By Kelly Cloonan

Kimberly-Clark reported a higher profit in its latest quarter just days before shareholders vote on its plan to buy Kenvue, a deal designed to create a global health-and-wellness giant.

Shareholders are due to vote on the $40 billion acquisition Thursday. The proposal is one of the biggest takeover deal from 2025.

The maker of Kleenex tissues and Huggies diapers on Tuesday posted a fourth-quarter profit of $499 million, or $1.50 a share, compared with $447 million, or $1.34 a share, a year earlier. The results include net charges per share of 36 cents and 16 cents, respectively, that don't reflect underlying and ongoing operations, the company said.

Adjusted earnings per share were $1.86, ahead of estimates of $1.81 a share, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

Revenue fell 0.6% to $4.08 billion, just below analyst estimates of $4.09 billion.

The decrease reflects the exit of the company's private label diaper business in the U.S., partially offset by organic sales growth.

Organic sales, a figure that strips out the impact of acquisitions, divestitures and currency effects, rose 2.1%, boosted by volume growth in North America and internationally. Growth was partially offset, though, by some investments to improve value propositions, the company said.

The results come after fellow consumer goods company Procter & Gamble said last week sales ticked up in its most recent quarter as profit fell due to higher restructuring costs. P&G said higher prices helped to offset a decline in volumes.

Kimberly-Clark's Chief Executive Mike Hsu said the company's results underscore the strength of its business, and are a jumping off point for improved growth and continued outperformance.

The company has been focused on growing its volume-plus-mix, and keeping a lid on costs as it pivots to higher growth, higher margin categories, he said.

Hsu expects that momentum to continue with Kimberly-Clark's proposed acquisition of Kenvue, the maker of Tylenol. The deal, announced last year, is a gamble that moving into health-and-wellness will provide the kind of growth that Wall Street has sought, and that Kimberly-Clark's consumer staples have failed to deliver.

"Acquiring Kenvue is a powerful next step in our transformation that will compound the momentum we're already delivering," Hsu said, noting the company is making progress on its integration planning efforts.

For 2026, Kimberly-Clark expects adjusted earnings per share to be flat on a constant-currency basis, compared with $7.53 in 2025. Analysts were projecting adjusted earnings per share of $7.60.

It expects organic sales growth to be in line with or ahead of the weighted average growth in the categories and countries it competes in, which was about 2% in 2025.

Write to Kelly Cloonan at kelly.cloonan@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 27, 2026 06:30 ET (11:30 GMT)

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