Trash bags aren’t the sort of things most people would think twice about scooping up. Fortunately, that’s been my situation, as it’s essentially just another no-brainer in the grocery cart.
But lately, these routine purchases have started to involve some math. I found myself, for the first time in years, quizzing my wife about whether the larger pack is cheaper. Also, could the smaller one stretch the budget until payday?
Those are the decisions Clorox (CLX) CEO Linda Rendle says shoppers are making.
During the company’s Nov. 2 earnings call, Rendle described consumers seeking value, while the makers of Glad trash bags, Clorox bleach, and Hidden Valley Ranch are facing higher costs for materials and transportation.
Clorox has already bumped prices on some products and sees more pressure ahead.
That’s what makes this bigger than one company’s earnings. Americans are watching their spending, just as everyday household essentials become harder to produce cheaply.
Clorox CEO sees a troubling change in how Americans shop
Clorox CEO Linda Rendle described a shopper who’s getting more selective.
“Consumers continue to seek value,” Rendle told analysts during the company’s Nov. 2 earnings call.
That shows up in everyday decisions. Asked how demand was holding up, she pointed to “lots of value-seeking behavior, buying larger sizes, smaller sizes, delaying purchases, et cetera.”
More Walmart:
- Walmart gives shoppers a free way to skip the holiday chaos
- Walmart brings back a holiday returns perk shoppers count on every year
- Walmart’s CEO tells BofA where his retail chain is headed next
The differing viewpoints have something in common.
A family like mine that’s buying a larger package is trying to reduce its per-use cost. Another buying the smallest size may simply need to keep today’s checkout bill down.
And Rendle said back-to-school purchases shifted later, forcing Clorox to rethink when shoppers would actually show up.
But consumers aren’t the only ones doing the math.
Chief Financial Officer Luc Bellet said Clorox now expects about $240 million in input-cost inflation this fiscal year, $40 million above its previous estimate and roughly 2.5 times its historical annual average.
Rising costs span resins used in plastic products, other commodities, shipping, and logistics.
Bellet stressed that these pressures extend beyond oil, complicating any hope of quick relief.
Some of that pressure has already reached shoppers. Clorox raised prices on Glad trash bags by a high-single-digit percentage in July, a change Rendle said was already appearing in sales data by late September.
And more increases may follow.
“It’s logical to assume that we will take additional pricing in the back half,” Rendle said.
That is the squeeze facing the household-goods industry, where companies need to recover higher costs without pushing budget-conscious shoppers to cheaper alternatives.
Inflation and consumer spending data reveal a broader problem
Interestingly, Clorox isn’t the only household name struggling with the cost of making everyday products.
On Oct. 22, Procter & Gamble, maker of Tide, Pampers, and Charmin, warned that rising raw-material, energy, and transportation expenses could create a $1.4 billion after-tax commodity-cost headwind in fiscal 2027.
PepsiCo offered another warning in October. Its North American food volumes were flat, while beverage volumes fell 2% as higher costs and cautious demand complicated the company’s recovery.
When you throw in government data, it puts these corporate concerns in perspective.
The Consumer Price Index rose 3.7% in September from a year earlier, up from 3.4% in August, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Producer prices climbed 6.3% over the same 12-month period, indicating substantial cost pressures throughout the economy.
But the most telling figure comes from household spending.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that Americans spent 0.5% more in September, yet inflation-adjusted consumption was essentially unchanged, as reported by Reuters. Real disposable income, which accounts for taxes and rising prices, fell 0.3%.
In other words, a bigger bill didn’t mean more in the shopping cart.
That said, not every manufacturer is losing ground. Colgate-Palmolive improved gross margin by 0.8 percentage points despite higher raw-material costs, while Church & Dwight expanded its margin by 1.7 points.
To me, the troubling signal isn’t rising costs alone. It’s manufacturers looking to recover those costs from shoppers who have a diminishing ability to pay more.
What Clorox’s warning means for prices and CLX stock
The next test for Clorox involves the strength of its brand equity, shoppers will keep choosing its brands when cheaper alternatives sit on the same shelf.
Management is considering more selective increases, but charging consumers isn’t its only option. Cost savings and product improvements could help protect margins. In cat litter, Clorox has even lowered certain prices to regain shoppers.
Investors should look beyond the headline 33% quarterly sales increase. Roughly 15 percentage points came from the GOJO acquisition, while much of the remaining organic growth reflected an unusually weak year-earlier comparison following a software transition.
Excluding that comparison, Clorox expects underlying organic sales growth of just 0% to 1% for the fiscal year.
For shoppers, the practical moves are comparing prices per bag or ounce, not just package prices, and watching for changes in promotions. For shareholders, the important signals are sales volumes, market share, and gross-margin recovery, rather than revenue growth alone.
Clorox’s experience doesn’t prove the economy is heading for a downturn. It does, however, reveal an uncomfortable risk: Companies may need higher prices just when customers are least willing to accept them.
Related: Jim Cramer explains the ‘AI cheat code’ driving Apple stock higher
