...November 6, 2024 We expect Church & Dwight Co. Inc. (C&D) to continue to push sales and profits higher with several on-trend brands and effective innovation, though growth should decelerate as consumers pull back spending. Net sales for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2024, increased 3.8% and S&P Global Ratings-adjusted EBITDA rose 4.6%. Organic net sales expansion of 4.3%-- which exceeded category growth--included healthy 3.1% volume gains, while 1.2% pricing/mix demonstrates overall declining inflation and better supply chains. We believe product innovation is a key contributor to sales growth, including Arm & Hammer (deep clean, power sheets, and hardball clumping litter) as well as popular brands TheraBreath (which entered the antiseptic segment) and Hero Cosmetics. We expect C&D to continue to invest in marketing--up 80 basis points (bps) in the quarter--while selectively promoting to support new product launches. S&P Global Ratings-adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 20 bps in the third quarter...
