P&G's sales rose 4% to $23.28 billion, helped a little by higher prices. Philip Morris spent more and cut its outlook

P&G beat Wall Street with a little help from higher prices and lifted its outlook. Philip Morris faced the same kind of rising costs, spent more, and cut its outlook.

By Sean Anees Saifi · Capital Wealth · Published Friday, October 23, 2026 · Source: The Wall Street Journal, Friday, October 23, 2026, whose market figures are the Thursday, October 22 close (Business & Finance)

Key Points

P&G's revenue rose 4% to $23.28 billion. Analysts had expected $22.80 billion, according to FactSet.
Adjusted earnings came to $2 a share, against $1.88 expected. P&G said higher prices helped its sales a little.
P&G now sees sales growth of 2% to 4%, up from 1% to 3%. The raise reflects its purchase of a supplements maker, Thorne HealthTech.
Philip Morris (PM) cut its outlook to $7.11 to $7.26 a share, from $7.28 to $7.43. It's spending more on Zyn, and energy costs went up.
P&G rose $8.75 to $165.59 on Thursday, Oct. 22. PG is held at weight in 27 books and PM in 30. Nothing added.

$23.28 billion

P&G's third-quarter revenue, up 4%

P&G's adjusted earnings a share, vs. $1.88 expected

$165.59

P&G's close Thursday, Oct. 22, up $8.75

$7.26

top of Philip Morris's lowered yearly range, was $7.43

Morning sun falls across a worn wooden kitchen table holding a blank notepad, two pens and a mug of coffee, a child's bicycle parked in the hallway behind.

Oil is pushing up what P&G pays for materials. Slightly higher shelf prices helped cover it.

In one line: P&G raised prices a bit and beat, while Philip Morris spent more and cut its outlook.

Every earnings report starts at a checkout line. Procter & Gamble (PG) makes Tide detergent and Crest toothpaste. Last quarter it charged a bit more, and the company said that helped sales a little. Revenue rose 4% to $23.28 billion. That beat Wall Street's guess, and P&G raised its sales outlook for the year, too.

Adjusted earnings, which leave out one-time items, came to $2 a share. Analysts had expected $1.88, according to FactSet. Profit was $4.73 billion, close to the $4.75 billion of a year earlier. The biggest gains came in beauty, in grooming, and in fabric and home care. The Journal's Katherine Hamilton had the results in Friday's paper.

The squeeze came from oil. High oil prices are pushing up what P&G pays for its raw materials. The extra sales helped soak up that cost. P&G now expects sales to grow 2% to 4%, up from 1% to 3%. That raise reflects a purchase, though. It bought Thorne HealthTech, a company that sells supplements.

Philip Morris spent instead

Philip Morris International (PM) took the other road. It's putting more money behind Zyn, its nicotine-pouch brand. Energy costs rose with the war in the Middle East. Strikes on supply routes in Ukraine also disrupted its work. So it cut its profit outlook for the year to $7.11 to $7.26 a share, from $7.28 to $7.43. Revenue still grew 5.5% to $11.4 billion, ahead of forecasts. The stock fell 1.2% on Wednesday, Oct. 21. It's still up about 23% this year.

P&G reported on Thursday, Oct. 22, the same day tech stocks sank. The Journal noted that stocks far from the AI trade mostly did well that day. P&G's stock jumped $8.75 to $165.59. P&G is held at weight in 27 books. Philip Morris is held in 30, none of them our faith books, since many Shariah screens leave out tobacco. Nothing added.

Our read

This is Cash Flow, M5. When a company says higher prices helped its sales, the help came from shoppers. It's a few cents here and a dollar there, every week, on things nobody stops buying. That's also why a staples company earns a seat in a portfolio. On the day tech fell hard, P&G's stock rose. People buy soap in good markets and bad ones. One good day proves nothing on its own. It does show what the holding is for.

Your connection is the household-goods line in your budget. That's the detergent, toothpaste, shampoo and razors, the kinds of things P&G sells. This week, find a receipt from spring and one from this month. Compare three items you buy every time. Then check the unit price on the shelf tag against the store brand. If the gap has grown, switching one or two items is money you keep every month. You patch the roof on a dry day, while the leak is still small. If you'd like help sizing the grocery line in your plan, bring it to your next review.

What It Means For Your Portfolio

Hold. Check your household-goods line before the next price bump.

A staples company that can raise prices a little and keep its shoppers is doing the job a staples holding is there for.

General planning principles, not advice for anyone in particular. Small price increases on everyday goods add up over a year. Compare receipts and unit prices, and try the store brand where you can't tell the difference.

P&G is held at weight in 27 model books and Philip Morris in 30. Nothing was added on this news. Philip Morris cut its outlook with its stock up about 23% this year. A lot of good news may already be in that price.