Free cash flow
Colgate-Palmolive Free cash flow decreased by 52.3% to $609.00M in Q1 2026 compared to the prior quarter. Year-over-year, this metric grew by 27.9%, from $476.00M to $609.00M. Over 4 years (FY 2021 to FY 2025), Free cash flow shows an upward trend with a 7.1% CAGR. This decline may warrant attention — for this metric, higher values are generally preferred.
Analysis
How to read this metric
An increase suggests strong operational efficiency and the ability to self-fund future innovation or return capital to shareholders, while a decrease may indicate heavy capital expenditure cycles or declining operational profitability.
Detailed definition
Free cash flow represents the cash generated by a company after accounting for cash outflows to support operations and m...
Peer comparison
High-growth semiconductor and AI infrastructure peers typically prioritize reinvestment, so free cash flow margins are often compared against R&D intensity and capital expenditure requirements of industry rivals.
free_cash_flowHistorical Data
| Q2 '21 | Q3 '21 | Q4 '21 | Q1 '22 | Q2 '22 | Q3 '22 | Q4 '22 | Q1 '23 | Q2 '23 | Q3 '23 | Q4 '23 | Q1 '24 | Q2 '24 | Q3 '24 | Q4 '24 | Q1 '25 | Q2 '25 | Q3 '25 | Q4 '25 | Q1 '26 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $497.00M | $857.00M | $913.00M | $264.00M | $350.00M | $794.00M | $452.00M | $572.00M | $538.00M | $991.00M | $939.00M | $555.00M | $873.00M | $1.03B | $1.09B | $476.00M | $776.00M | $1.11B | $1.28B | $609.00M |
| QoQ Change | — | +72.4% | +6.5% | -71.1% | +32.6% | +126.9% | -43.1% | +26.5% | -5.9% | +84.2% | -5.2% | -40.9% | +57.3% | +18.3% | +5.0% | -56.1% | +63.0% | +42.5% | +15.4% | -52.3% |
| YoY Change | — | — | — | — | -29.6% | -7.4% | -50.5% | +116.7% | +53.7% | +24.8% | +107.7% | -3.0% | +62.3% | +4.2% | +15.5% | -14.2% | -11.1% | +7.1% | +17.6% | +27.9% |
Free cash flow at Other Companies
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Colgate-Palmolive's free cash flow?
- Colgate-Palmolive (CL) reported free cash flow of $609.00M in Q1 2026.
- How has Colgate-Palmolive's free cash flow changed year-over-year?
- Colgate-Palmolive's free cash flow increased by 27.9% year-over-year, from $476.00M to $609.00M.
- What is the long-term trend for Colgate-Palmolive's free cash flow?
- Over 4 years (2021 to 2025), Colgate-Palmolive's free cash flow has grown at a 7.1% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from $2.76B to $3.63B.
- What does free cash flow mean?
- The cash a company has left over after paying for its operating expenses and capital investments.