark's diversity
