The Clorox Company
The Clorox Company manufactures and markets consumer and professional products worldwide. It operates through four segments: Health and Wellness, Household, Lifestyle, and International. The company home care cleaning and disinfecting products and laundry additives, skin sanitization and cleaning products, professional cleaning and disinfecting products, and professional food service products under the Clorox, Clorox2, Pine-Sol, Scentiva, Tilex, Liquid-Plumr, Formula 409, Purell, GOJO, CloroxPro, Clorox Healthcare, Hidden Valley, Poett, Clorinda, and Chux brands. It also provides bags and wraps, cat litter, and grilling products under the Glad, Fresh Step, Scoop Away, Kingsford, and Ever Clean brands; and dressings, dips, seasonings, sauces, water-filtration products, and natural personal care products under the Brita and Burt's Bees brands. The company sells its products through mass retailers; grocery outlets; warehouse clubs; dollar stores; home hardware centers; drug, pet, and military stores; third-party and owned e-commerce channels; distributors; and other retail outlets through direct sales force. The company was founded in 1913 and is headquartered in Oakland, California.
What does it do?
Clorox makes the everyday products you reach for without thinking — bleach, Pine-Sol, Liquid-Plumr, Burt's Bees, Hidden Valley Ranch, Kingsford charcoal, and yes, those Clorox wipes that sold out during COVID. They sell to regular households and also to businesses like hospitals and schools that need professional-grade cleaning products. Think of them as the company behind the stuff under your kitchen sink and in your pantry. They operate in over 25 countries, but the US is by far their biggest market.
Clorox sits in the 'Consumer Defensive' sector, meaning people buy their products even during recessions — you still need to clean your bathroom whether the economy is booming or tanking. After a brutal stretch that included a major cyberattack in 2023 that disrupted production and cost them hundreds of millions, investors are watching closely to see if Clorox can fully recover its footing. The company is also navigating a tough environment where store-brand (generic) cleaners are stealing shelf space from name-brand products as shoppers try to save money.
How does it make money?
Clorox generates its $7.1 billion in annual revenue by selling branded consumer goods through four business segments. Health and Wellness (cleaning products, bleach, disinfectants) is their biggest engine, followed by Household (charcoal, cat litter, bags and wraps), Lifestyle (Hidden Valley, Burt's Bees, Brita water filters), and International sales. They don't manufacture everything themselves — they rely on a network of suppliers and retailers like Walmart and Target to get products onto shelves, taking a margin between what it costs to make and what consumers pay. Net income came in at $0.8 billion on $7.1 billion in revenue, meaning they kept about 11 cents of profit for every dollar sold.
Why do investors care?
The bull case for Clorox is essentially a recovery story: if they can rebuild after the 2023 cyberattack, cut costs, and hold onto their brand premium, earnings should grow meaningfully from here. Their brands have genuine loyalty — many people simply won't swap Burt's Bees for a generic, which gives Clorox pricing power (the ability to raise prices without losing too many customers). The company also pays a dividend (regular cash payments to shareholders), which attracts income-focused investors and signals management confidence. But for the story to work, revenue growth needs to actually return — flat sales two years in a row is a yellow flag.
Deep Dive
MemberA full investor briefing on The Clorox Company — history, leadership, risks, and outlook.