CL vs DOW
Colgate Palmolive Co. and DOW Inc., side by side — 9 fiscal years reported in USD, drawn from SEC filings.
Most recent reported year
| Metric | CL | DOW |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $20.4B | $40.0B |
| Net income | $2.1B | $-2.4B |
| Gross margin | 60.1% | 6.3% |
| Net margin | 11.1% | −6.1% |
| Return on equity | · | −14.7% |
| Diluted EPS | $2.63 | −$3.70 |
| Dividend / share | $2.08 | $2.10 |
| Payout ratio | · | −61.0% |
| Free cash flow | $3.6B | $-1.4B |
| Equity | $54.0M | $16.0B |
| Net debt / equity | 124.04× | 0.88× |
| Current ratio | 0.83× | 1.97× |
| Revenue CAGR 5y | 4.4% | 0.7% |
| Profit CAGR 5y | −4.6% | · |
DOW bills 2.0× the revenue of CL, and DOW closed the last reported year at a loss.
The stronger figure of the pair is set in bold. That is arithmetic, not a recommendation — this page does not pick a winner. "·" marks a figure not available in our data.
9 years side by side
| Fiscal year | CL | DOW |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $20.4B | $40.0B |
| FY2024 | $20.1B | $43.0B |
| FY2023 | $19.5B | $44.6B |
| FY2022 | $18.0B | $56.9B |
| FY2021 | $17.4B | $55.0B |
| FY2020 | $16.5B | $38.5B |
| FY2019 | $15.7B | $43.0B |
| FY2018 | $15.5B | $49.6B |
| FY2017 | $15.5B | $43.7B |
Bottom line
| Fiscal year | CL | DOW |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $2.1B | $-2.4B |
| FY2024 | $2.9B | $1.2B |
| FY2023 | $2.3B | $660.0M |
| FY2022 | $1.8B | $4.6B |
| FY2021 | $2.2B | $6.4B |
| FY2020 | $2.7B | $1.3B |
| FY2019 | $2.4B | $-1.3B |
| FY2018 | $2.4B | $4.8B |
| FY2017 | $2.0B | $595.0M |
9 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | −$19,586,000,000 | DOW |
| FY2024 | −$22,863,000,000 | DOW |
| FY2023 | −$25,165,000,000 | DOW |
| FY2022 | −$38,935,000,000 | DOW |
| FY2021 | −$37,547,000,000 | DOW |
| FY2020 | −$22,071,000,000 | DOW |
| FY2019 | −$27,258,000,000 | DOW |
| FY2018 | −$34,060,000,000 | DOW |
| FY2017 | −$28,276,000,000 | DOW |
DOW has reported the higher revenue in every one of these 9 fiscal years. The gap has narrowed since the earliest year compared.
9 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
9 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | +17.2 pp | CL |
| FY2024 | +12.4 pp | CL |
| FY2023 | +11.1 pp | CL |
| FY2022 | +2.8 pp | CL |
| FY2021 | +1.8 pp | CL |
| FY2020 | +14.0 pp | CL |
| FY2019 | +19.1 pp | CL |
| FY2018 | +6.8 pp | CL |
| FY2017 | +12.7 pp | CL |
CL has kept the higher net margin in every one of these 9 fiscal years.
9 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
DOW's net margin has been more volatile than CL's over the 9 comparable fiscal years — 5.5 percentage points of standard deviation against 2.2.
9 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Year by year
CL led in net margin in every one of the 9 comparable fiscal years — a structural lead, not a recent swing.
9 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
CL's return on equity has been more volatile than DOW's over the 5 comparable fiscal years — 150.3 percentage points of standard deviation against 14.2.
5 of 16 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Year by year
CL led in return on equity in every one of the 5 comparable fiscal years — a structural lead, not a recent swing.
5 of 16 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.