⚠ Hair Care Losing Half a PointModerate threat

Procter & Gamble (PG) — threat to the moat

P&G leads world hair care with about a fifth of the market and lost half a point of it in fiscal 2026.

Hair care is where P&G's leadership is thinnest in share terms and where it slipped most in fiscal 2026. The company holds about 20% of the global retail hair care market, as the leader1, with Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene and Rejoice2. In fiscal 2026 hair care share fell 0.5 points, with the decline in North America due to competitive activity3, and in the June 2026 quarter it fell another 0.2 points4.

Hair care share change (points)-0.5FY2026-0.2Q4 FY2026P&G Form 10-K FY2026 and Q4 FY2026 earnings slides
Two readings, both negative.

Hair care is 9% of P&G's net sales5, the same weight as baby care. A leader with a fifth of the market has more rivals near it than one with a third, and hair care is a category where new brands can appear quickly and win through fashion as much as performance.

The Beauty segment's results show the cost of defending it: sales rose 7% but net earnings fell to $2,672 million from $2,715 million6.

Beauty's growth came from elsewhere. The segment's volume rose 4% in fiscal 20267, so hair care's share loss happened inside a growing business, and hair care stayed at 9% of P&G's net sales in each of the last three years8. The category is holding its weight in the company while losing ground in its market.

The warning would be a third consecutive period of share loss. If North American hair care loses another half point in fiscal 2027, the category will have been conceded, not defended, and Beauty's margin, 16.7% in fiscal 20269, will keep falling.

References
  1. ReportedThe company holds about 20% of the global retail hair care market, as the leader, with Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene and Rejoice.
    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. ReportedThe company holds about 20% of the global retail hair care market, as the leader, with Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene and Rejoice.
    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 ↗
  3. ReportedIn fiscal 2026 hair care share fell 0.5 points, with the decline in North America due to competitive activity, and in the June 2026 quarter it fell another 0.2 points.
    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 ↗
  4. ReportedIn fiscal 2026 hair care share fell 0.5 points, with the decline in North America due to competitive activity, and in the June 2026 quarter it fell another 0.2 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 ↗
  5. ReportedHair care is 9% of P&G's net sales, the same weight as baby care.
    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 ↗
  6. ReportedThe Beauty segment's results show the cost of defending it: sales rose 7% but net earnings fell to $2,672 million from $2,715 million.
    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 ↗
  7. ReportedThe segment's volume rose 4% in fiscal 2026, so hair care's share loss happened inside a growing business, and hair care stayed at 9% of P&G's net sales in each of the last three 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 ↗
  8. ReportedThe segment's volume rose 4% in fiscal 2026, so hair care's share loss happened inside a growing business, and hair care stayed at 9% of P&G's net sales in each of the last three 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 ↗
  9. ReportedIf North American hair care loses another half point in fiscal 2027, the category will have been conceded, not defended, and Beauty's margin, 16.7% in fiscal 2026, will keep falling.
    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 ↗
Sources
Generated September 26, 2026