Colgate-Palmolive Company (together with its subsidiaries, the “Company” or “Colgate”) is a leading consumer products company whose products are marketed in over 200 countries and territories throughout the world. Colgate was founded in 1806 and incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware in 1923.

For recent business developments and other information, refer to the information set forth under the captions “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations–Executive Overview,” “– Outlook,” “–Results of Operations,” “–Restructuring and Related Implementation Charges” and “– Liquidity and Capital Resources” in Part II, Item 7 of this report.

The Company operates in two product segments: Oral, Personal and Home Care; and Pet Nutrition. Colgate is a leader in Oral Care with global leadership in the toothpaste and manual toothbrush categories throughout many parts of the world according to market share data. Colgate’s Oral Care products include Colgate Total, Colgate Maximum Cavity Protection, Colgate Total, Colgate Triple Action, Darlie Double Action, Colgate Max Fresh, Colgate Optic White, Colgate Whitening and Colgate Max White toothpastes, Colgate 360°, Colgate Extra Clean and Colgate Slim Soft manual toothbrushes and Colgate Plax, meridol and Colgate Total mouthwashes. Colgate’s Oral Care business also includes pharmaceutical products for dentists and other oral health professionals.

Colgate is a leader in many product categories of the Personal Care market with global leadership in liquid hand soap, which it sells under the Softsoap, Palmolive and Protex brands.brands according to market share data. Colgate’s Personal Care products also include Protex, Palmolive Protex and Irish Spring bar soaps, Palmolive, Sanex and Softsoap brand shower gels, Speed Stick, Sanex and Lady Speed Stick Sanex deodorants and antiperspirants, Filorga, Elta MD and PCA Skin professional skin carehealth products and Palmolive and Caprice shampoos and conditioners. 

Colgate manufactures and markets a wide array of products for the Home Care market, including Palmolive and Ajax dishwashing liquids and Fabuloso, Murphy’s Oil Soap and Ajax household cleaners. Colgate is a market leader in fabric conditioners with leading brands, including Suavitel in Latin America, Soupline in Europe, and Cuddly in the South Pacific, according to market share data.

Colgate, through its Hill’s Pet Nutrition segment (“Hill’s” or “Pet Nutrition”), is a world leader in specialty pet nutrition products for dogs and cats with products marketed in over 80 countries and territories worldwide. Hill’s markets pet foods primarily under two brands. Hill’s Science Diet, which is called Hill’s Science Plan in Europe, is a range of products for everyday nutritional needs. Hill’s Prescription Diet is a range of therapeutic products to help nutritionally manage disease conditions in dogs and cats. Sales of Pet Nutrition products accounted for 15%16% of the Company’s total worldwide Net sales in 2018.2019.

For more information regarding the Company’s worldwide Net sales by product category, refer to Note 1, Nature of Operations and Note 14, Segment Information to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

The Company’s Oral, Personal and Home Care products are sold to a variety of traditional and e-commerceeCommerce retailers, wholesalers and distributors worldwide. Pet Nutrition products are sold by authorized pet supply retailers, veterinarians and e-commerceeCommerce retailers. The Company’s sales to Wal-Mart, Inc. and its affiliates represent approximately 11% of the Company’s Net sales in 2018.2019. No other customer represents more than 10% of the Company’s Net sales. The Company supports its products with advertising, promotion and other marketing (including(with increasing emphasis on digital) to build awareness and trial of the Company’s products. The Company’s products are marketed by a direct sales force at individual operating subsidiaries or business units, and by distributors or brokers.

The Company’s products are sold in a highly competitive global marketplace which has experienced increased trade concentration, the rapid growth of e-commerce,eCommerce, the integration of traditional and digital operations at key retailers and the growing presence of large-format retailers and discounters. Products similar to those produced and sold by the Company are available from multinational and local competitors in the U.S. and overseas. Certain of the Company’s competitors are larger and have greater resources than the Company. In certain geographies, particularly in the emerging markets, the Company also faces strong local competitors, who may be more agile and have better local consumer insights than the Company. Private label brands sold by retailers are also a source of competition for certain of the Company’s products.

The retail landscape in many of the Company’s markets continues to be impacted by the rapid growth of e-commerceeCommerce retailers, changing consumer preferences (as consumers increasingly shop online) and the emergence of alternative retail channels, such as subscription services and direct-to-customer businesses. The Company faces competition in several aspects of its business, including pricing, promotional activities, new product and brand introductions and expansion into new geographies and channels. Product quality, innovation, brand recognition, marketing capability and acceptance of new products and brands largely determine success in the Company’s operating segments.

The Company considers trademarks to be of material importance to its business. The Company follows a practice of seeking trademark protection in the U.S. and throughout the world where the Company’s products are sold. Principal global and regional trademarks include Colgate, Palmolive, elmex, meridol, Tom’s of Maine, Sorriso, Hello, Speed Stick, Lady Speed Stick, Softsoap, Irish Spring, Protex, Sanex, Filorga, Elta MD, PCA Skin, Ajax, Axion, Fabuloso, Soupline and Suavitel, as well as Hill’s Science Diet and Hill’s Prescription Diet. The Company’s rights in these trademarks endure for as long as they are used and/or registered. Although the Company actively develops and maintains a portfolio of patents, no single patent is considered significant to the business as a whole.

The Company has programs that are designed to ensure that its operations and facilities meet or exceed standards established by applicable environmental rules and regulations. Capital expenditures for environmental control facilities totaled approximately $43$46 million for 2018.2019. For future years, expenditures are currently expected to be of a similar magnitude. For additional information regarding environmental matters refer to Note 13, Commitments and Contingencies, to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

As of December 31, 2018,2019, the Company employed approximately 34,50034,300 employees.

In addition to the risks described elsewhere in this report, set forth below is a summary of the material risks to an investment in our securities. These risks are not the only ones we face. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also have an adverse effect on us. If any of these risks actually occur, our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition could be materially and adversely impacted, which might cause the value of our securities to decline.

We operate on a global basis serving consumers in more than 200 countries and territories with approximately 70% of our Net sales originating in markets outside the U.S. While geographic diversity helps to reduce our exposure to risks in any one country or part of the world, it also means that we are subject to the full range offace risks associated with significant international operations, including, but not limited to:

All of the foregoing risks could have a significant impact on our ability to sell our products on a competitive basis in international markets and may adversely affect our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition. In addition, a number of these risks may adversely impact consumer confidence and consumption, which could reduce sales volumes of our products or result in a shift in our product mix from higher margin to lower margin product offerings.

In addition, the impact of the United Kingdom’s decision to leaveexit from, and the related negotiations with, the European Union (“Brexit”)(commonly referred to as Brexit) are, at this time, unclear. Brexit has created legal, political and economic uncertainty. If no deal is reached betweenuncertainty, which could subject us to heightened risks in the United Kingdom and the European Union by March 29, 2019, we could experienceregion, including disruptions to trade and the free movement of goods, services and people to and from the United Kingdom, and increased foreign exchange volatility with respect to the British pound though weand disruptions to our workforce and that of our suppliers and business partners. We do not, however, believe Brexit will have a material impact on our business, resultresults of operations, cash flows or financial condition.

In an effort to minimize the impact on earnings of foreign currency rate movements, we engage in a combination of selling price increases, where permitted, sourcing strategies, cost-containment measures and selective hedging of foreign currency transactions. However, the impact of these measures may not fully offset any negative impact of foreign currency rate movements on our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.

We face vigorous competition worldwide, including from strong local competitors and from other large, multinational companies, some of which may have greater resources than we do. In addition, the substantial growth in e-commerceeCommerce has encouraged the entry of new competitors and business models.

We face competition in several aspects of our business, including pricing, promotional activities, new product introductions and expansion into new geographies and channels. Some of our competitors may spend more aggressively on or have more effective advertising and promotional activities than we do, introduce competing products more quickly and/or respond more effectively to changing consumer preferences and business and economic conditions. Such competition also extends to administrative and legal challenges of product claims and advertising. Our ability to compete also depends on the strength of our brands and on our ability to enforce and defend our intellectual property, including patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret and trade dress rights against infringement and legal challenges by competitors.

We may be unable to anticipate the timing and scale of such initiatives or challenges by competitors or to successfully respond to them, which could harm our business. In addition, the cost of responding to such initiatives and challenges, including management time, out-of-pocket expenses and price reductions, may affect our performance in the relevant period. A failure to compete effectively could adversely affect our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.

Our products are sold in a highly competitive global marketplace which has experienced increased trade concentration and the growing presence of large-format retailers, discounters and e-commerceeCommerce retailers. With the growing trend toward retail trade consolidation, the rapid growth of e-commerceeCommerce and the integration of traditional and digital operations at key retailers, we are increasingly dependent on certain retailers, and some of these retailers have and may continue to have greater bargaining strength than we do. They have used and may continue to use this leverage to demand higher trade discounts, allowances or slotting fees, which could lead to reduced sales or profitability. The loss of a key customer or a significant reduction in sales to a key customer could adversely affect our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition. For additional information regarding our customers, see “Distribution; Raw Materials; Competition; Trademarks and Patents” in Item 1 “Business.”

We also have been and may continue to be negatively affected by changes in the policies or practices of our retail trade customers, such as inventory de-stocking, limitations on access to shelf space, delisting of our products, environmental or sustainability initiatives and other conditions. For example, a determination by a key retailer that any of our ingredients should not be used in certain consumer products or that our packaging does not comply with certain environmental standards or initiatives could adversely impact our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition. In addition, “private label” products sold by our retail customers, which are typically sold at lower prices than branded products, are a source of competition for certain of our products.

In addition, the retail landscape in many of our markets continues to be impacted by the rapid growth of e-commerceeCommerce retailers, changing consumer preferences (as consumers increasingly shop online) and the emergence of alternative retail channels, such as subscription services and direct-to-customer businesses. The rapid growth in e-commerceeCommerce and the emergence of alternative retail channels have created and may continue to create pricing pressures and/or adversely affect our relationships with our key retailers. If we are not successful in adapting or effectively reacting to changes in consumer preferences and market dynamics and/or expanding sales through e-commerceeCommerce retailers and other alternative retail channels, our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition could be adversely affected.

Our business is subject to extensive legal and regulatory requirements in the U.S. and abroad. Such legal and regulatory requirements apply to most aspects of our products, including their development, ingredients, formulation, manufacture, packaging content, labeling, storage, transportation, distribution, export, import, advertising, sale and environmental impact. U.S. federal authorities, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”), the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency, regulate different aspects of our business, along with parallel authorities at the state and local levels and comparable authorities overseas. In addition, our selling practices are regulated by competition law authorities in the U.S. and abroad.

New or more stringent legal or regulatory requirements, or more restrictive interpretations of existing requirements, could adversely impact our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition. For example, from time to time, various regulatory authorities in Europe, the U.S. and other countries review the use of various ingredients and packaging content in consumer products. Triclosan, an ingredient that was used by us in the manufacture of Colgate Total toothpaste until the first quarter of 2019, is an example of an ingredient that has undergone and is undergoing reviews by various regulatory authorities worldwide, both by itself and in the context of its use in specific products or types of products. A decision by a regulatory or governmental authority that any ofingredient or packaging content in our ingredients,products should not be used in certain consumer productsrestricted or should otherwise be newly regulated, could adversely impact our business and reputation, as could negative reactions by our consumers, trade customers or non-governmental organizations to our current or prior use of such ingredients.ingredients or packaging. Additionally, an inability to develop new or reformulated products containing alternative ingredients, or to obtain regulatory approval of such products on a timely basis or to effectively market and sell such products could likewise adversely affect our business.

Because of our extensive international operations, we could be adversely affected by violations of worldwide anti-bribery laws, including those that prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to government officials or other third parties for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business, such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the “FCPA”), and laws that prohibit commercial bribery. While our policies mandate compliance with these anti-bribery laws, we cannot provide assurance that our internal control policies and procedures will always protect us from reckless or criminal acts committed by our employees, joint-venturejoint venture partners or agents. Violations of these laws, or allegations of such violations, could disrupt our business and adversely affect our reputation and our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.

While it is our policy and practice to comply with all legal and regulatory requirements applicable to our business, a finding that we are in violation of, or out of compliance with, applicable laws or regulations could subject us to civil remedies, including fines, damages, injunctions or product recalls, or criminal sanctions, any of which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition. Even if a claim is unsuccessful, is without merit or is not fully pursued, the cost of responding to such a claim, including management time and out-of-pocket expenses, and the negative publicity surrounding such assertions regarding our products, processes or business practices could adversely affect our reputation, brand image and brand image.our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition. For information regarding our legal and regulatory matters, see Item 3 “Legal Proceedings” and Note 13, Commitments and Contingencies to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Our growth depends on the continued success of existing products, as well as the successful identification, development and launch of innovative new and differentiated products and line extensions.the expansion into adjacent categories, channels of distribution or geographies. Our ability to launch new products, and line extensions and to sustain existing products and to expand into adjacent categories, channels of distribution or geographies is affected by whether we can successfully:

The identification, development and introduction of innovative new products and line extensions involveinvolves considerable costs and effort, and any new product or line extension may not generate sufficient customer and consumer interest and sales to become a profitable product or to cover the costs of its development and promotion. Our ability to achieve a successful launch of a new product or line extension could also be adversely affected by preemptive actions taken by competitors in response to the launch, such as increased promotional activities and advertising. In addition, new products may not be accepted quickly or significantly in the marketplace.

If, in the course of identifying or developing new products, we are found to have infringed the trademark, trade secret, copyright, patent or other intellectual property rights of others, directly or indirectly, through the use of third-party ideas or technologies, such a finding could adversely affect our ability to develop innovative new products and adversely affect our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition. Even if we are not found to infringe a third party’s intellectual property rights, claims of infringement could adversely affect us, including by increasing costs and by delaying the launch of new products.

Additionally, due to the scale and scope of our business, we must rely on relationships with third parties, including our suppliers, distributors, contractors, joint venture partners and other external business partners, for certain functions. While we have policies and procedures for managing these relationships, they inherently involve a lesser degree of control over business operations, governance and compliance, thereby potentially increasing our reputational and legal risk.

In addition, third parties sell counterfeit versions of our products, which are inferior or may pose safety risks. As a result, consumers of our brands could confuse our products with these counterfeit products, which could cause them to refrain from purchasing our brands in the future and in turn could impair our brand equity and adversely affect our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.

Damage to our reputation or loss of consumer confidence in our products for these or any other reasons could adversely affect our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, as well as require resources to rebuild our reputation.

We are engaged in manufacturing and sourcing of products and materials on a global scale. Our operations and those of our suppliers or contract manufacturers could be disrupted by a number of factors, including, but not limited to:

In addition, we purchase certain key raw and packaging materials from single-source suppliers or a limited number of suppliers and new suppliers may have to be qualified under industry, governmental and Colgate standards, which can require additional investment and take a significant period of time.

We rely extensively on information technology systems (“IT Systems”), including some which are managed, hosted, provided and/or used by third parties, including cloud-based service providers, and their vendors, in order to conduct our business. Our uses of these systems include, but are not limited to:

Although we have a broad array of information security measures in place, our IT Systems, including those of third-party service providers with whom we have contracted, have been, and will likely continue to be, subject to computer viruses or other malicious codes, unauthorized access attempts, phishing and other cyber-attacks. Cyber-attacks and other cyber incidents are occurring more frequently, are constantly evolving in nature, are becoming more sophisticated and are being made by groups, individuals and nation states with a wide range of expertise and motives. Such cyber-attacks and cyber incidents can take many forms, including cyber extortion, social engineering, password theft or introduction of viruses or malware, such as ransomware through phishing emails. We cannot guarantee that our security efforts will prevent breaches or breakdowns of our, or our third-party service providers’, IT Systems since the techniques used in these attacks change frequently and may be difficult to detect for periods of time. In addition, although we have policies and procedures in place to ensure that all personal information collected by us or our third-party service providers is securely maintained, data breaches due to human error or intentional or unintentional conduct have occurred and likely will continue to occur. Although we have seen no material impact on our business operations from the cyber-security attacks and data breaches we have experienced to date, if we suffer a loss or disclosure of confidential business or stakeholder information as a result of a breach of our IT Systems, including those of third-party service providers with whom we have contracted, we may suffer reputational, competitive and/or business harm, incur significant costs and be subject to government investigations, litigation, fines and/or damages, which may adversely impact our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.

Uncertain global economic conditions could adversely affect our business. Unfavorable global economic conditions, such as a recession, economic slowdown and/or continued reduced category growth rates, have impacted and could continue to negatively impact our business and could result in declining revenues, profitability and cash flows. Although we continue to devote significant resources to support our brands and market our products at multiple price points, during periods of economic uncertainty consumers may reduce consumption or switch to “private label” or economy brands, which could reduce sales volumes of our products or result in a shift in our product mix from higher margin to lower margin product offerings. Additionally, our retailers may be impacted and they may increase pressure on our selling prices or increase promotional activity for lower-priced or value offerings as they seek to maintain sales volumes and margins.

While we currently generate significant cash flows from ongoing operations and have access to global credit markets through our various financing activities, a disruption in the credit markets, interest rate increases or changes to our credit ratings could negatively impact the availability or cost of funding. Reduced access to credit or increased costs could adversely affect our liquidity and capital resources or significantly increase our cost of capital. In addition, if any financial institutions that hold our cash or other investments or that are parties to our undrawn revolving credit facilityfacilities supporting our commercial paper programprograms or other financing arrangements, such as interest rate, foreign exchange or commodity hedging instruments, were to declare bankruptcy or become insolvent, they may be unable to perform under their agreements with us. This could leave us with reduced borrowing capacity or unhedged against certain interest rate, foreign currency or commodity price exposures. In addition, tighter credit markets may lead to business disruptions for certain of our suppliers, contract manufacturers or trade customers which could, in turn, adversely impact our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.

We have pursued and may continue to pursue acquisitions of brands, businesses or technologies from third parties. Acquisitions and their pursuit involve numerous potential risks, including, among other things:

Moreover, acquisitions could result in substantial additional debt, exposure to contingent liabilities, such as litigation or earn-out obligations, the potential impairment of goodwill or other intangible assets, or transaction costs. Any of these risks, should they materialize, could adversely impact our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.

We also may periodically divest brands or businesses. These divestitures may adversely impact our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition if we are unable to offset the dilutive impacts from the loss of revenue associated with the divested brands or businesses, or otherwise achieve the anticipated benefits or cost savings from the divestitures. In addition, businesses under consideration for, or otherwise subject to, divestiture may be adversely impacted prior to the divestiture, which could negatively impact our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.

We are subject to taxes in the U.S. and in the foreign jurisdictions where we do business. Due to economic and political conditions, tax rates in the U.S. and various foreign jurisdictions have been and may be subject to significant change. Changes in the mix of our earnings from countries with differing statutory tax rates, changes in the valuation of deferred tax assets and liabilities, changes in tax laws, including how existing tax laws are interpreted or enforced, or contemplated changes in long-standing tax principles, if finalized and adopted, could adversely impact our future effective tax rate and business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition. For example, longstanding international tax norms that determine each country’s jurisdiction to tax cross-border international trade are evolving as a result of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting reporting requirements (“BEPS”) recommended by the G8, G20 and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In connection with BEPS, companies are required to disclose more information to tax authorities on operations around the world, which may lead to greater audit scrutiny of profits earned in countries outside of the U.S. As thesethis and other tax laws and related regulations change, our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition could be materially impacted. For more information regarding U.S. tax reform, see Note 11, Income Taxes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

Furthermore, we are subject to regular reviews, examinations and audits by the Internal Revenue Service and other taxing authorities with respect to taxes inside and outside of the U.S. Although we believe our tax positions are reasonable, if a taxing authority disagrees with the positions we have taken, we could face additional tax liabilities, including interest and penalties, in excess of reserves. The payment of such additional amounts upon final adjudication of any disputes could adversely impact our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.

It has been reported that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have an adverse impact on global temperatures, weather patterns and the frequency and severity of extreme weather and natural disasters. The predicted effects of climate change may also exacerbate challenges regarding the availability and quality of water. In addition, concern over climate change may result in new or additional legal and regulatory requirements to reduce or mitigate the effects of climate change on the environment. Despite our sustainability efforts, any failure to achieve our sustainability goals to reduce our impact on the environment or the perception (whether or not valid) that we have failed to act responsibly with respect to the environment or to effectively respond to new or additional legal or regulatory requirements regarding climate change could result in adverse publicity and adversely affect our business and reputation. There is also increased focus, including by governmental and non-governmental organizations, investors, customers, consumers and other stakeholders on these and other sustainability matters, including deforestation and the use of plastic, energy and water. Our reputation could be damaged if we do not (or are perceived not to) act responsibly with respect to sustainability matters, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.

Net sales in Europe increased 4.5%Asia Pacific decreased 1.0% in 20182019 to $2,502,$2,707, as volume growth of 2.5%0.5% and positivenet selling price increases of 1.0% were more than offset by negative foreign exchange of 4.0% were partially offset by net selling price decreases of 2.0%2.5%. Volume gains were led by France, the United KingdomPhilippines, Australia and Italy.Thailand. Organic sales in EuropeAsia Pacific increased 0.5%1.5% in 2018.2019.

The increase in organic sales in Europe in2019 versus 2018 versus 2017 was primarily due to an increase in Oral Care organic sales. The increase in Oral Care was driven by organic sales growth in the toothpaste category, partially offset by a decline in organic sales in the manual toothbrush category.

Operating profit in Asia Pacific decreased 8%4% in 20182019 to $777,$749, or 19070 bps to 28.4%27.7% of Net sales. This decrease in Operating profit as a percentage of Net sales was primarily due to a decrease in Gross profit (80(10 bps) and an increase in Selling, general and administrative expenses (80(70 bps), both as a percentage of Net sales. This decrease in Gross profit was primarily due to higher raw and packaging material costs (320(310 bps), which were partiallylargely offset by cost savings from the Company’s funding-the-growth initiatives (270 bps). and higher pricing. This increase in Selling, general and administrative expenses was due to higher overhead expenses (50 bps) and increased advertising investment (30(80 bps).