Kimberly-Clark Cuts Annual Profit View Over Tariff Uncertainty: Retail Confidence Climbs After Strong Q1

Shares fell 1.5% on Tuesday even as the benchmark S&P 500 index gained on reassuring remarks from top U.S. officials.

Kimberly-Clark Corp (KMB), the maker of Huggies and Kleenex, cut its profit forecast for the year on Tuesday amid tariff uncertainty.

"The current environment will now mean greater costs across our global supply chain versus our expectations at the beginning of the year," CEO Mike Hsu said.

"However, we remain confident in our ability to offset these costs over time and unlock our long-term potential."

Shares of the company ended 1.5% lower even as the benchmark S&P 500 index (SPX) gained on reassuring remarks from top U.S. officials.

Kimberly-Clark is one of the first companies to lower its outlook this earnings season due to policy and demand uncertainty, and more companies are expected to follow suit in the coming weeks.

Although there is room for tariff rollbacks and trade pacts, Trump's sweeping levies, announced earlier this month, will increase business costs across the board.  

Kimberly-Clark now expects its profits to be flat in 2025 compared to its previous forecast of high single-digit growth. The change reflects "a reassessment of its cost base, including potential impacts from changes in the global geopolitical landscape."

For the first quarter, the company posted $1.93 earnings per share on an adjusted basis, higher than the FactSet estimate of $1.86.

It reported $4.8 billion in sales, roughly in line with what the Street expected.

On Stocktwits, however, retail sentiment rose to 'bearish' from 'extremely bearish' a day prior, while 24-hour message volume jumped 350% to 'extremely high.'

Kimberly-Clark stock is up over 5% year to date.

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