On the four Ms, Colgate-Palmolive earns 100 for management and 39 for moat. The management score rests on a return on invested capital of 30.3% and a gross margin of 60.1% — figures that describe a business turning capital into profit efficiently. The balance sheet carries debt at 147.93x equity, which magnifies both the returns above and the risk beneath them. A narrow moat alongside exceptional management is a combination worth understanding before the price matters at all.
The valuation runs on assumptions chosen to understate rather than flatter. Growth is modelled at 4.4% a year, the rate measured from the filings. The exit multiple assumed is 8.7x. That produces an intrinsic value of $8.32, a 10-CAP price of $50.10 and a payback time price of $48.79, with the value zone set at the highest of the three, $50.10. Today's price of $84.53 is 69% above it.
The price is above the value zone and the business scores 39 for moat and 100 for management. Neither test argues for paying up here.
| Price | $84.53 |
| Market cap | $67.6B |
| P/E ratio | 33.5x |
| Return on invested capital | 30.3% |
| Gross margin | 60.1% |
| Debt to equity | 147.93x |
| Free cash flow yield | 5.7% |
| Growth rate used | 4.4% |
| Growth rate measured | 4.0% |
| Exit multiple assumed | 8.7x |
| Company | Moat | Buy price |
| Kenvue (KVUE) | 25 | $11.33 |
| Church & Dwight (CHD) | 62 | $48.65 |
| Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc (SPB) | 54 | $131.48 |
| Procter & Gamble (PG) | 42 | $71.15 |
Every number above is built on assumptions that can be changed. In Moatly you can move the growth rate, the exit multiple and the margin of safety and watch every figure recalculate, so you are testing your own view of Colgate-Palmolive rather than accepting ours.