cl-20201231

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020

For the transition period from to .

Commission File Number 1-644

COLGATE-PALMOLIVE COMPANY

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code 212-310-2000

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class Trading Symbol(s) Name of each exchange on which registered

Common Stock, $1.00 par value CL New York Stock Exchange

0.000% Notes due 2021 CL21A New York Stock Exchange

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes☒No ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐No☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer”, “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer ☒ Accelerated filer ☐

Non-accelerated filer ☐ Smaller reporting company ☐

Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

The aggregate market value of Colgate-Palmolive Company Common Stock held by non-affiliates as of June 30, 2020 (the last business day of its most recently completed second quarter) was approximately $62.8 billion.

There were 848,562,678 shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company Common Stock outstanding as of January 31, 2021.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE:

Documents Form 10-K Reference

Colgate-Palmolive Company

Table of Contents

Part I Page

Item 1. Business 1

Item 1A. Risk Factors 7

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 19

Item 2. Properties 20

Item 3. Legal Proceedings 21

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 23

Part II

Item 6. Selected Financial Data 24

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 58

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 59

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 59

Item 9B. Other Information 59

Part III

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 60

Item 11. Executive Compensation 60

Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services 61

Part IV

Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules 62

Signatures 67

PART I

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

(a) General Development of the Business

Colgate-Palmolive Company (together with its subsidiaries, “we,” "us," "our," the “Company” or “Colgate”) is a caring, innovative growth company reimagining a healthier future for all people, their pets and our planet. We seek to deliver sustainable, profitable growth and superior shareholder returns, as well as provide Colgate people with an innovative and inclusive work environment. We do this by developing and selling products globally that make people’s lives healthier and more enjoyable and by embracing our sustainability and social impact and diversity, equity and inclusion strategies across our organization. Our 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” and “– Liquidity and Capital Resources” in Part II, Item 7 of this report.

We operate in two product segments: Oral, Personal and Home Care; and Pet Nutrition. We are a leader in Oral Care with global leadership in the toothpaste and manual toothbrush categories according to market share data. We sell our toothpastes under brands such as Colgate, Darlie, elmex, hello, meridol, Sorriso and Tom’s of Maine, our toothbrushes under brands such as Colgate, Darlie, elmex and meridol and our mouthwashes under brands such as Colgate, elmex and meridol. Our Oral Care business also includes pharmaceutical products for dentists and other oral health professionals.

We are a leader in many product categories of the Personal Care market with global leadership in liquid hand soap, according to market share data, which we sell under brands such as Palmolive, Protex and Softsoap. Our Personal Care products also include Irish Spring, Palmolive and Protex bar soaps, Irish Spring, Palmolive, Sanex and Softsoap shower gels, Lady Speed Stick, Sanex, Speed Stick and Tom’s of Maine deodorants and antiperspirants, EltaMD, Filorga and PCA Skin skin health products and Palmolive shampoos and conditioners.

We manufacture and market a wide array of products for the Home Care market, including Ajax, Axion and Palmolive dishwashing liquids and Ajax, Fabuloso and Murphy household cleaners. We are 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.

Sales of Oral, Personal and Home Care products accounted for 44%, 21% and 18%, respectively, of our total worldwide Net sales in 2020. Geographically, Oral Care is a significant part of our business in Asia Pacific,comprising approximately 81% of Net sales in that region for 2020.

Through our Hill’s Pet Nutrition segment (“Hill’s” or “Pet Nutrition”), we are 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 17% of our total worldwide Net sales in 2020.

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

For additional information regarding market share data, see “Market Share Information” in Part II, Item 7 of this report.

Distribution; Raw Materials; Competition; Trademarks and Patents

Our Oral, Personal and Home Care products are sold to a variety of traditional and eCommerce retailers, wholesalers and distributors worldwide. Pet Nutrition products are sold by authorized pet supply retailers, veterinarians and eCommerce retailers. Our sales to Wal-Mart, Inc. and its affiliates represent approximately 12% of our Net sales in 2020. No other customer represents more than 10% of our Net sales. We support our products with advertising, promotion and other marketing (with increasing emphasis on digital) to build awareness and trial of our products. Our products are marketed by a direct sales force at individual operating subsidiaries or business units and by distributors or brokers.

The majority of raw and packaging materials used in our products is purchased from other companies and is available from several sources. No single raw or packaging material represents, and no single supplier provides, a significant portion of our total material requirements. For certain materials, however, new suppliers may have to be qualified under industry, governmental and/or Colgate standards, which can require additional investment and take some period of time. Raw and packaging material commodities, such as essential oils, resins, pulp, tropical oils, tallow, corn, poultry and soybeans, are subject to market price variations. For further information regarding the impact of changes in commodity prices, see Item 1A, “Risk Factors - Volatility in material and other costs could adversely impact our profitability” and Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

Our products are sold in a highly competitive global marketplace which has experienced increased retail trade concentration, the rapid growth of 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 that we produce and sell are available from multinational and local competitors in the U.S. and overseas. Certain of our competitors are larger and have greater resources than we do. In addition, the substantial growth in eCommerce has encouraged the entry of new competitors and business models. In certain geographies, we also face strong local competitors, who may be more agile and have better local consumer insights than we do. Private label brands sold by retailers are also a source of competition for certain of our products.

The retail landscape in many of our markets continues to evolve as a result of the rapid growth of eCommerce retailers, changing consumer preferences (as consumers increasingly shop online) and the increased presence of alternative retail channels, such as subscription services and direct-to-customer businesses. COVID-19 has accelerated these trends, either on a temporary or permanent basis, and we have witnessed consumers changing their purchasing patterns, including the nature and/or frequency of visits by consumers to retailers and dental, veterinary and skin health professionals as well as a shift, in many markets, to purchasing our products online. We face competition in several aspects of our 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 Colgate’s operating segments.

We consider trademarks to be of material importance to our business. We follow a practice of seeking trademark protection in the U.S. and throughout the world where our products are sold. Principal global and regional trademarks include Colgate, Palmolive, elmex, hello, meridol, Sorriso, Tom’s of Maine, EltaMD, Filorga, Irish Spring, Lady Speed Stick, PCA Skin, Protex, Sanex, Softsoap, Speed Stick, Ajax, Axion, Fabuloso, Murphy, Soupline and Suavitel, as well as Hill’s Science Diet and Hill’s Prescription Diet. Our rights in these trademarks endure for as long as they are used and/or registered. Although we actively develop and maintain a portfolio of patents, no single patent is considered significant to the business as a whole.

COVID-19

COVID-19 and government steps to reduce the spread and address the impact of COVID-19 have had and continue to have a profound impact on the way people live, work, interact and shop and have significantly impacted and may continue to impact economic activity around the world.

During 2020, many of the communities in which we manufacture, market and sell our products experienced unprecedented “stay at home” orders, travel or movement restrictions and other government actions to reduce the spread and address the impact of COVID-19, and have implemented varying policies to resume economic activity. Because the vast majority of our products (such as oral care products, soaps and other personal hygiene products, home cleaners and pet food) have been deemed essential for the health and well-being of people and their pets, we have, in most instances, been able to continue operating our business. In doing so, the health, safety and well-being of our employees has been and remains our first priority. In addition, some of our suppliers, customers, distributors and service providers have experienced disruptions to their businesses.

We saw a significant increase in demand across many of our categories in 2020, driven by consumer pantry-loading and increased consumption of our products in response to COVID-19. This was particularly true in certain categories, such as liquid hand soap, dish liquid, bar soap and cleaners, and we believe that some of the increase in consumption in these categories is sustainable in light of changes in consumer behavior related to COVID-19. As a result, we have seen and expect to continue to see heightened competitive activity from our competitors in certain categories, including more aggressive product claims and marketing challenges and the marketing of new products in high demand categories. At the same time, in 2020, we continued to experience declines in certain channels, including professional sales and travel retail, due to the economic slowdown and restricted consumer movement in many geographies throughout the world. We also continue to see changes in the purchasing patterns of our consumers, including the nature and/or frequency of visits by consumers to retailers and dental, veterinary and skin health professionals and a shift in many markets to purchasing our products online.

COVID-19 and government steps to reduce the spread and address the impact of COVID-19 have impacted and may continue to impact our consumers’ ability to purchase and our ability to manufacture and distribute our products. We expect the ongoing economic impact and health concerns associated with COVID-19 to continue to impact consumer behavior, shopping patterns and consumption preferences despite the lifting of government restrictions and the reopening of economies around the world.

For additional information regarding COVID-19’s impact on our business, see Part I, Item 1A “Risk Factors” and Part II, Item 7 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Executive Overview.”

Government Regulations

As a global company, we are subject to extensive governmental regulations, including environmental rules and regulations, in the U.S. and abroad. The most significant government regulations that impact our business are discussed below. It is our policy and practice to comply with all government regulations applicable to our business. In 2020, compliance with these regulations did not have, and we do not expect such compliance in the future to have, a material adverse effect on our capital expenditures, earnings or competitive position. For further discussion of how global legal and regulatory requirements may impact our business, see Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors.”

Product Development: 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 Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Occupational, Health and Safety Administration 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.

Anti-Corruption, Anti-Bribery, Commercial Bribery and Competition: We are subject to anti-corruption laws and regulations, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other laws that generally prohibit the making or offering of improper payments to foreign government officials and political figures for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business or to gain an unfair business advantage, and laws that prohibit commercial bribery. In addition, our selling practices are regulated by competition law authorities in the U.S. and abroad.

Privacy and Data Protection: Our collection, storage, transfer and/or processing of customer, consumer, employee, vendor and other stakeholder information and personal data is subject to privacy, data use and data security regulations in the U.S. and abroad, including the General Data Protection Regulation and the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018.

Human Capital Management

Human capital matters at Colgate are managed by our Global Human Resources function, led by our Chief Human Resources Officer, with oversight from the Personnel and Organization Committee of our Board of Directors (the "Board"). As of December 31, 2020, we had approximately 34,200 employees based in over 100 countries. Approximately 70% of our revenues are generated from markets outside the U.S. and 86% of our employees are located outside the U.S. Approximately 36% of our employees are based in Asia Pacific, 30% are based in Latin America, 15% are based in North America, 14% are based in Europe and 5% are based in Africa/Eurasia. Our global workforce covers a broad range of functions, from manufacturing employees to management personnel and certain of our employees are represented by unions or works councils.

Colgate’s Culture and Core Values

As we work to achieve Colgate’s purpose to reimagine a healthier future for all people, their pets and our planet, Colgate people, working around the world, share a commitment to our three core corporate values: Caring, Global Teamwork and Continuous Improvement. These values are reflected not only in the quality of our products and reputation, but also in our dedication to serving the communities where we live and work, as reflected in our sustainability and social impact and diversity, equity and inclusion strategies. With these values, we work to maintain a strong culture based on integrity, ethical behavior and a commitment to doing the right thing. Underlying these values and our strong culture is a commitment of all Colgate people to maintain the highest ethical standards and demonstrate ethical leadership, including compliance with Colgate policies and our Code of Ethics.

CARING: We care about people — Colgate people, consumers, customers, stockholders and business partners. We are committed to acting with compassion, integrity, honesty and high ethics in all situations and to providing our employees with an innovative and inclusive work environment. As a reflection of Colgate’s caring value, during the COVID-19 pandemic, protecting the health, safety and well-being of Colgate people has been and remains our first priority. Many of our employees globally have worked from home during the pandemic. We implemented additional health and safety measures and social distancing protocols to help ensure employee safety when work from home is not possible. We also offered Colgate people and their families enhanced mental health and wellness benefit offerings. Combined with the fact that the vast majority of our products have been deemed “essential” for the health and well-being of people and their pets, these efforts have, in most instances, enabled us to continue to operate during the pandemic providing consumers with the health and hygiene products they need and want.

GLOBAL TEAMWORK: All Colgate people are part of a global team, committed to working together across countries and throughout the world. Only by sharing ideas, technologies and talents can we achieve and sustain profitable growth.

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT: We are committed to getting better every day in all that we do, as individuals and as teams. We continue to transform our learning strategy to better meet the evolving expectations of the modern workforce and create a continuous learning culture. All of our employees worldwide are provided with a series of training programs focused on building leadership skills. Our focus is to develop the strategic organizational capabilities that will drive current and future growth for Colgate by offering learning experiences that are closely aligned to our business strategy. Specifically, we are focused on implementing new ways of working and instilling a growth mindset to drive experimentation, digitization and innovation with agility and resilience.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

We believe our people are crucial to our ongoing business success. We celebrate differences, promote an inclusive environment and value the contributions of all Colgate people. As a truly global company, we are working to ensure that our workforce reflects the diversity of the communities in which we live and work. As of December 31, 2020, our global workforce was 60% male and 40% female, and women represented 41% of Colgate’s executives. Measuring the race/ethnicity of our workforce is challenging to do on a global basis. In the U.S., on an employee self-reported basis, the racial/ethnic composition of our workforce was approximately 67% White, 11% Hispanic, 9% Black, 8% Asian and 5% other.

We are committed to providing all of our employees with an inclusive work environment, learning opportunities and promotion and growth opportunities. A vital piece of our diversity, equity and inclusion strategy has been ensuring that our talent management process incorporates the advancement of women and people of all cultures, including underrepresented communities. To help further foster inclusiveness, we support employee resource groups for team members of many different underrepresented communities. Each of these resource groups contributes to our inclusive work environment by developing and implementing programs to promote business and community involvement as well as cultural awareness. We also partner with external organizations to develop an inclusive and supportive work environment.

Our global diversity, equity and inclusion strategy aims to further advance our commitment to become an even more diverse, equitable and inclusive organization. The four pillars of our strategy are People, Community, Supplier Diversity and Communication. Consistent with this strategy, we are working to implement policies, learning experiences and processes that promote awareness, empathy, advocacy and opportunity; become an ally for positive change for the underserved in communities in which we live and work; support minority and women-owned suppliers to enable success of diversity-owned businesses; and promote dialogue around diversity, equity and inclusion to increase awareness and advance the culture change to achieve our vision.

Succession Planning

We have a rigorous succession planning process, led by our Global Human Resources function. Our Board is also extensively involved in succession planning and people development with special focus on CEO succession. As part of the succession planning process, we review and discuss potential successors to key positions and examine backgrounds, capabilities and appropriate developmental assignments.

Compensation Philosophy

Given the importance of Colgate people to our business success, attracting, motivating and retaining high-quality talent is a key focus. We view compensation as an important tool to motivate leaders at all levels of the organization. For information regarding our compensation philosophy and executive compensation programs, please see our Proxy Statement to be filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) in connection with the 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

Information about our Executive Officers

The following is a list of our executive officers as of February 18, 2021:

Name Age Date First Elected Officer Present Title

Stanley J. Sutula III 55 2020 Chief Financial Officer

Patricia Verduin 61 2011 Chief Technology Officer

Jennifer M. Daniels 57 2014 Chief Legal Officer and Secretary

Philip G. Shotts 66 2018 Vice President and Controller

John W. Kooyman 56 2019 Chief of Staff

Prabha Parameswaran 62 2019 Group President, Global Innovation Group

Sally Massey 47 2020 Chief Human Resources Officer

Each of our executive officers listed above has served the Company or our subsidiaries in various executive capacities for the past five years with the exception of Stanley J. Sutula III, who joined the Company in 2020 as Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Sutula was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Pitney Bowes Inc. (“Pitney Bowes”), which he joined in 2017. Prior to Pitney Bowes, Mr. Sutula served in various executive finance positions at International Business Machines Corporation.

Under our By-Laws, our officers hold office until their respective successors are chosen and qualified or until they have resigned, retired or been removed by the affirmative vote of a majority of our Board. There are no family relationships between any of our executive officers, and there is no arrangement or understanding between any executive officer and any other person pursuant to which the executive officer was elected.

(e) Available Information

Our website address is www.colgatepalmolive.com. The information contained on our website is not included as a part of, or incorporated by reference into, this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We make available, free of charge, on our website our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, interactive data files posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T, Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments to such reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. Also available on our website are the Company’s Code of Conduct and Board Guidelines on Significant Corporate Governance Issues, the charters of the Committees of the Board, Specialized Disclosure Reports on Form SD, reports under Section 16 of the Exchange Act of transactions in Company stock by directors and executive officers and our proxy statements.

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

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, some of which have occurred and/or are occurring and any of which could occur in the future, 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.

Business and Industry Risks

We face risks associated with significant international operations, including exposure to foreign currency fluctuations.

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 face risks associated with significant international operations, including, but not limited to:

•changes in exchange rates for foreign currencies, which may reduce the U.S. dollar value of revenues, profits and cash flows from non-U.S. markets or increase our supply costs, as measured in U.S. dollars, in those markets;

•exchange controls and other limits on our ability to import or export raw materials or finished product, including as a result of COVID-19, or to repatriate earnings from overseas;

•political or economic instability, geopolitical events, environmental events, widespread health emergencies, such as COVID-19 or other pandemics or epidemics, natural disasters or social or labor unrest;

•changing macroeconomic conditions in our markets, including as a result of volatile commodity prices, including the price of oil;

•lack of well-established, reliable and/or impartial legal systems in certain countries where we operate and difficulties in enforcing contractual, intellectual property or other legal rights;

•foreign ownership and investment restrictions and the potential for nationalization or expropriation of property or other resources; and

•changes to trade policies and agreements and other foreign or domestic legal and regulatory requirements, including those resulting in potentially adverse tax consequences or the imposition of and/or the increase in onerous trade restrictions and/or tariffs, sanctions, price controls, labor laws, travel or immigration restrictions, including as a result of COVID-19 or other pandemics or epidemics, profit controls or other government controls.

Any or 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 exit from the European Union (commonly referred to as Brexit) continues to be unclear. Brexit continues to pose legal, political and economic uncertainty, which could subject us to heightened risks in the region, including disruptions to trade and the free movement of goods, services and people to and from the United Kingdom, increased foreign exchange volatility with respect to the British pound and disruptions to our workforce and that of our suppliers and business partners. We do not, however, believe Brexit has had or will have a material impact on our business, results of operations, cash flows or financial condition.

Furthermore, the imposition of tariffs and/or increase in tariffs on various products by the United States and other countries have introduced greater uncertainty with respect to trade policies and government regulations affecting trade between the United States and other countries and new and/or increased tariffs have subjected, and may continue in the future to subject, us to additional costs and expenditure of resources. Major developments in trade relations, including the imposition of new or increased tariffs by the United States and/or other countries, and any emerging nationalist trends in specific countries could alter the trade environment and consumer purchasing behavior which, in turn, could have a material effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows and 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.

Significant competition in our industry could adversely affect our business.

We face vigorous competition worldwide, including from strong local competitors and from other large, multinational companies, some of which have greater resources than we do. In addition, the substantial growth in eCommerce 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 business and economic conditions and changing consumer preferences, including by launching innovative new products. Such competition also extends to administrative and legal challenges of product claims and advertising. Our success is increasingly dependent on our ability to effectively leverage digital technology and data analytics to gain new commercial insights and develop relevant marketing and advertising to reach customers and consumers. In addition, we have experienced and may continue to experience increased demand for many of our products in response to COVID-19. As a result, we have seen and expect to continue to see heightened competitive activity from our competitors in certain of our categories, including more aggressive product claims and marketing challenges and the marketing of new products in high demand categories. 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. A failure to compete effectively could adversely affect our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.

Increasing dependence on key retailers in developed markets, changes in the policies of our retail trade customers, the emergence of alternative retail channels and the rapidly changing retail landscape may adversely affect our business.

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 eCommerce retailers. With the growing trend toward retail trade consolidation, the rapid growth of eCommerce 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, slotting fees or increased investment, including through display media, paid search, preparation fees and co-op programs, 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, or environmental, sustainability, supply chain or packaging 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, supply chain or packaging 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 evolve as a result of the rapid growth of eCommerce retailers, changing consumer preferences (as consumers increasingly shop online) and the increased presence of alternative retail channels, such as subscription services and direct-to-customer businesses. The rapid growth in eCommerce 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 continuing to adapt or effectively react to changes in consumer preferences, purchasing patterns and market dynamics and/or expanding sales through eCommerce retailers and other alternative retail channels, our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition could be adversely affected.

The growth of our business depends on the successful identification, development and launch of innovative new products.

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

•identify, develop and fund technological innovations;

•obtain and maintain necessary intellectual property protection and avoid infringing intellectual property rights of others;

•obtain approvals and registrations of regulated products, including from the FDA and other regulatory bodies in the U.S. and abroad; and

•anticipate and quickly respond to the needs and preferences of consumers and customers.

The identification, development and introduction of innovative new products that drive incremental sales involves considerable costs and effort, and any new product 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 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.

Our ability to quickly innovate and to adapt and market our products to meet evolving consumer preferences and to adapt our packaging to meet evolving customer preferences is an essential part of our business strategy. The failure to develop and launch successful new products or to adapt our packaging and supply chain to meet such preferences could hinder the growth of our business and any delay in the development or launch of a new product could result in us not being the first to market, which could compromise our competitive position and adversely affect our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.

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.

We face various risks related to pandemics, epidemics or similar widespread public health concerns, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.

We face various risks related to pandemics, epidemics or similar widespread public health concerns, including the COVID-19 pandemic. A pandemic, epidemic or similar widespread health concern could have, and COVID-19 has had and will continue to have, a variety of impacts on our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, including:

•Our ability to continue to maintain and support the health, safety and well-being of our employees, including key employees;

•Volatility in the demand for and availability of our products, which may be caused by the temporary inability of our consumers to purchase our products due to illness, financial hardship, quarantine, government actions mandating the closure of our distributors or retailers or imposing travel or movement restrictions, shifts in demand and consumption away from more discretionary or higher priced products to lower-priced products or pantry-loading activity;

•Substantial increases in demand for certain of our products requiring us to increase our production capacity or acquire additional capacity at an additional cost and expense;

•Changes in purchasing patterns of our consumers, including the frequency of in-store visits by consumers to retailers and dental, veterinary and skin health professionals and a shift to purchasing our products online from eCommerce retailers;

•Disruptions to our global supply chain, including the closure of manufacturing and distribution facilities, due to, among other things, the availability of raw and packaging materials or manufacturing components; a decrease in our workforce or in the efficiency of such workforce, including as a result of illness, travel restrictions, absenteeism or governmental regulations; transportation and logistics challenges, including as a result of port and border closures and other governmental restrictions or reduced shipping capacity; or the impact of COVID-19 on our retailers, third party suppliers, contract manufacturers, logistics providers or distributors;

•Failure of third parties on which we rely, including our retailers, suppliers, contract manufacturers, logistics providers, customers, commercial banks, joint venture partners and external business partners, to meet their obligations to us, or significant disruptions in their ability to do so, which may be caused by their own financial or operational difficulties;

•Significant changes in the economic and political conditions of the markets in which we operate, which could restrict and have restricted our employees’ ability to work and travel, could mandate and have mandated or caused the closure of certain distributors or retailers, our offices, shared business service centers and/or operating and manufacturing facilities or otherwise could prevent and have prevented us as well as our third-party partners, suppliers or customers from sufficiently staffing operations, including operations necessary for the manufacture, distribution, sale and support of our products;

•Disruptions and volatility in the global capital markets, which may increase the cost of capital and adversely impact our access to capital; and/or

•Volatility in foreign exchange rates and in raw and packaging materials and logistics costs.

Despite our efforts to manage these impacts, their ultimate impact also depends on factors beyond our knowledge or control, including the duration, severity and geographic scope of an outbreak, such as COVID-19, the availability, widespread distribution and use of safe and effective vaccines and the actions taken to contain its spread and mitigate its public health and economic effects.

Damage to our reputation could have an adverse effect on our business.

Maintaining our strong reputation with consumers and our trade partners globally is critical to selling our branded products. Accordingly, we devote significant time and resources to programs designed to protect and preserve our reputation, such as our Ethics and Compliance, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Sustainability and Social Impact, Brand Protection and Product Safety, Regulatory and Quality initiatives. Negative publicity about us, our brands, our products, our supply chain, our ingredients, our packaging, our environmental, social and governance practices, including as they relate to diversity, equity and inclusion, or our employees, whether or not deserved, could jeopardize our reputation. Such negative publicity could relate to, among other things, health concerns, threatened or pending litigation or regulatory proceedings, environmental impacts (including deforestation, packaging, plastic, energy and water use and waste management), our environmental, social and governance practices, or other sustainability or policy issues. In addition, widespread use of digital and social media by consumers has greatly increased the accessibility of information and the speed of its dissemination. Negative publicity, posts or comments on social media about us, our brands, our products, our packaging or our employees, whether true or untrue, could damage our brands and our reputation. The success of our brands could also suffer if our marketing initiatives do not have the desired impact on a brand’s image or its ability to attract consumers.

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, compliance and environmental, social and governance practices, 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.

Our success depends upon our ability to recruit, attract and retain key employees, including through the implementation of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and the succession of senior management.

Our success largely depends on the performance of our management team and other key employees. If we are unable to recruit, attract and retain talented, highly qualified senior management and other key people, our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition could be adversely affected. Successfully executing organizational change, including management transitions at leadership levels of the Company and succession plans for senior management, is critical to our business success. While we follow a disciplined, ongoing succession planning process and have succession plans in place for senior management and other key executives, these do not guarantee that the services of qualified senior executives will continue to be available to us at particular moments in time. Further, changes in immigration laws and policies, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, have made in certain circumstances and may continue to make it more difficult for us to recruit or relocate highly skilled technical, professional and management personnel to meet our business needs. In addition, we are working to advance culture change through the implementation of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives throughout our organization. If we do not (or are perceived not to) successfully implement these initiatives, our ability to recruit, attract and retain talent may be adversely impacted.

We have pursued and may continue to pursue acquisitions and divestitures, which could adversely impact our business.

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:

•realizing the full extent of the expected benefits or synergies as a result of a transaction, within the anticipated time frame, or at all;

•successfully integrating the operations, technologies, services, products and systems of the acquired brands or businesses in an effective, timely and cost-efficient manner;

•receiving necessary consents, clearances and approvals in connection with a transaction;

•diverting management’s attention from other business priorities;

•successfully operating in new lines of business, channels of distribution or markets;

•retaining key employees, partners, suppliers and customers of the acquired business;

•conforming standards, controls, procedures and policies of the acquired business with our own;

•developing or launching products with acquired technologies; and

•other unanticipated problems or liabilities.

Moreover, acquisitions have resulted in and could in the future 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 have divested and may in the future 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.

Operational Risks

Our business results are impacted by our ability to manage disruptions in our global supply chain and/or key office facilities.

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

•environmental events;

•widespread health emergencies, such as COVID-19 or other pandemics or epidemics;

•strikes and other labor disputes;

•disruptions in logistics;

•loss or impairment of key manufacturing sites;

•loss of key suppliers or contract manufacturers;

•supplier capacity constraints;

•raw material and product quality or safety issues;

•industrial accidents or other occupational health and safety issues;

•the impact on our suppliers of tighter credit or capital markets;

•the lack of availability of qualified personnel, such as truck drivers;

•governmental incentives and controls (including import and export restrictions, such as new or increased tariffs, sanctions, quotas or trade barriers); and

•natural disasters, including climatic events (including any potential effect of climate change) and earthquakes, acts of war or terrorism, political unrest or uncertainty, fires or explosions, cyber-security incidents and other external factors over which we have no control.

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 believe that the supplies of raw and packaging materials needed to manufacture our products are adequate. In addition, we have business continuity and contingency plans in place for key manufacturing sites and contract manufacturers and the supply of raw and packaging materials. Nonetheless, a significant disruption to the manufacturing or sourcing of products or materials for any reason, including those mentioned above, could interrupt product supply and, if not remedied, could have an adverse impact on our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.

In addition, as a result of our global shared service organizational model, certain of our functions, such as marketing, payroll, finance and accounting, customer service and logistics, and human resources, are concentrated in key office facilities. A significant disruption to any of our key office facilities for any reason, including those mentioned above, could adversely affect our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.

Volatility in material and other costs could adversely impact our profitability.

Raw and packaging material commodities, such as essential oils, resins, pulp, tropical oils, tallow, corn, poultry and soybeans, are subject to market price variations. Increases in the costs of and/or a reduction in the availability of commodities, energy and logistics and other necessary services, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, have affected and may continue to adversely affect our profit margins. If commodity and other cost increases continue in the future and we are unable to pass along such higher costs in the form of price increases, achieve cost efficiencies, such as in manufacturing and distribution, or otherwise manage the exposure through sourcing strategies, ongoing productivity initiatives and the limited use of commodity hedging contracts, our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition could be adversely impacted. In addition, even if we are able to increase the prices of our products in response to commodity and other cost increases, we may not be able to sustain the price increases. Also, sustained price increases may lead to declines in volume as competitors may not adjust their prices or consumers may decide not to pay higher prices, which could lead to sales declines and loss of market share and could adversely affect our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition. See “Our business results depend on our ability to manage disruptions in our global supply chain and/or key office facilities” above for additional information.

There is no guarantee that our ongoing efforts to reduce costs will be successful.

One way that we generate funds needed to support the growth of our business is through our continuous, Company-wide initiatives to lower costs and increase effective asset utilization, which we refer to as our funding-the-growth initiatives. These initiatives are designed to reduce costs associated with direct materials, indirect expenses, distribution and logistics, and advertising and promotional materials, among other things. The achievement of our funding-the-growth goals depends on our ability to successfully identify and realize additional savings opportunities. Events and circumstances, such as financial or strategic difficulties, delays and unexpected costs may occur that could result in our not realizing any or all of the anticipated benefits or our not realizing the anticipated benefits on our expected timetable. If we are unable to realize the anticipated savings of our funding-the-growth initiatives, our ability to fund other initiatives and achieve our profitability goals may be adversely affected. Any failure to implement our funding-the-growth initiatives in accordance with our expectations could adversely affect our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition. For additional information regarding our funding-the-growth initiatives, refer to Part II, Item 7 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Executive Overview.”

A cyber-security incident, data breach or a failure of a key information technology system could adversely impact our business.

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:

•communicating within our company and with other parties, including our customers and consumers;

•ordering and managing materials from suppliers;

•converting materials to finished products;

•receiving and processing orders from, shipping products to and invoicing our customers and consumers;

•marketing products to consumers;

•collecting, storing, transferring and/or processing customer, consumer, employee, vendor, investor and other stakeholder information and personal data, including, but not limited to, such data from residents of the European Union who are covered by the General Data Protection Regulation, which went into effect on May 25, 2018, and residents of the State of California who are covered by the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, which went into effect on January 1, 2020;

•processing transactions, including but not limited to employee payroll, employee and retiree benefits and payments to customers and vendors;

•hosting, processing and sharing confidential and proprietary research, intellectual property, business plans and financial information;

•summarizing and reporting results of operations, including financial reporting;

•managing our banking and other cash liquidity systems and platforms;

•complying with legal, regulatory and tax requirements;

•providing data security; and

•handling other processes involved in managing our business.

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. Furthermore, we periodically upgrade our IT Systems or adopt new technologies. If such an upgrade or new technology does not function as designed, does not go as planned or increases our exposure to a cyber-attack or cyber incident, it may adversely impact our business, including our ability to ship products to customers, issue invoices and process payments or order raw and packaging materials. 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 significant 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, or otherwise, 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.

Furthermore, while we have disaster recovery and business continuity plans in place, if our IT Systems are damaged, breached or cease to function properly for any reason, including the poor performance of, failure of or cyber-attack on third-party service providers, catastrophic events, power outages, cyber-security breaches, network outages, failed upgrades or other similar events and, if the disaster recovery and business continuity plans do not effectively resolve such issues on a timely basis, we may suffer interruptions in our ability to manage or conduct business as well as reputational harm, and may be subject to governmental investigations and litigation, any of which may adversely impact our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.

Climate change and other sustainability matters may have an adverse impact on our business and results of operations.

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 and other ingredients. 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, including those aimed to reduce our impact on, improve or preserve the environment, or the perception (whether or not valid) that we have failed to act responsibly with respect to such matters 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, our employees and other stakeholders on these and other sustainability matters, including responsible sourcing and deforestation, the use of plastic, energy and water, the recyclability or recoverability of packaging, including single-use and other plastic packaging and ingredient transparency. 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.

Legal and Regulatory Risks

Our business is subject to legal and regulatory risks in the U.S. and abroad.

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, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration 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 around the world review the use of various ingredients and packaging content in consumer products. While we monitor and seek to mitigate the impact of any emerging information, a decision by a regulatory or governmental authority that any ingredient or packaging content in our products should be restricted 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 or packaging. Additionally, an inability to develop new or reformulated products containing alternative ingredients, to obtain regulatory approval of such products or ingredients 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, 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 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 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.

Legal claims and proceedings could adversely impact our business.

As a global company serving consumers in more than 200 countries and territories, we are and may continue to be subject to a wide variety of legal claims and proceedings, including disputes relating to intellectual property, contracts, product liability, marketing, advertising, foreign exchange controls, antitrust and trade regulation, as well as labor and employment, pension, data privacy and security, environmental and tax matters and consumer class actions. Regardless of their merit, these claims can require significant time and expense to investigate and defend. Since litigation is inherently uncertain, there is no guarantee that we will be successful in defending ourselves against such claims or proceedings, or that our assessment of the materiality of these matters, including any reserves taken in connection therewith, will be consistent with the ultimate outcome of such matters. In addition, if one of our products, or an ingredient contained in our products, is perceived or found to be defective, or unsafe or have a quality issue, we have had to and may in the future need to withdraw, recall or reformulate some of our products. Whether or not a legal claim or proceeding is successful, or a withdrawal, recall or reformulation is required or advisable, such assertions could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, and the negative publicity surrounding them could harm our reputation and brand image. The resolution of, or increase in the reserves taken in connection with, one or more of these matters in any reporting period could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition for that period. See Item 3 “Legal Proceedings” and Note 13, Commitments and Contingencies to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information on certain of our legal claims and proceedings.

Financial and Economic Risks

Uncertain or unfavorable global economic conditions, including as a result of COVID-19, may adversely affect our business.

Uncertain global economic conditions could adversely affect our business. Unfavorable global economic conditions, such as a recession, economic slowdown and/or reduced category growth rates, including as a result of COVID-19, could negatively impact our business and 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 or unfavorable economic conditions, consumers may reduce consumption or discretionary spending and/or change their purchasing patterns by foregoing purchasing certain of our products or by switching to “private label” or lower-priced brands. These changes could reduce demand for and 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. Furthermore, economic conditions can cause our suppliers, distributors, contract manufacturers, logistics providers or other third-party partners to suffer financial or operational difficulties, which may impact their inability to provide us with or distribute finished product, raw and packaging materials and/or services in a timely manner or at all. In addition, we could face difficulty collecting or recovering accounts receivables from third parties facing financial or operational difficulties.

Disruptions in the credit markets or changes to our credit ratings may adversely affect our business.

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, changes that may result from the implementation of new benchmark rates that replace the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) 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 facilities supporting our commercial paper programs 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.

Tax matters, including changes in tax rates, disagreements with taxing authorities and imposition of new taxes could negatively impact our business.

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 between countries with differing statutory tax rates, changes in the valuation of deferred tax assets and liabilities related to changes in tax rates, 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, long-standing 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 countries that then made up the G8 and the G20 and the 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 this 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 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 have faced and in the future may 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.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

We own or lease approximately 320 properties, which include manufacturing, distribution, research and office facilities worldwide. Our corporate headquarters is located in leased property at 300 Park Avenue, New York, New York.

In the U.S., we operate in approximately 70 properties, of which 13 are owned. Major U.S. manufacturing and warehousing facilities used by the Oral, Personal and Home Care product segment of our business are located in Cambridge, Ohio; Greenwood, South Carolina; and Morristown, Tennessee. The Pet Nutrition segment has major manufacturing and warehousing facilities in Bowling Green, Kentucky; Emporia, Kansas; Richmond, Indiana; and Topeka, Kansas.

Overseas, we operate in approximately 250 properties, of which 57 are owned, in over 80 countries. Major overseas manufacturing and warehousing facilities used by the Oral, Personal and Home Care product segment of our business are located in Australia, Brazil, China, Colombia, France, Greece, Guatemala, India, Italy, Mexico, Poland, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey and Venezuela. The Pet Nutrition segment has major manufacturing and warehousing facilities in the Czech Republic and the Netherlands.

The primary research center for Oral Care and Personal Care products is located in Piscataway, New Jersey, the primary research center for Home Care products is located in Mexico and the primary research center for Pet Nutrition products is located in Topeka, Kansas. Our global data center is also located in Piscataway, New Jersey.

We have shared business service centers in India, Mexico and Poland, which are located in leased properties.

All of the facilities we operate are well maintained and adequate for the purpose for which they are intended.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

As a global company serving consumers in more than 200 countries and territories, the Company is routinely subject to a wide variety of legal proceedings. These include disputes relating to intellectual property, contracts, product liability, marketing, advertising, foreign exchange controls, antitrust and trade regulation, as well as labor and employment, pension, data privacy and security, environmental and tax matters, and consumer class actions. Management proactively reviews and monitors the Company’s exposure to, and the impact of, environmental matters. The Company is party to various environmental matters and, as such, may be responsible for all or a portion of the cleanup, restoration and post-closure monitoring of several sites.

The Company establishes accruals for loss contingencies when it has determined that a loss is probable and that the amount of loss, or range of loss, can be reasonably estimated. Any such accruals are adjusted thereafter as appropriate to reflect changes in circumstances.

The Company also determines estimates of reasonably possible losses or ranges of reasonably possible losses in excess of related accrued liabilities, if any, when it has determined that a loss is reasonably possible and it is able to determine such estimates. For those matters disclosed below for which the amount of any potential losses can be reasonably estimated, the Company currently estimates that the aggregate range of reasonably possible losses in excess of any accrued liabilities is $0 to approximately $425 million (based on current exchange rates). The estimates included in this amount are based on the Company’s analysis of currently available information and, as new information is obtained, these estimates may change. Due to the inherent subjectivity of the assessments and the unpredictability of outcomes of legal proceedings, any amounts accrued or included in this aggregate amount may not represent the ultimate loss to the Company. Thus, the Company’s exposure and ultimate losses may be higher or lower, and possibly significantly so, than the amounts accrued or the range disclosed above.

Based on current knowledge, management does not believe that the ultimate resolution of loss contingencies arising from the matters discussed herein will have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position or its ongoing results of operations or cash flows. However, in light of the inherent uncertainties noted above, an adverse outcome in one or more matters could be material to the Company’s results of operations or cash flows for any particular quarter or year.

Brazilian Matters

There are certain tax and civil proceedings outstanding, as described below, related to the Company’s 1995 acquisition of the Kolynos oral care business from Wyeth (the “Seller”).

The Brazilian internal revenue authority has disallowed interest deductions and foreign exchange losses taken by the Company’s Brazilian subsidiary for certain years in connection with the financing of the Kolynos acquisition. The tax assessments with interest, penalties and any court-mandated fees, at the current exchange rate, are approximately $113 million. This amount includes additional assessments received from the Brazilian internal revenue authority in April 2016 relating to net operating loss carryforwards used by the Company’s Brazilian subsidiary to offset taxable income that had also been deducted from the authority’s original assessments. The Company has been disputing the disallowances by appealing the assessments since October 2001.

In each of September 2015, February 2017, June 2018, April 2019 and September 2020, the Company lost an administrative appeal and subsequently filed an appeal in Brazilian federal court. Currently, there are five appeals pending in the Brazilian federal court. Although there can be no assurances, management believes, based on the opinion of its Brazilian legal counsel, that the disallowances are without merit and that the Company should ultimately prevail. The Company is challenging these disallowances vigorously.

In July 2002, the Brazilian Federal Public Attorney filed a civil action against the federal government of Brazil, Laboratorios Wyeth-Whitehall Ltda. (the Brazilian subsidiary of the Seller) and the Company, as represented by its Brazilian subsidiary, in the 6th. Lower Federal Court in the City of São Paulo, seeking to annul an April 2000 decision by the Brazilian Board of Tax Appeals that found in favor of the Seller’s Brazilian subsidiary on the issue of whether it had incurred taxable capital gains as a result of the divestiture of Kolynos. The action seeks to make the Company’s Brazilian subsidiary jointly and severally liable for any tax due from the Seller’s Brazilian subsidiary. The case has been pending since 2002, and the Lower Federal Court has not issued a decision. Although there can be no assurances, management believes, based on the opinion of its Brazilian legal counsel, that the Company should ultimately prevail in this action. The Company is challenging this action vigorously.

In December 2005, the Brazilian internal revenue authority issued to the Company’s Brazilian subsidiary a tax assessment with interest, penalties and any court-mandated fees of approximately $50 million, at the current exchange rate, based on a claim that certain purchases of U.S. Treasury bills by the subsidiary and their subsequent disposition during the period 2000 to 2001 were subject to a tax on foreign exchange transactions. The Company had been disputing the assessment within the internal revenue authority’s administrative appeals process. However, in November 2015, the Superior Chamber of Administrative Tax Appeals denied the Company’s final administrative appeal and the Company has filed a lawsuit in the Brazilian federal court. In the event the Company is unsuccessful in this lawsuit, further appeals are available within the Brazilian federal courts. Although there can be no assurances, management believes, based on the opinion of its Brazilian legal counsel, that the tax assessment is without merit and that the Company should ultimately prevail. The Company is challenging this assessment vigorously.

Competition Matter

Certain of the Company’s subsidiaries were historically subject to actions and, in some cases, fines, by governmental authorities in a number of countries related to alleged competition law violations. Substantially all of these matters also involved other consumer goods companies and/or retail customers. The Company’s policy is to comply with antitrust and competition laws and, if a violation of any such laws is found, to take appropriate remedial action and to cooperate fully with any related governmental inquiry. The status as of December 31, 2020 of such competition law matters pending against the Company during the year ended December 31, 2020 is set forth below.

▪In July 2014, the Greek competition law authority issued a statement of objections alleging a restriction of parallel imports into Greece. The Company responded to this statement of objections. In July 2017, the Company received the decision from the Greek competition law authority in which the Company was fined $11 million. The Company appealed the decision to the Greek courts. In April 2019, the Greek courts affirmed the judgment against the Company’s Greek subsidiary, but reduced the fine to $10.5 and dismissed the case against Colgate-Palmolive Company. The Company’s Greek subsidiary and the Greek competition authority have appealed the decision to the Greek Supreme Court.

Talcum Powder Matters

The Company has been named as a defendant in civil actions alleging that certain talcum powder products that were sold prior to 1996 were contaminated with asbestos. Most of these actions involve a number of co-defendants from a variety of different industries, including suppliers of asbestos and manufacturers of products that, unlike the Company’s products, were designed to contain asbestos. As of December 31, 2020, there were 137 individual cases pending against the Company in state and federal courts throughout the United States, as compared to 121 cases as of December 31, 2019. During the year ended December 31, 2020, 65 new cases were filed and 49 cases were resolved by voluntary dismissal, settlement or dismissal by the court. The value of the settlements in the years presented was not material, either individually or in the aggregate, to each such period’s results of operations.

A significant portion of the Company’s costs incurred in defending and resolving these claims has been, and the Company believes will continue to be, covered by insurance policies issued by several primary, excess and umbrella insurance carriers, subject to deductibles, exclusions, retentions and policy limits.

While the Company and its legal counsel believe that these cases are without merit and intend to challenge them vigorously, there can be no assurances regarding the ultimate resolution of these matters. With the exception of one case where the Company received an adverse jury verdict in the second quarter of 2019 that the Company has appealed, the range of reasonably possible losses in excess of accrued liabilities disclosed above does not include any amount relating to these cases because the amount of any possible losses from such cases currently cannot be reasonably estimated.

ERISA Matter

In June 2016, a putative class action claiming that residual annuity payments made to certain participants in the Colgate-Palmolive Company Employees’ Retirement Income Plan (the “Plan”) did not comply with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act was filed against the Plan, the Company and certain individuals (the “Company Defendants”) in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (the “Court”). The relief sought includes recalculation of benefits, pre- and post-judgment interest and attorneys’ fees. This action was certified as a class action in July 2017. In July 2020, the Court granted in part and denied in part the Company Defendants’ motion for summary judgment and dismissed certain claims on consent of the parties. In August 2020, the Court granted the plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment on the remaining claims. The Company and the Plan are contesting this action vigorously and, in September 2020, appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not Applicable.

PART II

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

For information regarding the market for the Company’s common stock, including stock price performance graphs, refer to “Market Information” included in Part IV, Item 15 of this report. For information regarding the number of common shareholders of record, refer to “Historical Financial Summary” included in Part IV, Item 15 of this report. For information regarding the securities authorized for issuance under our equity compensation plans, refer to “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters” included in Part III, Item 12 of this report.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

On June 18, 2018, the Board authorized the repurchase of shares of the Company’s common stock having an aggregate purchase price of up to $5 billion under a new share repurchase program (the “2018 Program”), which replaced a previously authorized share repurchase program. The Board also has authorized share repurchases on an ongoing basis to fulfill certain requirements of the Company’s compensation and benefit programs. The shares are repurchased from time to time in open market or privately negotiated transactions at the Company’s discretion, subject to market conditions, customary blackout periods and other factors.

The following table shows the share repurchase activity for the three months in the quarter ended December 31, 2020:

_______

(1)Includes share repurchases under the 2018 Program and those associated with certain employee elections under the Company’s compensation and benefit programs.

(2)The difference between the total number of shares purchased and the total number of shares purchased as part of publicly announced plans or programs is 59,157 shares, which represents shares deemed surrendered to the Company to satisfy certain employee elections under the Company’s compensation and benefit programs.

(3)Includes approximate dollar value of shares that were available to be purchased under the publicly announced plans or programs that were in effect as of December 31, 2020.

ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

Refer to the information set forth under the caption “Historical Financial Summary” included in Part IV, Item 15 of this report.

(Dollars in Millions Except Per Share Amounts)

ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Executive Overview

Business Organization

Colgate-Palmolive Company (together with its subsidiaries, “we,” “us” “our” the “Company” or “Colgate”) is a caring, innovative growth company reimagining a healthier future for all people, their pets and our planet. We seek to deliver sustainable, profitable growth and superior shareholder returns, as well as to provide Colgate people with an innovative and inclusive work environment. We do this by developing and selling products globally that make people’s lives healthier and more enjoyable and by embracing our sustainability and social impact and diversity, equity and inclusion strategies across our organization.

We are tightly focused on two product segments: Oral, Personal and Home Care; and Pet Nutrition. Within these segments, we follow a closely defined business strategy to grow our key product categories and increase our overall market share. Within the categories in which we compete, we prioritize our efforts based on their capacity to maximize the use of the organization’s core competencies and strong global equities and to deliver sustainable, profitable long-term growth.

Operationally, we are organized along geographic lines with management teams having responsibility for the business and financial results in each region. We compete in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide with established businesses in all regions contributing to our sales and profitability. Approximately 70% of our Net sales are generated from markets outside the U.S., with approximately 45% of our Net sales coming from emerging markets (which consist of Latin America, Asia (excluding Japan), Africa/Eurasia and Central Europe). This geographic diversity and balance help to reduce our exposure to business and other risks in any one country or part of the world.

The Oral, Personal and Home Care product segment is managed geographically in five reportable operating segments: North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Africa/Eurasia, all of which sell primarily to a variety of traditional and eCommerce retailers, wholesalers and distributors. Through Hill’s Pet Nutrition, we also compete on a worldwide basis in the pet nutrition market, selling products principally through authorized pet supply retailers, veterinarians and eCommerce retailers. We are engaged in manufacturing and sourcing of products and materials on a global scale and have major manufacturing facilities, warehousing facilities and distribution centers in every region around the world.

On an ongoing basis, management focuses on a variety of key indicators to monitor business health and performance. These indicators include net sales (including volume, pricing and foreign exchange components), organic sales growth (net sales growth excluding the impact of foreign exchange, acquisitions and divestments), a non-GAAP financial measure, and gross profit margin, operating profit, net income and earnings per share, in each case, on a GAAP and non-GAAP basis, as well as measures used to optimize the management of working capital, capital expenditures, cash flow and return on capital. In addition, we review market share data to assess how our brands are performing within their categories on a global and regional basis. The monitoring of these indicators and our Code of Conduct and corporate governance practices help to maintain business health and strong internal controls. For additional information regarding non-GAAP financial measures and the Company’s use of market share data and the limitations of such data, see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” and “Market Share Information” below.

(Dollars in Millions Except Per Share Amounts)

COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic and government steps to reduce the spread and address the impact of COVID-19 have had and continue to have a profound impact on the way people live, work, interact and shop and have significantly impacted and will likely continue to impact economic activity around the world. We have a well-established Crisis Management Team (“CMT”) process, and the CMT, together with our senior management team and Colgate people around the world, continue to respond to and manage the challenges presented by COVID-19.

During the year ended December 31, 2020, many of the communities in which we manufacture, market and sell our products experienced unprecedented “stay at home” orders, travel or movement restrictions and other government actions to reduce the spread and address the impact of COVID-19, and have implemented varying policies to resume economic activity. The situation continues to be uncertain and varies by geography, as infection rates of COVID-19 continue to increase in many regions throughout the world, and authorities have taken different approaches to address the pandemic and resume economic activity. Because the vast majority of our products (such as oral care products, soaps and other personal hygiene products, home cleaners and pet food) have been deemed essential for the health and well-being of people and their pets, we have, in most instances, been able to continue operating our business.

In doing so, the health, safety and well-being of our employees has been and remains our first priority. Many of our employees globally continue to work from home. In those instances where our employees cannot perform their work at home, such as in our factories and in certain of our laboratories, or in geographies where circumstances have allowed us to offer employees the ability to return to the office, often on a voluntary and staggered basis, we have implemented additional health and safety measures and social distancing protocols, consistent with government recommendations and/or requirements, to help to ensure their safety, often at an additional cost. In addition, during the year ended December 31, 2020, we experienced some limited factory closures and, in some cases, we have seen increased instances of absenteeism. Furthermore, some of our suppliers, customers, distributors, logistics providers and service providers have experienced disruptions to their businesses.

We saw a significant increase in demand across many of our categories in the year ended December 31, 2020, such as liquid hand soap, dish liquid, bar soap and cleaners, driven by consumer pantry-loading and increased consumption of our products. We believe that some of the increase in consumption in these categories is sustainable in light of changes in consumer behavior related to COVID-19. In other categories, such as oral care and pet food, consumer demand trends continued to normalize in the second half of the year ended December 31, 2020. Across our business, changes in consumer demand for our products vary by product category and geography depending on, among other things, the severity of the COVID-19 outbreak and retailer availability. At the same time, during the year ended December 31, 2020, we experienced declines in certain channels, including professional sales and travel retail, due to the economic slowdown and restricted consumer movement in many geographies throughout the world. We also continue to see changes in the purchasing patterns of our consumers, including the nature and/or frequency of visits by consumers to retailers and dental, veterinary and skin health professionals and a shift in many markets to purchasing our products online. In some instances during the year ended December 31, 2020, we were not able to keep up with the increased consumer demand for our products, and our products were at times out of stock on retailers’ shelves. In some cases, we have incurred additional costs as we worked to meet this increased demand. Despite continuing to significantly ramp up production of in-demand products, we expect that some of our products may continue to be out of stock on retailers’ shelves for a period of time.

COVID-19 and government steps to reduce the spread and address the impact of COVID-19 have impacted and may continue to impact our consumers’ ability to purchase and our ability to manufacture and distribute our products. While we believe that, in the long-term, consumer demand for the products in our categories will continue to be strong, uncertainties continue surrounding the timing and extent of the pandemic and the recovery from it. These uncertainties include: the impact of the timing and scale of changes to travel and movement restrictions in certain geographies, the availability and widespread distribution and use of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines and when communities will reach herd immunity, the timing and impact of consumer pantry-loading and destocking activity in certain markets, product demand trends and the impact of COVID-19 on the global economy. Our retail customers, contract manufacturers, logistics providers and other third parties are also being impacted by the global pandemic; their success in addressing COVID-19 and maintaining their operations could impact consumer access to and sales of our products. We expect the ongoing economic impact and health concerns associated with COVID-19 to continue to impact consumer behavior, shopping patterns and consumption preferences despite the lifting of government restrictions and the reopening of economies around the world.

(Dollars in Millions Except Per Share Amounts)

While we currently expect to be able to continue operating our business as described above and we intend to continue to work with government authorities and to follow the necessary protocols to maintain the health and safety of our employees and contract providers, uncertainty resulting from COVID-19 could result in an unforeseen additional disruption to our business, including our global supply chain and retailer network, and/or require us to incur additional operational costs.

For more information about the anticipated COVID-19 impact, see “Outlook” below.

Business Strategy

To achieve our business and financial objectives, we are focused on innovating our core businesses; improving our brand building activities with an elevated brand purpose model and the use of equity advertising; innovating to gain market share in high growth segments and adjacencies; expanding into new channels and markets; maximizing growth online; and investing to drive consumption in growing populations. We continue to develop initiatives to build strong relationships with consumers, dental, veterinary and skin health professionals and traditional and eCommerce retailers. In addition, we continue to invest behind our brands, not just in terms of advertising, but also to build key growth capabilities in areas such as innovation and data and analytics. We also continue to broaden our eCommerce offerings, including direct-to-consumer and subscription services. We continue to believe that growth opportunities are greater in those areas of the world in which economic development and rising consumer incomes expand the size and number of markets for our products. We are also working to integrate our sustainability and social impact and diversity, equity and inclusion strategies across our organization.

We are also changing the way we work to drive growth and how we approach innovation to respond to the dynamic retail landscape and the evolving preferences of our customers and consumers. The retail landscape, the ease of new entrants into the market in many of our categories and the evolving preferences of our customers and consumers demand that we work differently and faster in an agile, authentic and culturally relevant manner to drive innovation.

The investments needed to drive growth are supported by strong cash flow performance and our disciplined capital allocation strategy. These investments are developed through continuous, Company-wide initiatives to lower costs and increase effective asset utilization. Through these initiatives, which are referred to as our funding-the-growth initiatives, we seek to become even more effective and efficient throughout our businesses. These initiatives are designed to reduce costs associated with direct materials, indirect expenses, distribution and logistics and advertising and promotional materials, among other things, and encompass a wide range of projects, examples of which include raw material substitution, reduction of packaging materials, consolidating suppliers to leverage volumes and increasing manufacturing efficiency through SKU reductions and formulation simplification. We also continue to prioritize our investments in high growth segments within our Oral Care, Personal Care and Pet Nutrition businesses, including by expanding our portfolio in premium skin health.

Significant Items Impacting Comparability

On January 31, 2020, we acquired Hello Products LLC (“hello”), an oral care business, for cash consideration of $351. The acquisition was financed with a combination of debt and cash. This acquisition is part of our strategy to focus on high growth segments within our Oral Care, Personal Care and Pet Nutrition businesses. See Note 3, Acquisitions to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information.

The provision for income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2020 includes $71 of income tax benefits, of which $45 relates to previously recorded foreign withholding taxes and $26 relates to a previously recorded valuation allowance against a deferred tax asset. As described more fully in “Results of Operations-Income Taxes,” below, both items were previously recorded in connection with the charge recorded in 2017 and revised in 2018 related to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “TCJA”).

(Dollars in Millions Except Per Share Amounts)

Our restructuring program, known as the “Global Growth and Efficiency Program,” concluded on December 31, 2019. Initiatives under the Global Growth and Efficiency Program fit within the program’s three focus areas of expanding commercial hubs, extending shared business services and streamlining global functions and optimizing the global supply chain and facilities. During the year ended December 31, 2020, we adjusted the accrual balances related to certain projects approved prior to the conclusion of the Global Growth and Efficiency Program to reflect our revised estimate of remaining liabilities, which resulted in a reduction of $16 ($13 aftertax) to restructuring accruals. No new restructuring projects were approved for implementation during the year ended December 31, 2020. During the year ended December 31, 2019, we incurred costs of $132 ($102 aftertax) resulting from the Global Growth and Efficiency Program. For more information regarding the Global Growth and Efficiency Program, see “Restructuring and Related Implementation Charges” below and Note 4, Restructuring and Related Implementation Charges to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

In December 2019, the Swiss government enacted changes to its corporate tax regime, which included, among other items, the repeal of certain preferential tax regimes and an increase to the cantonal tax rate for future periods. Additionally, the government provided transition rules which allowed companies to record goodwill for tax purposes, partially offsetting the impact on cash taxes of the higher cantonal rate over the next ten years. As a result of these changes, we recorded a net benefit of $29 to the Provision for income taxes.

In September 2019, we acquired Laboratoires Filorga Cosmétiques S.A. (“Filorga”), a skin health business, for cash consideration of €1,548 (approximately $1,712). In the third quarter of 2020, we completed the purchase of the outstanding non-controlling interest of Filorga’s joint venture based in Hong Kong and covering the Hong Kong and China markets for approximately €85 (approximately $99) in cash. See Note 3, Acquisitions to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information.

In 2019, we received a favorable judgment regarding certain value-added tax previously paid in Brazil. As a result of the favorable judgment, during the fourth quarter of 2019, we filed an application with the Brazilian government to recover value-added tax previously paid and recorded a benefit of $30 pretax ($20 aftertax). The recovery will be utilized to offset corporate income tax payments in Brazil in future periods.

(Dollars in Millions Except Per Share Amounts)

Outlook

Looking forward, we expect global macroeconomic, political and market conditions to remain challenging, especially due to COVID-19. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen improvement in category growth rates due to heightened demand for certain health and hygiene products, particularly liquid hand soap, dish liquid, bar soap and cleaners. We believe some of this increased consumption is sustainable due to consumer behavior changes resulting from COVID-19. However, we expect increased volatility across all of our categories and it is therefore difficult to predict category growth rates over the next six to twelve months. In the longer term, we expect category growth rates to remain below historical levels.

While the global marketplace in which we operate has always been highly competitive, we continue to experience heightened competitive activity in certain markets from strong local competitors, from other large multinational companies, some of which have greater resources than we do, and from new entrants into the market in many of our categories. Such activities have included more aggressive product claims and marketing challenges, as well as increased promotional spending and geographic expansion. We have seen increases in promotional activities in certain markets as retailers try aggressively to get consumers back into the stores after prolonged “stay at home” and other government restrictions ease, a trend we expect will continue. We have been negatively affected by changes in the policies or practices of our retail trade customers in key markets, such as inventory de-stocking, limitations on access to shelf space, delisting of our products or sustainability, supply chain or packaging initiatives. In addition, the retail landscape in many of our markets continues to evolve as a result of the rapid growth of eCommerce retailers, changing consumer preferences (as consumers increasingly shop online) and the increased presence of alternative retail channels, such as subscription services and direct-to-consumer businesses. These trends have been magnified due to COVID-19 in many of our geographies and we plan to continue to invest behind our eCommerce capabilities. This rapid growth in eCommerce 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. In certain markets, we have incurred and are likely to continue to incur increased logistics costs due to higher eCommerce demand and volume and capacity constraints in the shipping and logistics industry. In addition, given that approximately 70% of our Net sales originate in markets outside the U.S., we have experienced and will likely continue to experience increasingly volatile foreign currency fluctuations and higher raw and packaging material costs. While we have taken, and will continue to take, measures to mitigate the effect of these conditions, in the current environment, it may become increasingly difficult to implement certain of these mitigation strategies. Should these conditions persist, they could adversely affect our future results.

As discussed above, we continue to closely monitor the impact of COVID-19 on our business. While we have taken, and will continue to take, measures to mitigate the effects of COVID-19, we cannot estimate with certainty the full extent of COVID-19’s impact on our business, results of operations, cash flows and/or financial condition. For more information about factors that could impact our business, including due to COVID-19, see “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Annual Report.

In summary, we believe that we are well prepared to meet the challenges ahead due to our strong financial condition, broad based experience operating in challenging environments, resilient global supply chain and focused business strategy. Our strategy is based on driving organic sales growth through innovation within our core businesses, leveraging faster growth in adjacent categories and expanding in high growth channels and markets; delivering margin expansion through operating leverage and efficiency; and maximizing the impact of our environmental, social and governance programs; and leading in the development of human capital, including our sustainability and social impact and diversity, equity and inclusion strategies. Our commitment to these priorities, the strength of our brands, the breadth of our global footprint and a commitment to driving efficiency in cash generation should position us well to manage through COVID-19 and increase shareholder value over time.

(Dollars in Millions Except Per Share Amounts)

Results of Operations

This section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K generally discusses 2020 and 2019 items and year-to-year comparisons between 2020 and 2019. Discussions of 2018 items and year-to-year comparisons between 2019 and 2018 that are not included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K can be found in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Part II, Item 7 of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019.

Net Sales

Worldwide Net sales were $16,471 in 2020, up 5.0% from 2019, as volume growth of 5.5% and net selling price increases of 3.0% were partially offset by negative foreign exchange of 3.5%. Acquisitions contributed 1.5% to volume. Organic sales (Net sales excluding, as applicable, the impact of foreign exchange, acquisitions and divestments), a non-GAAP financial measure as discussed below, increased 7.0% in 2020.

Net sales in the Oral, Personal and Home Care product segment were $13,588 in 2020, up 3.0% from 2019, as volume growth of 4.5% and net selling price increases of 3.5% were partially offset by negative foreign exchange of 5.0%. Acquisitions contributed 2.0% to volume. Organic sales in the Oral, Personal and Home Care product segment increased 6.0% in 2020.

The increase in organic sales in 2020 versus 2019 was due to increases in Oral Care, Personal Care and Home Care organic sales. The increase in Oral Care was primarily due to organic sales growth in the toothpaste category. The increase in Personal Care was primarily due to organic sales growth in the liquid hand soap and bar soap categories. The increase in Home Care was due to organic sales growth in the hand dish and liquid cleaner categories.

The Company’s share of the global toothpaste market was 39.8% for full year 2020, down 0.7 share points from full year 2019, and its share of the global manual toothbrush market was 31.1% for full year 2020, up 0.2 share points from full year 2019. Full year 2020 market shares in toothpaste were up in North America and Latin America, flat in Europe and down in Asia Pacific and Africa/Eurasia versus full year 2019. In the manual toothbrush category, full year 2020 market shares were up in North America, Latin America, Europe and Africa/Eurasia and down in Asia Pacific versus full year 2019. For additional information regarding the Company’s use of market share data and limitations of such data, see “Market Share Information” below.

Net sales for Hill’s Pet Nutrition were $2,883 in 2020, an increase of 14.0% from 2019, driven by volume growth of 10.5% and net selling price increases of 4.0%, partially offset by negative foreign exchange of 0.5%. Organic sales for Hill’s Pet Nutrition increased 14.5% in 2020.

The increase in organic sales in 2020 versus 2019 was primarily due to increases in organic sales in the Science Diet and Prescription Diet categories.

(Dollars in Millions Except Per Share Amounts)

Gross Profit/Margin

Worldwide Gross profit increased 7% to $10,017 in 2020 from $9,325 in 2019. Gross profit in both periods included acquisition-related costs. Gross profit in 2019 included charges resulting from the Global Growth and Efficiency Program. Excluding these items in both periods, as applicable, Gross profit increased to $10,021 in 2020 from $9,336 in 2019, reflecting an increase of $472 resulting from higher Net sales and an increase of $213 resulting from higher Gross profit margin.

Worldwide Gross profit margin increased to 60.8% in 2020 from 59.4% in 2019. Excluding the items described above in both periods, as applicable, Gross profit margin increased by 130 basis points (bps) to 60.8% in 2020, from 59.5% in 2019. This increase in Gross profit margin was primarily due to cost savings from the Company’s funding-the-growth initiatives (230 bps) and higher pricing (130 bps), partially offset by higher raw and packaging material costs (230 bps), which included foreign exchange transaction costs.

Global Growth and Efficiency Program — 8

Acquisition-related costs 4 3

Global Growth and Efficiency Program — 0.1

Acquisition-related costs — —

Gross profit margin, non-GAAP 60.8 % 59.5 % 130

(Dollars in Millions Except Per Share Amounts)

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses

Selling, general and administrative expenses increased 8% to $6,019 in 2020 from $5,575 in 2019. Selling, general and administrative expenses in 2020 included benefits resulting from the Global Growth and Efficiency Program. Selling, general and administrative expenses in 2019 included charges resulting from the Global Growth and Efficiency Program. Excluding these items in both periods, as applicable, Selling, general and administrative expenses increased to $6,022 in 2020 from $5,515 in 2019, reflecting increased advertising investment of $254 and higher overhead expenses of $253.

Selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of Net sales increased to 36.5% in 2020 from 35.5% in 2019. Excluding the items described above in both periods, as applicable, Selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of Net sales increased by 150 bps to 36.6% in 2020 as compared to 35.1% in 2019. This increase in 2020 was due to increased advertising investment (110 bps) and higher overhead expenses (40 bps), primarily driven by higher logistics costs, both as a percentage of Net sales. In 2020, advertising investment increased as a percentage of Net sales to 11.9% from 10.8% in 2019 or 15.0% in absolute terms to $1,948 as compared with $1,694 in 2019.

Selling, general and administrative expenses, GAAP $ 6,019 $ 5,575

Global Growth and Efficiency Program 3 (60)

Selling, general and administrative expenses, non-GAAP $ 6,022 $ 5,515

Global Growth and Efficiency Program 0.1 (0.4)

(Dollars in Millions Except Per Share Amounts)

Other (Income) Expense, Net

Other (income) expense, net was $113 and $196 in 2020 and 2019, respectively. Other (income) expense, net in 2020 included benefits resulting from the Global Growth and Efficiency Program. Other (income) expense, net in both periods included acquisition-related costs. Other (income) expense, net in 2019 included charges resulting from the Global Growth and Efficiency Program and a benefit related to a value-added tax matter in Brazil.

Other (income) expense, net, GAAP $ 113 $ 196

Global Growth and Efficiency Program 13 (57)

Acquisition-related costs (2) (21)

Value-added tax matter in Brazil — 30

Other (income) expense, net, non-GAAP $ 124 $ 148

Excluding the items described above in both periods, as applicable, Other (income) expense, net was $124 in 2020 and $148 in 2019, comprised of the following:

Amortization of intangible assets $ 88 $ 62

Equity income (12) (9)

Write-off of certain investments and fixed assets — 51

Charges for a change in go-to-market strategy in certain countries — 15

Total Other (income) expense, net $ 124 $ 148

(Dollars in Millions Except Per Share Amounts)

Operating Profit

Operating profit increased 9% to $3,885 in 2020 from $3,554 in 2019. In 2020, Operating profit included benefits resulting from the Global Growth and Efficiency Program and acquisition-related costs. In 2019, Operating profit included charges resulting from the Global Growth and Efficiency Program, acquisition-related costs and a benefit related to a value-added tax matter in Brazil. Excluding these items in both periods, as applicable, Operating profit in 2020 increased 5% due to an increase in Gross profit and decrease in Other (income) expense, largely offset by an increase in Selling, general and administrative expenses.

Operating profit margin was 23.6% in 2020, an increase of 100 bps compared with 22.6% in 2019. Excluding the items described above in both periods, as applicable, Operating profit margin was 23.5% in 2020, an increase of 10 bps from 23.4% in 2019. This increase in Operating profit in 2020 was due to an increase in Gross profit (130 bps) and a decrease in Other (income) expense, net (30 bps), largely offset by an increase in Selling, general and administrative expenses (150 bps), all as a percentage of Net sales.

Global Growth and Efficiency Program (16) 125

Acquisition-related costs 6 24

Value-added tax matter in Brazil — (30)

Operating profit, non-GAAP $ 3,875 $ 3,673 5 %

Operating profit margin, GAAP 23.6 % 22.6 % 100

Global Growth and Efficiency Program (0.1) 0.8

Acquisition-related costs — 0.2

Value-added tax matter in Brazil — (0.2)

Operating profit margin, non-GAAP 23.5 % 23.4 % 10

Non-Service Related Postretirement Costs

Non-service related postretirement costs were $74 in 2020 compared to $108 in 2019. Non-service related postretirement costs in 2019 included charges resulting from the Global Growth and Efficiency Program. Excluding these charges, Non-service related postretirement costs were $74 in 2020 compared to $101 in 2019. The decrease in Non-service related postretirement costs in 2020 as compared to 2019 was primarily due to lower interest cost and higher expected return on plan assets.

Non-service related postretirement costs, GAAP $ 74 $ 108

Global Growth and Efficiency Program — (7)

Non-service related postretirement costs, non-GAAP $ 74 $ 101

(Dollars in Millions Except Per Share Amounts)

Interest (Income) Expense, Net

Interest (income) expense, net was $164 in 2020 compared with $145 in 2019. The increase in Interest (income) expense, net in 2020 as compared to 2019 was primarily due to a loss on the early extinguishment of debt in 2020 of $23, representing the difference between the redemption price and the carrying amount of the debt extinguished. Excluding the loss on the early extinguishment of debt, Interest (income) expense, net was $141 in 2020 compared to $145 in 2019.

Interest (income) expense, GAAP $ 164 $ 145

Loss on early extinguishment of debt (23) —

Interest (income) expense, non-GAAP $ 141 $ 145

(Dollars in Millions Except Per Share Amounts)

Income Taxes

The effective income tax rate was 21.6% in 2020 and 23.4% in 2019. As reflected in the table below, the non-GAAP effective income tax rate was 23.6% in 2020 and 24.1% in 2019.

Global Growth and Efficiency Program (16) (3) —

Subsidiary and operating structure initiatives — 71 2.0

Acquisition-related costs 6 2 —

Loss on early extinguishment of debt 23 5 —

Global Growth and Efficiency Program 132 30 —

Acquisition-related costs 24 4 —

Value-added tax matter in Brazil (30) (10) (0.1)

Swiss income tax reform — 29 0.8 %

_______

(1) The income tax effect on non-GAAP items is calculated based upon the tax laws and statutory income tax rates applicable in the tax jurisdiction(s) of the underlying non-GAAP adjustment.

(2) The impact of non-GAAP items on the Company’s effective tax rate represents the difference in the effective tax rate calculated with and without the non-GAAP adjustment on Income before income taxes and Provision for income taxes.

The provision for income taxes for 2020 includes $71 of income tax benefits, of which $45 relates to previously recorded foreign withholding taxes and $26 relates to a previously recorded valuation allowance against a deferred tax asset. As described more fully below, both items were previously recorded in connection with the charge recorded by the Company in 2017 and revised in 2018 related to the TCJA.

As part of the previously recorded charge for the TCJA, the Company had provided for foreign withholding taxes expected to be paid on the remittance of earnings from certain overseas subsidiaries no longer deemed indefinitely reinvested. As a result of a reorganization of the ownership structure of certain foreign subsidiaries, the Company determined that no withholding taxes will be due on the remittance by certain subsidiaries of earnings previously deemed reinvested and, accordingly, reversed $45 of previously recorded foreign withholding taxes in the first quarter of 2020.

Also as part of the previously recorded charge for the TCJA, the Company provided a valuation allowance against a deferred tax asset related to foreign tax credit carry-forwards that the Company did not expect to be able to use due to changes made by the TCJA. As a result of a new operating structure implemented within one of the Company’s divisions, the Company believes the use of these foreign tax credit carry-forwards will not be limited in the future and, accordingly, reversed the previously recorded valuation allowance of $26 in the first quarter of 2020.

The effective income tax rate in all years benefited from tax planning associated with the Company’s global business initiatives.

(Dollars in Millions Except Per Share Amounts)

Net income attributable to Colgate-Palmolive Company and Earnings per share

Net income attributable to Colgate-Palmolive Company was $2,695, or $3.14 per share on a diluted basis, in 2020 compared to $2,367, or $2.75 per share on a diluted basis, in 2019. In 2020, Net income attributable to Colgate-Palmolive Company included aftertax benefits resulting from the Global Growth and Efficiency Program, aftertax acquisition-related costs, a tax benefit related to subsidiary and operating structure initiatives and an aftertax loss on the early extinguishment of debt. In 2019, Net income attributable to Colgate-Palmolive Company included aftertax charges resulting from the Global Growth and Efficiency Program, aftertax acquisition-related costs, an aftertax benefit related to a value-added tax matter in Brazil and a tax benefit related to Swiss income tax reform.

Excluding the items described above in both periods, as applicable, Net income attributable to Colgate-Palmolive Company increased 8% to $2,633 in 2020 from $2,440 in 2019, and Earnings per common share on a diluted basis increased 8% to $3.06 in 2020 from $2.83 in 2019.

Global Growth and Efficiency Program (16) (3) (13) — (13) (0.02)

Subsidiary and operating structure initiatives — 71 (71) — (71) (0.08)

Acquisition-related costs 6 2 4 — 4 —

Loss on early extinguishment of debt 23 5 18 — 18 0.02

Value-added tax matter in Brazil (30) (10) (20) — (20) (0.02)

Swiss income tax reform — 29 (29) — (29) (0.04)

_______

(1) The income tax effect on non-GAAP items is calculated based upon the tax laws and statutory income tax rates applicable in the tax jurisdiction(s) of the underlying non-GAAP adjustment.

(2) The impact of non-GAAP adjustments on diluted earnings per share may not necessarily equal the difference between “GAAP” and “non-GAAP” as a result of rounding.

(Dollars in Millions Except Per Share Amounts)

Segment Results

The Company markets its products in over 200 countries and territories throughout the world in two product segments: Oral, Personal and Home Care; and Pet Nutrition. The Company evaluates segment performance based on several factors, including Operating profit. The Company uses Operating profit as a measure of the operating segment performance because it excludes the impact of corporate-driven decisions related to interest expense and income taxes.

Oral, Personal and Home Care

North America

Net sales in North America increased 9.5% in 2020 to $3,741, driven by volume growth of 8.0% and net selling price increases of 1.5%, while foreign exchange was flat. The Company’s acquisition of hello contributed 1.5% to volume in North America. Organic sales in North America increased 8.0% in 2020. Organic sales growth was led by the United States.

The increase in organic sales in North America in 2020 versus 2019 was due to increases in Oral Care, Personal Care and Home Care organic sales. The increase in Oral Care was primarily due to organic sales growth in the toothpaste category. The increase in Personal Care was primarily due to organic sales growth in the liquid hand soap category partially offset by a decline in organic sales in the underarm protection category. The increase in Home Care was primarily due to organic sales growth in the hand dish and liquid cleaner categories.

Operating profit in North America increased 1% in 2020 to $988, but decreased as a percentage of Net sales by 230 bps to 26.4%. This decrease in Operating profit as a percentage of Net sales was primarily due to an increase in Selling, general and administrative expenses (270 bps), partially offset by an increase in Gross profit (80 bps), both as a percentage of Net sales. This increase in Gross profit was primarily due to cost savings from the Company’s funding-the-growth initiatives (190 bps), partially offset by higher raw and packaging material costs (100 bps). This increase in Selling, general and administrative expenses was due to increased advertising investment (180 bps) and higher overhead expenses (90 bps), primarily driven by higher logistics costs.

(Dollars in Millions Except Per Share Amounts)

Latin America

Net sales in Latin America decreased 5.0% in 2020 to $3,418, as volume growth of 0.5% and net selling price increases of 8.5% were more than offset by negative foreign exchange of 14.0%. Organic sales in Latin America increased 9.0% in 2020. Organic sales growth was led by Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Colombia.

The increase in organic sales in Latin America in 2020 versus 2019 was due to increases in Oral Care, Personal Care and Home Care organic sales. The increase in Oral Care was primarily due to organic sales growth in the toothpaste and manual toothbrush categories. The increase in Personal Care was primarily due to organic sales growth in the bar soap and liquid hand soap categories. The increase in Home Care was primarily due to organic sales growth in the hand dish and liquid cleaner categories.

Operating profit in Latin America increased 1% in 2020 to $975, or 180 bps to 28.5% of Net sales. This increase in Operating profit as a percentage of Net sales was primarily due to an increase in Gross profit (140 bps) and a decrease in Selling, general and administrative expenses (20 bps), both as a percentage of Net sales. This increase in Gross profit was primarily due to cost savings from the Company’s funding-the-growth initiatives (330 bps) and higher pricing, which were partially offset by higher raw and packaging material costs (530 bps), which included foreign exchange transaction costs. This decrease in Selling, general and administrative expenses was due to decreased advertising investment (40 bps), partially offset by higher overhead expenses (20 bps).

(Dollars in Millions Except Per Share Amounts)

Europe

Net sales in Europe increased 12.0% in 2020 to $2,747, as volume growth of 11.0% and positive foreign exchange of 1.5% were partially offset by net selling price decreases of 0.5%. The Company’s acquisition of the Filorga skin health business contributed 7.5% to volume in Europe. Organic sales in Europe increased 3.0% in 2020. Organic sales growth was led by Poland, the Netherlands, France and Germany.

The increase in organic sales in Europe in 2020 versus 2019 was primarily due to an increase in Personal Care and Home Care organic sales. The increase in Personal Care was primarily due to organic sales growth in the liquid hand soap and body wash categories, partially offset by a decline in organic sales in the underarm protection category. The increase in Home Care was primarily due to organic sales growth in the bleach, hand dish, spray cleaner and fabric softener categories.

Operating profit in Europe increased 4% in 2020 to $652, while as a percentage of Net sales it decreased 180 bps to 23.7%. This decrease in Operating profit as a percentage of Net sales was due to increases in Selling, general and administrative expenses (230 bps) and Other (income) expense, net (80 bps), partially offset by an increase in Gross profit (130 bps), all as a percentage of Net sales. This increase in Gross profit was primarily due to cost savings from the Company’s funding-the-growth initiatives (190 bps) and mix (80 bps), primarily due to the Company’s acquisition of Filorga, partially offset by higher raw and packaging material costs (90 bps). This increase in Selling, general and administrative expenses was due to higher overhead expenses (120 bps) and increased advertising investment (110 bps). This increase in Other (income) expense, net was primarily due to amortization expense related to the Filorga acquisition.

(Dollars in Millions Except Per Share Amounts)

Asia Pacific

Net sales in Asia Pacific decreased 0.5% in 2020 to $2,701, as volume declines of 1.5% and negative foreign exchange of 1.0% were partially offset by net selling price increases of 2.0%. Organic sales in Asia Pacific increased 0.5% in 2020. Organic sales growth was led by Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines, partially offset by organic sales declines in Thailand and China.

The increase in organic sales in 2020 versus 2019 was due to increases in Personal Care and Home Care organic sales, partially offset by a decline in Oral Care organic sales. The decrease in Oral Care was driven by a decline in organic sales in the manual toothbrush category, partially offset by organic sales growth in the mouthwash category. The increase in Personal Care was driven by organic sales growth in the liquid hand soap and body wash categories. The increase in Home Care was driven by organic sales growth in the hand dish, spray cleaner and cleaning wipes categories.

Operating profit in Asia Pacific increased 3% in 2020 to $773, or 90 bps to 28.6% of Net sales. This increase in Operating profit as a percentage of Net sales was primarily due to an increase in Gross profit (150 bps), partially offset by an increase in Selling, general and administrative expenses (50 bps), both as a percentage of Net sales. This increase in Gross profit was primarily due to cost savings from the Company’s funding-the-growth initiatives (240 bps) and higher pricing, partially offset by higher raw and packaging material costs (150 bps). This increase in Selling, general and administrative expenses was due to higher overhead expenses (40 bps) and increased advertising investment (10 bps).

(Dollars in Millions Except Per Share Amounts)

Africa/Eurasia

Net sales in Africa/Eurasia were $981 in 2020, even with 2019, as volume growth of 5.0% and net selling price increases of 3.5% were offset by negative foreign exchange of 8.5%. The Company’s acquisition of a 51% controlling interest in Colgate Toloram Pte. Ltd., a joint venture which owns the Nigeria-based Hypo Homecare Products Limited (the “Nigeria Joint Venture”), contributed 1.0% to volume in Africa/Eurasia. Organic sales in Africa/Eurasia increased 7.5% in 2020. Organic sales growth was led by Turkey, Russia and South Africa.

The increase in organic sales in 2020 versus 2019 was primarily due to increases in Oral Care and Personal Care organic sales. The increase in Oral Care was primarily due to organic sales growth in the toothpaste and manual toothbrush categories. The increase in Personal Care was primarily due to organic sales growth in the bar soap, body wash and liquid hand soap categories.

Operating profit in Africa/Eurasia increased 10% in 2020 to $206, or 190 bps to 21.0% of Net sales. This increase in Operating profit as a percentage of Net sales was primarily due to an increase in Gross Profit (100 bps) and a decrease in Selling, general and administrative expenses (60 bps), both as a percentage of Net sales. This increase in Gross profit was primarily due to cost savings from the Company’s funding-the-growth initiatives (270 bps) and higher pricing, partially offset by higher raw and packaging material costs (330 bps), which included foreign exchange transaction costs. This decrease in Selling, general and administrative expenses was due to decreased advertising investment (40 bps) and lower overhead expenses (20 bps).

(Dollars in Millions Except Per Share Amounts)

Hill’s Pet Nutrition

Net sales for Hill’s Pet Nutrition increased 14.0% in 2020 to $2,883, as volume growth of 10.5% and net selling price increases of 4.0% were partially offset by negative foreign exchange of 0.5%. Organic sales in Hill’s Pet Nutrition increased 14.5% in 2020. Organic sales growth was led by the United States and Europe.

The increase in organic sales in 2020 versus 2019 was due to organic sales growth in the Science Diet and Prescription Diet categories.

Operating profit in Hill’s Pet Nutrition increased 13% in 2020 to $793, while as a percentage of Net sales it decreased 30 bps to 27.5%. This decrease in Operating profit as a percentage of Net sales was due to an increase in Selling, general and administrative expenses (90 bps) and an increase in Other (income) expense, net (30 bps), partially offset by an increase in Gross profit (90 bps), all as a percentage of Net sales. This increase in Gross profit was primarily due to cost savings from the Company’s funding-the-growth initiatives (140 bps) and higher pricing, partially offset by higher raw and packaging material costs (170 bps). This increase in Selling, general and administrative expenses was due to increased advertising investment (270 bps), partially offset by lower overhead expenses (180 bps). This increase in Other (income) expense, net was primarily due to costs incurred in connection with the voluntary recall for which Hill's was not indemnified.

During the quarter ended March 31, 2019, Hill’s announced a voluntary recall, which was subsequently expanded, of select canned dog food products due to potentially elevated levels of Vitamin D resulting from a supplier error. In the United States, the voluntary recall was conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Following the announcement of the voluntary recall, and as of December 31, 2020, Hill’s and/or the Company have been named as defendants in 37 putative class action lawsuits, one putative class action filed on behalf of a European Union class and one individual action, all related to the voluntary recall and filed in various jurisdictions in the United States. In addition, two putative class actions related to the voluntary recall have been filed in Canada. Eight of the putative class actions lawsuits in the United States and one of the putative class action lawsuits in Canada have been voluntarily dismissed. During the quarter ended December 31, 2020, the parties to the putative class action lawsuits in the United States (other than the class action filed on behalf of a European Union class) entered into a settlement agreement, which was preliminarily approved by the court in February 2021. The amount of the settlement is not material to the Company’s results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2020. Hill’s is indemnified by the supplier related to the voluntary recall. Sales of products voluntarily recalled represent less than 2% of Hill’s annual Net sales. The sales loss and other costs associated with the voluntary recall and its subsequent expansion did not have a material impact on the Company’s Net sales or Operating profit for the year ended December 31, 2020 and are not expected to have a material impact in future periods.

(Dollars in Millions Except Per Share Amounts)

Corporate

Operating profit (loss) $ (502) $ (654) (23) %

Corporate operations include Corporate overhead costs, research and development costs, stock-based compensation expense related to stock options and restricted stock unit awards, restructuring and related implementation costs and gains and losses on sales of non-core product lines. The components of Operating profit (loss) for the Corporate segment are presented as follows:

Global Growth and Efficiency Program $ 16 $ (125)

Acquisition-related costs (6) (24)

Value-added tax matter in Brazil — 30

Corporate overhead costs and other, net (512) (535)

Total Corporate Operating profit (loss) $ (502) $ (654)

(Dollars in Millions Except Per Share Amounts)

Restructuring and Related Implementation Charges

Global Growth and Efficiency Program

The Company’s restructuring program (the “Global Growth and Efficiency Program”), which commenced in the fourth quarter of 2012, concluded on December 31, 2019. Initiatives under the Global Growth and Efficiency Program fit within the program’s three focus areas of expanding commercial hubs, extending shared business services and streamlining global functions and optimizing the global supply chain and facilities. Substantially all initiatives under the Global Growth and Efficiency Program had been implemented as of December 31, 2019.

In the third quarter of 2020, the Company adjusted the accrual balances related to certain projects approved prior to the conclusion of the Global Growth and Efficiency Program to reflect its revised estimate of remaining liabilities. This adjustment resulted in a reduction of $16 ($13 aftertax), of which $3 was recorded in Selling, general and administrative expenses and $13 was recorded in Other (income) expense, net. During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company also made cash payments of $53 related to projects approved prior to the conclusion of the Global Growth and Efficiency Program, and the remaining accrual balance at December 31, 2020 was $31. No new restructuring projects were approved for implementation during the year ended December 31, 2020.

For the year ended December 31, 2019, restructuring and related implementation charges are reflected in the Consolidated Statements of Income as follows:

Cost of sales $ 8

Selling, general and administrative expenses 60

Other (income) expense, net 57

Non-service related postretirement costs 7

Total Global Growth and Efficiency Program charges, pretax $ 132

Total Global Growth and Efficiency Program charges, aftertax $ 102

Restructuring and related implementation charges and the adjustment recorded in the third quarter of 2020 were recorded in the Corporate segment as these initiatives were predominantly centrally directed and controlled and were not included in internal measures of segment operating performance. See Note 4, Restructuring and Related Implementation Charges to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information.

(Dollars in Millions Except Per Share Amounts)

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This Annual Report on Form 10-K discusses certain financial measures on both a GAAP and a non-GAAP basis. The Company uses the non-GAAP financial measures described below internally in its budgeting process, to evaluate segment and overall operating performance and as a factor in determining compensation. The Company believes that these non-GAAP financial measures are useful in evaluating the Company’s underlying business performance and trends; however, this information should be considered as supplemental in nature and is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the related financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. In addition, these non-GAAP financial measures may not be the same as similar measures presented by other companies.

Net sales growth (GAAP) and organic sales growth (Net sales growth excluding the impact of foreign exchange, acquisitions and divestments) (non-GAAP) are discussed in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Management believes the organic sales growth measure provides investors and analysts with useful supplemental information regarding the Company’s underlying sales trends by presenting sales growth excluding, the external factor of foreign exchange, as well as the impact of acquisitions and divestments, as applicable. A reconciliation of organic sales growth to Net sales growth for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 is provided below.

Worldwide Gross profit, Gross profit margin, Selling, general and administrative expenses, Selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of Net sales, Other (income) expense, net, Operating profit, Operating profit margin, Non-service related postretirement costs, Interest (income) expense, net, effective income tax rate, Net income attributable to Colgate-Palmolive Company and Earnings per share on a diluted basis are discussed in this Annual Report on Form 10-K both on a GAAP basis and excluding, as applicable, the benefits and charges resulting from the Global Growth and Efficiency Program, the charge related to U.S. tax reform, acquisition-related costs, the benefits related to a value-added tax matter in Brazil and Swiss income tax reform, a benefit related to a reorganization of the ownership structure of certain foreign subsidiaries and a new operating structure implemented within one of the Company’s divisions and the loss on early extinguishment of debt prior to maturity. These non-GAAP financial measures exclude items that, either by their nature or amount, management would not expect to occur as part of the Company’s normal business on a regular basis, such as restructuring charges, charges for certain litigation and tax matters, gains and losses from certain acquisitions, divestitures and certain unusual, non-recurring items. Investors and analysts use these financial measures in assessing the Company’s business performance, and management believes that presenting these financial measures on a non-GAAP basis provides them with useful supplemental information to enhance their understanding of the Company’s underlying business performance and trends. These non-GAAP financial measures also enhance the ability to compare period-to-period financial results. A reconciliation of each of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 is presented within the applicable section of Results of Operations.

(Dollars in Millions Except Per Share Amounts)

The following tables provide a quantitative reconciliation of Net sales growth to organic sales growth for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 versus the prior year:

Oral, Personal and Home Care

North America 9.5% —% 1.5% 8.0%

Latin America (5.0)% (14.0)% —% 9.0%

Asia Pacific (0.5)% (1.0)% —% 0.5%

Africa/Eurasia —% (8.5)% 1.0% 7.5%

Total Oral, Personal and Home Care 3.0% (5.0)% 2.0% 6.0%

Oral, Personal and Home Care

North America 2.0% (0.5)% —% 2.5%

Latin America —% (7.0)% —% 7.0%

Asia Pacific (1.0)% (2.5)% —% 1.5%

Total Oral, Personal and Home Care —% (4.0)% 0.5% 3.5%

Pet Nutrition 6.0% (1.5)% —% 7.5%

Market Share Information

Management uses market share information as a key indicator to monitor business health and performance. References to market share in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are based on a combination of consumption and market share data provided by third-party vendors, primarily Nielsen, and internal estimates. All market share references represent the percentage of the dollar value of sales of our products, relative to all product sales in the category in the countries in which the Company competes and purchases data (excluding Venezuela from all periods).

Market share data is subject to limitations on the availability of up-to-date information. In particular, market share data is currently not generally available for certain retail channels, such as eCommerce or certain discounters. The Company measures year-to-date market shares from January 1 of the relevant year through the most recent period for which market share data is available, which typically reflects a lag time of one or two months. The Company believes that the third-party vendors we use to provide data are reliable, but we have not verified the accuracy or completeness of the data or any assumptions underlying the data. In certain limited circumstances, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the ability of our third-party vendors to provide the Company with reliable updated market share data. In addition, market share information calculated by the Company may be different from market share information calculated by other companies due to differences in category definitions, the use of data from different countries, internal estimates and other factors.

(Dollars in Millions Except Per Share Amounts)

Liquidity and Capital Resources

The Company expects cash flow from operations and debt issuances will be sufficient to meet foreseeable business operating and recurring cash needs (including for debt service, dividends, capital expenditures, share repurchases and acquisitions). The Company believes its strong cash generation and financial position should continue to allow it broad access to global credit and capital markets.

Cash Flow

Net cash provided by operations increased to $3,719 in 2020 as compared to $3,133 in 2019, primarily due to changes in working capital, higher net income and lower voluntary contributions to the Company’s pension plans, which were partially offset by higher income tax payments. The Company’s working capital as a percentage of Net sales was (4.4)% in 2020 and (1.6)% in 2019. This change in working capital as a percentage of Net sales is primarily due to higher accrued liabilities, higher accounts payable and higher accrued income taxes, partially offset by an increase in inventory. The Company defines working capital as the difference between current assets (excluding Cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities, the latter of which is reported in Other current assets) and current liabilities (excluding short-term debt).

Investing activities used $779 of cash in 2020 compared to $2,099 during 2019. As more fully described below, investing activities in 2020 include the Company’s acquisition of hello. Investing activities in 2019 include the Company’s acquisition of Filorga and the Nigeria Joint Venture. Purchases of marketable securities and investments decreased in 2020 to $143 from $184 in 2019. Proceeds from the sale of marketable securities and investments decreased in 2020 to $124 from $131 in 2019.

Capital expenditures in the year ended December 31, 2020 were $410, an increase from $335 in 2019. Capital expenditures increased in 2020 primarily due to capacity expansion of manufacturing facilities and sustainability projects. Capital expenditures for 2021 are expected to be approximately 3.0% to 3.5% of Net sales. The Company continues to focus its capital spending on projects that are expected to yield high aftertax returns.

On January 31, 2020, the Company acquired hello for cash consideration of $351 as part of the Company’s continued strategy to focus on the high growth segments within its Oral Care, Personal Care and Pet Nutrition businesses. On September 19, 2019, the Company acquired Filorga for cash consideration of €1,516 (approximately $1,674) plus additional consideration of €32 (approximately $38), the majority of which related to repayment of loans from former shareholders of Filorga. In July 2020, the Company completed the purchase of the outstanding non-controlling interest of Filorga’s joint venture based in Hong Kong and covering the Hong Kong and China markets for approximately €85 (approximately $99) in cash. On August 15, 2019, the Company acquired a 51% controlling interest in the Nigeria Joint Venture for $31.

CL US Equity

CL · 10-K · period ended 2020-12-31

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

CL US Equity☆

CL · 10-K · period ended 2020-12-31

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

CL US Equity