Bounty and Charmin: An American FortressNarrow moat

Procter & Gamble (PG) — moat facet

Bounty holds nearly 40% of American paper towels, and in fiscal 2026 P&G cut prices through promotions and lost share anyway.

Family care is the most local business P&G has. The company describes it as predominantly a North American business, with shares of nearly 40% for Bounty and over 25% for Charmin1. Paper towels and toilet paper are bulky, cheap per cubic metre, and costly to ship far, so the business is built around factories close to American households.

Family care share of P&G net sales (%)9%FY20249%FY20258%FY2026P&G Form 10-K FY2026, operating segments as percent of net sales
A point of the company, gone in a year.

It was 8% of P&G's net sales in fiscal 2026, down from 9% in the two prior years2. It sits inside Baby, Feminine & Family Care, the segment with the most capital spending in fiscal 2026, $1,520 million, against $1,250 million for the larger Fabric & Home Care3.

The moat is scale plus shelf space. A retailer can stock only so many rolls of paper towel, and the leader with the best-known brand gets the most facings. Bounty's share is one of the highest P&G reports in any category.

Fiscal 2026 showed the limit. Family care share in North America fell 0.7 points, and pricing was lower because of merchandising investments4. In other words P&G paid for promotions and still lost share. In the June 2026 quarter family care share fell another 0.4 points5.

Pricing in the segment has fallen away. Baby, Feminine & Family Care took 3% of price in fiscal 20246, nothing in fiscal 20257 and nothing in fiscal 20268. Paper is the part of P&G where the gap between a leading brand and a store's own roll is easiest for a shopper to judge, and the price column shows it.

A fortress that has to spend to hold its walls is still a fortress, but the direction matters. That would change if North American family care share kept falling by more than half a point a year, because a paper business earns its return only at full factory utilisation. The share change, minus 0.7 points in fiscal 20269, is the number to watch.

Moat trajectory: Narrowing

North American family care share -0.7pt in FY2026 despite merchandising investment.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
North American family care share change, FY2026
-0.7 points

Whether promotional spending is holding the shelf; another year of losses would mean it is not.

Source: P&G Form 10-K, FY2026 ↗
⚠ Threats to the moat
⚠ THREAT 01
Promotions That Did Not Buy Share
P&G spent on paper towel promotions in fiscal 2026 and still lost 0.7 points of share.
References
  1. ReportedThe company describes it as predominantly a North American business, with shares of nearly 40% for Bounty and over 25% for Charmin.
    Procter & Gamble Form 10-K for fiscal 2026 (year ended 30 June 2026) - Item 7 MD&A: market shares and competitive activity by category. — FY2026 · publ. 4 August 2026 · source ↗
  2. ReportedIt was 8% of P&G's net sales in fiscal 2026, down from 9% in the two prior years.
    Procter & Gamble Form 10-K for fiscal 2026 (year ended 30 June 2026) - Item 7 MD&A and segment note: segment contents, operating segments and shares of net sales and net earnings. — FY2026 · publ. 4 August 2026 · source ↗
  3. ReportedIt sits inside Baby, Feminine & Family Care, the segment with the most capital spending in fiscal 2026, $1,520 million, against $1,250 million for the larger Fabric & Home Care.
    Procter & Gamble Form 10-K for fiscal 2026 (year ended 30 June 2026) - Note 2 segment information: net sales, earnings before tax, net earnings, margins, capital spending and depreciation by segment. — FY2026 · publ. 4 August 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedFamily care share in North America fell 0.7 points, and pricing was lower because of merchandising investments.
    Procter & Gamble Form 10-K for fiscal 2026 (year ended 30 June 2026) - Item 7 MD&A: net sales drivers, organic sales and gross margin bridge. — FY2026 · publ. 4 August 2026 · source ↗
  5. ReportedIn the June 2026 quarter family care share fell another 0.4 points.
    Procter & Gamble fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings slides, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - organic sales and core EPS history, share results and fiscal 2027 guidance assumptions. — Q4 FY2026 · publ. 29 July 2026 · source ↗
  6. ReportedBaby, Feminine & Family Care took 3% of price in fiscal 2024, nothing in fiscal 2025 and nothing in fiscal 2026.
    Procter & Gamble Form 10-K for fiscal 2024 - net sales drivers by segment for fiscal 2024 (price +4%) and top-ten customer share. — FY2024 · publ. August 2024 · source ↗
  7. ReportedBaby, Feminine & Family Care took 3% of price in fiscal 2024, nothing in fiscal 2025 and nothing in fiscal 2026.
    Procter & Gamble Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - segment results for fiscal 2023, net sales drivers, Walmart share, top-ten customers and debt at June 2024 and 2025. — FY2025 · publ. August 2025 · source ↗
  8. ReportedBaby, Feminine & Family Care took 3% of price in fiscal 2024, nothing in fiscal 2025 and nothing in fiscal 2026.
    Procter & Gamble Form 10-K for fiscal 2026 (year ended 30 June 2026) - Item 7 MD&A: net sales drivers, organic sales and gross margin bridge. — FY2026 · publ. 4 August 2026 · source ↗
  9. ReportedThe share change, minus 0.7 points in fiscal 2026, is the number to watch.
    Procter & Gamble Form 10-K for fiscal 2026 (year ended 30 June 2026) - Item 7 MD&A: market shares and competitive activity by category. — FY2026 · publ. 4 August 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 26, 2026