Ohio-based Procter & Gamble Company (PG), also known as P&G, is the powerhouse behind many of the world’s most trusted everyday brands, reaching billions of consumers across roughly 70 countries with products that make life cleaner, healthier, and simpler. Some of its trusted brands include Pampers, Gillette, Tide, Olay, Crest, Ariel, Febreze, Pantene, Vicks, Head & Shoulders, Bounty, Charmin, and Oral-B. This lineup touches nearly every part of daily life.
With a market capitalization of roughly $352.6 billion, P&G is firmly classified as a “mega-cap” stock, a category defined by companies valued above $200 billion. Its large market presence reflects the role it plays in the consumer staples sector. By focusing on everyday household and personal care products used consistently over time, P&G has maintained a long-standing presence in homes across multiple generations.
But even though P&G holds a dominant position in household essentials, its stock performance has been rocky lately. In the past three months, P&G shares have slid about 7.4% and remain roughly 18.5% below its November 2024 high of $180.43. And it’s not just P&G, the broader consumer-staples sector is wrestling with headwinds too. The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) is down 6.6% over the same period, though still managing to outperform P&G’s deeper slide.
Zooming out doesn’t paint a much better picture. Over the past 52 weeks, P&G shares have tumbled 16.6%, and they’re still down 12.3% in 2025 so far. In contrast, XLP has slipped a milder 6% over the past year and just 2.1% this year, making P&G’s underperformance stand out even more within its own defensive peer group.
From a technical standpoint, the trend hasn’t been in P&G’s favor either. The stock has stayed below its 200-day moving average since late May, signaling persistent long-term weakness. Even short-term momentum hasn’t provided relief, with shares failing to hold above the 50-day moving average during the same period despite a few temporary upticks along the way.
P&G has been facing a rough patch on Wall Street, weighed down by sector-wide challenges. Higher tariff-related costs, softer consumer spending, and growing competition from brands offering cheaper deals have pressured performance. Concerns surrounding its premiumization strategy have also added to the uncertainty. Even so, the company’s fundamentals remain resilient.
In fiscal 2026 Q1, P&G delivered better-than-expected results, supported by solid demand in beauty and grooming segments. And despite cost headwinds and what CEO Jon Moeller called a “challenging consumer and geopolitical environment,” the company stuck with its full-year sales and earnings outlook, showing confidence in its ability to manage through current headwinds.
The sector-wide slump becomes clearer when stacked against peer performance. Colgate-Palmolive (CL), another major name in consumer essentials, hasn’t fared any better. Its shares have largely mirrored P&G’s trajectory, down 16.6% over the past year and off 12.9% in 2025, highlighting that the weakness isn’t isolated to a single company but reflects a broader struggle across consumer staples.
Even though P&G’s stock performance has been disappointing lately, Wall Street isn’t ready to write it off. The consensus rating from 24 analysts is a “Moderate Buy”, and with the average price target sitting at $169.77, the stock still carries about 15.5% potential upside from current levels.
On the date of publication, Anushka Mukherjee did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
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