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Here are 1-3 brief analogies for Kimberly-Clark (KMB):

• Like **Procter & Gamble**, but focused primarily on paper-based consumer goods like tissues, toilet paper, and diapers.
• The **Unilever** of disposable paper products for home and personal care.
• The **Colgate-Palmolive** for essential household paper goods and diapers.

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• Huggies: Provides a range of diapers and baby wipes for infant and toddler care.
• Kotex: Offers feminine hygiene products including pads, tampons, and liners.
• Kleenex: A leading brand of facial tissues for everyday use.
• Scott: Produces bathroom tissue and paper towels for household and commercial use.
• Cottonelle: Specializes in soft and strong bathroom tissue.
• Viva: Manufactures durable and absorbent paper towels.
• Depend: Offers absorbent underwear and pads for adult incontinence.
• Poise: Provides discreet liners and pads for light bladder leakage in women.

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Kimberly-Clark (KMB) primarily sells its consumer products to individuals through various retail channels, including supermarkets, mass merchandisers, drugstores, and e-commerce platforms. While these retailers are KMB's direct business customers, the company's ultimate target audience comprises individuals and households. Additionally, Kimberly-Clark also has a significant business-to-business segment, K-C Professional, which serves other companies and institutions.

Based on its product portfolio, Kimberly-Clark serves the following major categories of customers:

• Families with Babies and Young Children: This category primarily uses products from the company's Personal Care segment, such as Huggies diapers and wipes, Pull-Ups training pants, and GoodNites youth pants. These products cater to the essential needs of infants and young children, making parents and caregivers a key customer demographic.
• Adults and Households: This broad category encompasses individuals and households utilizing a wide range of KMB's Consumer Tissue and Personal Care products. This includes Kleenex facial tissue, Scott, Cottonelle, and Viva paper products for household hygiene, as well as Kotex feminine hygiene products and Depend adult incontinence products. This segment covers daily personal care and household needs for a diverse adult population.
• Businesses and Institutions (via K-C Professional): Through its K-C Professional (KCP) division, Kimberly-Clark directly serves other companies and organizations. These customers include healthcare facilities (hospitals, clinics), offices, educational institutions, manufacturing plants, and hospitality businesses. KCP provides a variety of products such as commercial tissue, wipers (e.g., WypAll), hand hygiene solutions, and safety products (e.g., Kimtech scientific products) for workplace and institutional use.

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Michael D. Hsu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Michael D. Hsu became Chief Executive Officer of Kimberly-Clark in January 2019 and Chairman of the Board in January 2020. He joined the company in 2012, serving in various leadership positions, including President and Chief Operating Officer. Prior to Kimberly-Clark, Mr. Hsu held senior and executive leadership roles at Kraft Foods as EVP & Chief Commercial Officer and spent six years at H.J. Heinz, where he was Vice President of Marketing for Ore-Ida and Frozen Meals, and later President for Foodservice. He began his career as a consultant with Booz Allen & Hamilton, where he became a partner in the firm's consumer practice. Mr. Hsu co-founded and currently serves as CEO of Bridge.do, beginning in 2021. He earned a bachelor's degree from Carnegie-Mellon University and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Nelson Urdaneta, Chief Financial Officer

Nelson Urdaneta was appointed Chief Financial Officer of Kimberly-Clark in March 2022. Before joining Kimberly-Clark, Mr. Urdaneta spent nearly 17 years at Mondelēz International, holding various positions such as Treasurer, Corporate Controller and Chief Accounting Officer, CFO of Asia Pacific, Supply Chain Finance leader for North America, and General Manager of Venezuela. During his time at Mondelēz, he oversaw the integration of the Cadbury business in Venezuela. He also held financial planning and analysis and supply chain pricing roles at Ryder System, Inc. and was a Finance Manager at Procter & Gamble. Mr. Urdaneta holds an Economics degree from Universidad Católica Andrés Bello and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Russ Torres, President and Chief Operating Officer

Russ Torres was promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer of Kimberly-Clark in May 2025. In this role, he is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the company's business segments, as well as the Global Supply Chain, R&D, Global Growth, and Digital Technology Solutions organizations. Mr. Torres joined Kimberly-Clark in 2020 as president of Kimberly-Clark's Professional business, and prior to his current role, he served as President of Kimberly-Clark's North America business. He has over 25 years of experience in the consumer product goods industry, including senior leadership roles at Newell Brands, Bain & Company, and Mondelez International (formerly Kraft Foods).

Grant McGee, Senior Vice President and General Counsel

Grant McGee rejoined Kimberly-Clark as Senior Vice President and General Counsel in February 2024. He leads the company's legal, public policy, government affairs, compliance, security, and flight operations. Previously, he served as Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary at American Airlines for nearly two years. Mr. McGee's initial tenure at Kimberly-Clark spanned from 2015 to 2022, where he held various roles of increasing responsibility. Before his first period with Kimberly-Clark, he was executive counsel for GE Aviation's M&A activities and General Counsel for GE Aviation's Mechanical Systems and Power business units. He began his career specializing in M&A and securities at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

Patricia Corsi, Chief Growth Officer

Patricia Corsi serves as Chief Growth Officer for Kimberly-Clark, where she oversees growth-centric brand and commercial capabilities, including global marketing, innovation, creative storytelling, design, insights & analytics, and revenue growth management. She is recognized as a veteran in the FMCG and consumer health industries, with extensive leadership experience in marketing and general management, and a track record of delivering results for global companies and brands across various industries and geographies, including Bayer Consumer Health, Unilever, and Heineken. Ms. Corsi is also a board member of Tate & Lyle PLC. Forbes named her one of the World's Most Influential Chief Marketing Officers in 2024 and 2025.

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Key Risks to Kimberly-Clark (KMB)

Kimberly-Clark (KMB) faces several significant risks to its business, primarily stemming from its strategic transformation initiatives, intense market competition, and global economic volatility.

1. Strategic Transformation and Kenvue Acquisition Risks: Kimberly-Clark is undergoing a significant strategic reshaping of its business, involving divestitures and business exits that have negatively impacted reported net sales. A major near-term risk is the planned $48.7 billion acquisition of Kenvue in 2025. This acquisition introduces substantial execution and integration risks, is expected to sharply increase the company's leverage, and may potentially lead to a dividend cut, while also significantly reducing existing KMB shareholder ownership. The combined entity will contend with existing challenges in growth and margin pressure, coupled with a heavy debt load.
2. Intense Competition and Shifting Consumer Demand: Kimberly-Clark operates in a highly competitive market, facing pressure from both established brands and the growing presence of lower-cost private-label products. Changes in consumer purchasing patterns, including a shift toward value-priced options and the emergence of new sales channels such as e-tailers and subscription services, can adversely affect the company's sales, market share, and brand loyalty.
3. Global Economic Pressures and Supply Chain Volatility: The company is exposed to significant global cost headwinds, including escalating raw material costs, tariffs, and unfavorable foreign currency fluctuations, which exert pressure on gross margins and overall profitability. Given that approximately half of Kimberly-Clark's net sales originate from markets outside the U.S., its results are particularly vulnerable to foreign market risks, including economic and political instability in developing countries.

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Accelerating adoption of bidets and bidet attachments in North American households. Kimberly-Clark is a major producer of toilet paper (e.g., Scott, Cottonelle). Increased bidet usage directly reduces the per-capita consumption of toilet paper, potentially leading to declining sales volume in a significant product category as consumers shift to water-based hygiene.

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Kimberly-Clark Corporation (KMB) operates in several key product categories, with an estimated global addressable market of approximately $240 billion across these segments. Their main products and their respective market sizes, along with the regions, are as follows:

• Baby and Child Care (Huggies disposable diapers and baby wipes):
  • The global diapers market size was valued at USD 91.14 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 167.33 billion by 2033.
  • Another estimate indicates the global diapers market size to be USD 72.37 billion in 2025, anticipated to reach USD 112.51 billion by 2034.
  • North America was the largest market in 2024 for diapers.
  • Asia-Pacific currently dominates the global diaper market, holding over a 35.4% share in 2024 and is also the fastest-growing market.
• Feminine Care (Kotex feminine hygiene products):
  • The global feminine hygiene products market size was estimated at USD 45.42 billion in 2024 and is predicted to increase to approximately USD 95.44 billion by 2034.
  • Another source states the global feminine hygiene products market size was valued at USD 43.36 billion in 2024 and is expected to climb to USD 78.52 billion by 2033.
  • Asia Pacific dominated the global market with the largest market share of 35% in 2024.
  • North America is expected to witness the fastest growth in this market.
• Adult Care (Depend and Poise incontinence products):
  • The global adult incontinence products market size was estimated at USD 16.4 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow to USD 27.4 billion in 2034.
  • Another report indicates the global adult incontinence products market grew from USD 38.60 billion in 2024 to USD 40.86 billion in 2025 and is expected to reach USD 60.24 billion by 2032.
  • The U.S. contributed significantly to the adult incontinence products market, generating revenue of USD 3.7 billion in 2024.
  • Asia Pacific accounted for the largest adult incontinence products market share in 2023.
• Family Care/Tissue and Paper Products (Kleenex facial tissue, Cottonelle, Scott, and Andrex toilet paper, Viva, Scott, and Wypall paper towels):
  • Facial Tissues:
    • The global facial tissues market was valued at USD 10.21 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow to USD 16.89 billion by 2033.
    • North America dominated the facial tissue market, with a share of 30.41% in 2024.
    • Asia Pacific dominated the facial tissue paper industry with a 32.2% share in 2024.
  • Toilet Paper:
    • The global toilet paper market size was valued at USD 84.1 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow to USD 110.5 billion by 2030.
    • North America remains the largest market for toilet paper.
    • Asia-Pacific is the fastest-growing region in the toilet paper market.
    • The toilet paper market in the U.S. is expected to grow significantly, reaching USD 10.45 billion by 2032.
  • Paper Towels:
    • The global paper towel market size was approximately USD 14.20 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 23.57 billion by 2034.
    • Another estimate valued the global paper towels market at USD 11.52 billion in 2024, expected to increase to USD 16.54 billion by 2031.
    • North America represents a significant portion of the paper towel market share and held USD 1.9 billion in revenue from the Paper Towel Market in 2023.
    • Asia Pacific is also growing at a steady pace.

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Expected Drivers of Future Revenue Growth for Kimberly-Clark (KMB)

Over the next 2-3 years, Kimberly-Clark (KMB) is expected to drive revenue growth through several strategic initiatives:

1. Sustained Volume and Mix-Led Growth: Kimberly-Clark has demonstrated consistent success in achieving volume plus mix-led growth for seven consecutive quarters, indicating its ability to meet diverse consumer preferences and deliver value through its product portfolio. This approach is expected to continue driving top-line expansion by aligning with consumer needs across various product tiers.
2. Innovation and Premiumization: The company is focused on innovation-led strategies and new product introductions to enhance its competitive edge and gain market share, particularly highlighted by gains in the North American diaper market. Investments in differentiated and higher-value products, such as the launch of Skin Essentials, are central to its strategy to cater to evolving consumer demands and drive premiumization across its categories.
3. Strategic Acquisition of Kenvue: The recently announced acquisition of Kenvue is a significant growth catalyst. This transaction is anticipated to create a combined entity with a portfolio of 10 iconic billion-dollar brands, generate approximately $7 billion in EBITDA annually, and achieve $2.1 billion in cost synergies. The deal, expected to close in the first half of 2026, aims to deliver a stronger financial profile and new growth opportunities.
4. "Powering Care" Strategy and Operational Efficiency: Kimberly-Clark's "Powering Care" strategy is designed to accelerate growth, optimize its margin structure, and restructure the business. This involves initiatives such as driving supply chain productivity, mitigating market inflation, and enhancing overall operational efficiency, which are crucial for generating resources to reinvest in growth-driving segments and innovation.

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Share Repurchases

• Kimberly-Clark repurchased 1.8 million shares at a cost of $225 million in 2023.
• The company completed share repurchases of 7.2 million shares at a cost of $1.0 billion in 2024.
• A share repurchase program authorized on January 22, 2021, allows for the repurchase of 40 million shares, not to exceed $5 billion.

Share Issuance

• No significant new public issuances of common stock for cash have been identified in the last 3-5 years. The dollar amount of common stock issued remained constant at $473 million from 2021 through 2024, representing 378.6 million shares.

Outbound Investments

• In 2022, Kimberly-Clark acquired a majority and controlling interest in Thinx Inc., an industry leader in reusable period and incontinence underwear, for a total consideration of $181 million.
• In 2023, Kimberly-Clark acquired the remaining ownership interests in Thinx Inc. for an additional $95 million.
• In 2023, the company completed the sale of its Neve tissue brand and related consumer and K-C Professional tissue assets in Brazil for $212 million.
• In 2024, Kimberly-Clark sold its personal protective equipment (PPE) business, including Kimtech and KleenGuard branded products, for $635 million.
• In November 2025, Kimberly-Clark announced plans to acquire Kenvue Inc. in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $48.7 billion.

Capital Expenditures

• Capital expenditures were $1.007 billion in 2021, $876 million in 2022, $766 million in 2023, and $721 million in 2024.
• The company expects capital spending to be approximately $900 million in 2024 and between $1.0 billion and $1.2 billion in 2025.
• Planned capital expenditures include a multi-year investment of over $2 billion in its North America business to enhance U.S. manufacturing capacity, accelerate innovation, and support growth, including a new advanced manufacturing facility in Warren, Ohio, and an expansion of its Beech Island, South Carolina, site.