COLGATE PALMOLIVE COCL
COLGATE PALMOLIVE CO Goodwill & Intangibles Disclosure
Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets
The changes in net carrying value of Goodwill by segment for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2025 were as follows:
| 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Beginning Balance | Reallocation (1) | Foreign currency translation | Ending Balance | |||||||||||||||||
| Oral, Personal and Home Care | ||||||||||||||||||||
North America (3) | $ | 908 | $ | 223 | $ | (23) | $ | 1,108 | ||||||||||||
| Latin America | 179 | — | (34) | 145 | ||||||||||||||||
| Europe | 1,571 | (223) | (67) | 1,281 | ||||||||||||||||
| Asia Pacific | 179 | — | (1) | 178 | ||||||||||||||||
| Africa/Eurasia | 88 | — | (10) | 78 | ||||||||||||||||
| Total Oral, Personal and Home Care | 2,925 | — | (135) | 2,790 | ||||||||||||||||
| Pet Nutrition | 485 | — | (3) | 482 | ||||||||||||||||
| Total Goodwill | $ | 3,410 | $ | — | $ | (138) | $ | 3,272 | ||||||||||||
| 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Beginning Balance | Acquisitions (2) | Foreign currency translation | Ending Balance | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oral, Personal and Home Care | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
North America (3) | $ | 1,108 | $ | — | $ | (582) | $ | 32 | $ | 558 | ||||||||||||||||
| Latin America | 145 | — | — | 16 | 161 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Europe | 1,281 | — | — | 149 | 1,430 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Asia Pacific | 178 | — | — | 7 | 185 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Africa/Eurasia | 78 | — | — | 4 | 82 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Total Oral, Personal and Home Care | 2,790 | — | (582) | 208 | 2,416 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Pet Nutrition | 482 | 207 | — | 17 | 706 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Total Goodwill | $ | 3,272 | $ | 207 | $ | (582) | $ | 225 | $ | 3,122 | ||||||||||||||||
(1) As a result of a reporting structure realignment effective as of July 1, 2024, the Company reallocated the goodwill of a certain reporting unit from the Europe segment to the North America segment. Before and after the reallocation of the goodwill, the Company completed an assessment indicating no goodwill impairment was required as a result of this segment reporting structure realignment.
(2) For information related to the Company’s acquisitions, refer to Note 3, Acquisitions.
(3) The carrying value of goodwill is reflected net of accumulated impairment charges of $1,281 and $699 as of December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively.
(2) For information related to the Company’s acquisitions, refer to Note 3, Acquisitions.
(3) The carrying value of goodwill is reflected net of accumulated impairment charges of $1,281 and $699 as of December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively.
Other intangible assets as of December 31, 2025 and 2024 were comprised of the following:
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gross Carrying Amount | Accumulated Amortization | Net | Gross Carrying Amount | Accumulated Amortization | Net | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Trademarks - finite life | $ | 974 | $ | (594) | $ | 380 | $ | 1,135 | $ | (545) | $ | 590 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other finite life intangible assets | 574 | (445) | 129 | 603 | (385) | 218 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indefinite life intangible assets | 1,027 | — | 1,027 | 948 | — | 948 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total Other intangible assets | $ | 2,575 | $ | (1,039) | $ | 1,536 | $ | 2,686 | $ | (930) | $ | 1,756 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The change in the net carrying amounts of Other intangible assets during 2025 was due to the impact of impairment charges related to the Filorga intangible assets as more fully described below, foreign currency translation, amortization expense of $78 and the acquisition of the Prime100 pet food business (see Note 3, Acquisitions for further information). Annual estimated amortization expense for each of the next five years is expected to be approximately $51.
Given lower than expected category growth rates and weaker than expected performance, particularly in China, in the fourth quarter of 2025 the Company lowered its outlook for the skin health reporting unit, primarily Filorga. The Company concluded that the changes in circumstances in this reporting unit triggered the need for an interim impairment review of its goodwill and long-lived assets which consists primarily of trademarks and customer relationships. As a result of the interim impairment test, the Company concluded that the carrying value of the Filorga trademark and customer relationships exceeded their estimated fair values and recorded of $244 and $93, respectively, reducing their combined carrying values to an immaterial amount, as of December 31, 2025. After adjusting the carrying values of the Filorga trademark and customer relationship intangible assets, the Company completed a quantitative impairment test for goodwill and recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $582 in the skin health reporting unit, reducing the carrying value of goodwill to $51 as of December 31, 2025. The goodwill and intangible assets impairment charges are presented as a separate line item in the Consolidated Statements of Income.
The Company used the income approach to determine the fair value of the skin health reporting unit and the Filorga trademark and customer relationships that required significant judgments and estimates by management, including future cash flows consistent with management’s strategic plans, sales growth rates, operating margins, customer attrition rate, and the selection of royalty rate and discount rate, among others. Estimating sales growth rates requires significant judgment by management in areas such as future economic conditions, category and industry growth rates, product pricing, consumer tastes and preferences and future expansion expectations.
Historical Timeline
| Fiscal Year | Filed | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Feb 23, 2026 | Showing above |
| 2024 | Feb 13, 2025 | |
| 2023 | Feb 15, 2024 | |
| 2022 | Feb 16, 2023 | |
| 2021 | Feb 17, 2022 | |
| 2020 | Feb 18, 2021 | |
| 2019 | Feb 21, 2020 | |
| 2018 | Feb 21, 2019 | |
| 2017 | Feb 15, 2018 | |
| 2016 | Feb 23, 2017 | |
| 2015 | Feb 18, 2016 | |
About Goodwill & Intangibles Disclosures
Goodwill and intangible asset disclosures reveal the premium paid in acquisitions and how management assesses whether that premium retains its value. Since goodwill is no longer amortized under US GAAP, the annual impairment test is the only mechanism that adjusts carrying values downward — making the assumptions behind that test critically important for investors.
Key signals: a history of goodwill impairments suggests management consistently overpays for acquisitions. Watch the gap between reporting unit fair value and carrying amount — when fair value exceeds carrying amount by less than 10-20%, a small decline in business performance could trigger a write-down. For finite-lived intangibles, examine useful life assumptions across customer relationships, technology, and trade names; aggressive estimates inflate near-term earnings. Compare total intangibles-to-total-assets ratios against peers to assess acquisition dependency. Rising goodwill as a percentage of equity can signal balance sheet fragility.