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Selling, general, & admin. expense (SGA) includes the direct and indirect costs and all general and administrative expenses of a company. Colgate-Palmolive Co's selling, general, & admin. expense for the
three
months ended in Mar. 2026 was CHF1,634 Mil.
Its selling, general, & admin. expense for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Mar. 2026 was CHF6,449 Mil.
Colgate-Palmolive Co (XSWX:CL) Selling, General, & Admin. Expense Explanation
An efficient operation keeps SGA costs low and thus has higher profit margin. The percentage of SGA relative to total revenue is an indication of how efficiently the company operates. Compare this percentage among the companies in the same industry is a good way of finding more efficient operations. A comparison of the SGA cost relative to the revenue with the historical value can also be an indication of how efficient the company has become.
Warren Buffett likes companies with consistent SGA as the percentage of gross profit.
Companies with no durable competitive advantage show wild variation in SG&A as % of Gross Profit.
If SGA is less than 30% of Gross Profit, it is fantastic. If SGA is nearing 100%, it is is in highly competitive industry.
Colgate-Palmolive Co Selling, General, & Admin. Expense Related Terms
Colgate-Palmolive Co Selling, General, & Admin. Expense Historical Data
* Premium members only.
The historical data trend for Colgate-Palmolive Co's Selling, General, & Admin. Expense can be seen below:
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
Colgate-Palmolive Co Selling, General, & Admin. Expense Chart
XSWX:CL vs KVUE, KMB, EL: Selling, General, & Admin. Expense Comparison
For the Household & Personal Products subindustry, Colgate-Palmolive Co's Selling, General, & Admin. Expense, along with its competitors' market caps and Selling, General, & Admin. Expense data, can be viewed below:
* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.
Colgate-Palmolive Co Selling, General, & Admin. Expense vs Consumer Packaged Goods Industry
For the Consumer Packaged Goods industry and Consumer Defensive sector, Colgate-Palmolive Co's Selling, General, & Admin. Expense distribution charts can be found below:
* The bar in red indicates where Colgate-Palmolive Co's Selling, General, & Admin. Expense falls into.
Colgate-Palmolive Co Selling, General, & Admin. Expense Calculation
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense (SGA) includes the direct and indirect costs and all general and administrative expenses of a company. For instance, personnel cost, advertising, rent, communication costs are all part of SGA.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Mar. 2026 adds up the quarterly data reported by the company within the most recent 12 months, which was CHF6,449 Mil.
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
What does a Selling, General, & Admin. Expense of CHF6,449 Mil mean?
Colgate-Palmolive Co (XSWX:CL) has a Selling, General, & Admin. Expense of CHF6,449 Mil as of Mar. 2026. Selling, general and admin expense is the total cost for direct, indirect, general and administrative activities. View historical data on Colgate-Palmolive Co and its competitors.
Is Colgate-Palmolive Co's Selling, General, & Admin. Expense too high?
Colgate-Palmolive Co's current Selling, General, & Admin. Expense is CHF6,449 Mil. Overall, Colgate-Palmolive Co has a GF Score™ of 88/100 and is considered Fairly Valued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Colgate-Palmolive Co's Selling, General, & Admin. Expense compare to KVUE and KMB?
Colgate-Palmolive Co's Selling, General, & Admin. Expense of CHF6,449 Mil can be compared against companies in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Selling, General, & Admin. Expense for a Consumer Packaged Goods company?
A good Selling, General, & Admin. Expense depends on the Consumer Packaged Goods industry context. However, Selling, General, & Admin. Expense should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high Selling, General, & Admin. Expense mean?
A high Selling, General, & Admin. Expense can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. Selling, general and admin expense is the total cost for direct, indirect, general and administrative activities. View historical data on Colgate-Palmolive Co and its competitors. Colgate-Palmolive Co's current Selling, General, & Admin. Expense is CHF6,449 Mil. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Colgate-Palmolive Co stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Colgate-Palmolive Co (XSWX:CL) is currently considered Fairly Valued. The stock's GF Value™ is CHF75.54, compared to a current price of CHF74.91 — trading 0.8% below its estimated fair value. The current Selling, General, & Admin. Expense is CHF6,449 Mil. Colgate-Palmolive Co's overall GF Score™ is 88/100 with 3 warning signs to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Selling, General, & Admin. Expense calculated?
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense is calculated from a company's financial statements. For Colgate-Palmolive Co (XSWX:CL), the current Selling, General, & Admin. Expense is CHF6,449 Mil as of Mar. 2026. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.
Is Colgate-Palmolive Co (XSWX:CL) Overvalued in 2026?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Colgate-Palmolive Co stock appears to be undervalued.
The current stock price of CHF74.91 is trading 0.8% below its estimated GF Value™ of CHF75.54.
GuruFocus considers Colgate-Palmolive Co to be Fairly Valued.
Key valuation signals for XSWX:CL:
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense: CHF6,449 Mil
GF Value™: CHF75.54 vs. price of CHF74.91 (0.8% below fair value)
No single metric tells the full story. See the XSWX:CL stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.
Since its founding in 1806, Colgate-Palmolive has grown into a leading player in the household and personal care industry. In addition to its namesake oral care line (which accounts for more than 40% of its total sales), the firm manufactures shampoos, shower gels, deodorants, and home care products sold in over 200 countries. International sales account for about 70% of its total business, including nearly half from emerging regions. It also owns specialty pet food maker Hill's (almost one-fourth of sales), which sells the majority of its products through veterinarians and specialty pet retailers.
88GF Score
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