Clorox slides as FY2026 profit outlook is cut and margin expectations worsen

The Clorox Company (CLX) is down 4.9% today. Here is some analysis on what might have caused this price movement.

Analysis: The most likely catalyst is the company’s fiscal Q3 2026 update, which included a lower full-year EPS outlook and a meaningfully weaker gross-margin forecast. Investors also appeared to react to near-term noise from ERP-related shipment timing, acquisition-related costs tied to GOJO (Purell), and higher cost headwinds.

Details:

Clorox updated its fiscal 2026 outlook alongside its Q3 FY2026 results (quarter ended March 31, 2026), lowering expected diluted EPS to $4.78–$4.98 and adjusted EPS to $5.45–$5.65 versus its prior ranges.

The company’s full-year gross margin outlook moved to a decline of roughly 250–300 basis points, with headwinds that included acquisition-related impacts and higher costs (including energy-related pressure referenced in the outlook discussion).

Management highlighted a shipment-versus-consumption timing issue tied to retailer inventory builds ahead of the company’s ERP transition, with an expected reversal during FY2026 that could weigh on reported sales and earnings comparisons.

The GOJO Industries acquisition closed on April 1, 2026, adding Purell and bringing integration and transaction-related costs that the company said would affect FY2026 results.

Sources:

PR Newswire, SEC, StreetInsider

Disclaimer: This price movement analysis was generated with the help of AI. Please double-check the information provided for mistakes.

$CLX Insider Trading Activity

$CLX insiders have traded $CLX stock on the open market 1 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 1 have been purchases and 0 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $CLX stock by insiders over the last 6 months:

PIERRE R BREBER purchased 4,000 shares for an estimated $416,516

To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard. You can access data on insider stock transactions through the Quiver Quantitative API.

$CLX Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 470 institutional investors add shares of $CLX stock to their portfolio, and 569 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.

Here are some of the largest recent moves:

UBS AM, A DISTINCT BUSINESS UNIT OF UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC removed 3,184,556 shares (-75.2%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $321,098,781
STIFEL FINANCIAL CORP removed 2,378,720 shares (-78.3%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $239,846,337
CITADEL ADVISORS LLC added 1,403,060 shares (+5350.3%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $141,470,539
MORGAN STANLEY removed 902,664 shares (-28.2%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $91,015,611
INVESCO LTD. added 884,751 shares (+22.1%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $89,209,443
TWO SIGMA ADVISERS, LP removed 778,100 shares (-38.2%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $78,455,823
NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL WEALTH MANAGEMENT CO added 739,005 shares (+6907.9%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $74,513,874

To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard. You can access data on hedge funds moves and 13F filings through the Quiver Quantitative API.

$CLX Congressional Stock Trading

Members of Congress have traded $CLX stock 5 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 2 have been purchases and 3 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $CLX stock by members of Congress over the last 6 months:

REPRESENTATIVE GILBERT RAY CISNEROS, JR. has traded it 2 times. They made 1 purchase worth up to $15,000 on 12/19 and 1 sale worth up to $15,000 on 11/12.
REPRESENTATIVE LISA C. MCCLAIN has traded it 3 times. They made 1 purchase worth up to $15,000 on 10/30 and 2 sales worth up to $30,000 on 10/31, 10/30.

To track congressional stock trading, check out Quiver Quantitative's congressional trading dashboard. You can access data on congressional stock trades through the Quiver Quantitative API.

$CLX Price Targets

Multiple analysts have issued price targets for $CLX recently. We have seen 11 analysts offer price targets for $CLX in the last 6 months, with a median target of $110.0.

Here are some recent targets:

Dara Mohsenian from Morgan Stanley set a target price of $110.0 on 04/23/2026
Kaumil Gajrawala from Jefferies set a target price of $139.0 on 04/21/2026
Andrea Teixeira from JP Morgan set a target price of $99.0 on 04/17/2026
Lauren Lieberman from Barclays set a target price of $102.0 on 04/15/2026
Filippo Falorni from Citigroup set a target price of $110.0 on 04/15/2026
Chris Carey from Wells Fargo set a target price of $110.0 on 04/08/2026
Peter Grom from UBS set a target price of $110.0 on 04/07/2026

This article is not financial advice. See Quiver Quantitative's disclaimers for more information. Note that there may be inaccuracies due to mistakes in ticker-mapping, and other anomalies.