Pampers and Always: About a Third of Two MarketsWide moat

Procter & Gamble (PG) — moat facet

P&G sells around a third of the world's nappies and menstrual products, bought by people who will not risk the cheaper one failing.

P&G's second pillar is the paper and absorbent products people buy for babies and for menstruation. The company says it holds more than 30% of the global baby care market, nearly 30% of feminine care, nearly 35% of menstrual care and over 15% of adult incontinence1. The brands are Pampers and Luvs, Always, Always Discreet and Tampax2.

Share of P&G net sales (%)9%Baby care FY20249%Baby care FY20266%Feminine care FY20247%Feminine care FY2026P&G Form 10-K FY2026, operating segments as percent of net sales
Baby care steady, feminine care gaining weight in the company.

Baby care was 9% of net sales in each of the last three years and feminine care rose to 7% from 6%3. Together with family care they form Baby, Feminine & Family Care, a segment with $20,401 million of sales and $3,930 million of net earnings in fiscal 20264.

The moat here is trust under stress. A parent buying a nappy is buying a night's sleep and a dry cot; a woman buying a tampon is buying a day without an accident. Neither wants to economise on the thing that fails at the worst moment, and both buy the product for years. That gives the leading brand a steady customer who switches rarely and trades up easily.

The growth story in fiscal 2026 came from abroad. Greater China baby care organic sales rose about 20%5, and in the June 2026 quarter baby care share rose 0.2 points while feminine care share fell 0.26. The segment as a whole grew only 1%, with volume down 1%7.

The category is also shrinking at its source in some countries, because fewer babies are born, which is why adult incontinence matters: it is the same technology sold to the other end of life.

The segment's size has barely moved in four years: net sales were $20,217 million in fiscal 2023 and $20,401 million in fiscal 202689. High shares in mature categories produce steady cash rather than growth, and the growth that exists is coming from particular markets, such as Greater China baby care, rather than from the franchise as a whole.

This is a durable, slow-growing franchise. It would weaken if baby care share began falling while births fall too, because then P&G would be losing a larger slice of a smaller market. Baby care share change is the number, and it was positive in the latest quarter10.

Moat trajectory: Holding steady

Baby care share +0.2pt in Q4 FY2026; feminine care -0.2pt.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
Baby care share change, latest quarter
+0.2 points (Q4 FY2026)

The franchise's direction; a run of negative quarters in a market with falling births would shrink it from both sides.

Source: P&G Q4 FY2026 earnings slides ↗
⚠ Threats to the moat
⚠ THREAT 01
Feminine Care Pushed Back in Two Regions
P&G holds nearly 35% of menstrual care and is still losing ground to rivals in IMEA and Europe.
References
  1. ReportedThe company says it holds more than 30% of the global baby care market, nearly 30% of feminine care, nearly 35% of menstrual care and over 15% of adult incontinence.
    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 brands are Pampers and Luvs, Always, Always Discreet and Tampax.
    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. ReportedBaby care was 9% of net sales in each of the last three years and feminine care rose to 7% from 6%.
    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 ↗
  4. ReportedTogether with family care they form Baby, Feminine & Family Care, a segment with $20,401 million of sales and $3,930 million of net earnings in fiscal 2026.
    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 ↗
  5. ReportedGreater China baby care organic sales rose about 20%, and in the June 2026 quarter baby care share rose 0.2 points while feminine care share fell 0.2.
    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 ↗
  6. ReportedGreater China baby care organic sales rose about 20%, and in the June 2026 quarter baby care share rose 0.2 points while feminine care share fell 0.2.
    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 ↗
  7. ReportedThe segment as a whole grew only 1%, with volume down 1%.
    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 size has barely moved in four years: net sales were $20,217 million in fiscal 2023 and $20,401 million 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 ↗
  9. ReportedThe segment's size has barely moved in four years: net sales were $20,217 million in fiscal 2023 and $20,401 million in fiscal 2026.
    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 ↗
  10. ReportedBaby care share change is the number, and it was positive in the latest quarter.
    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 ↗
Sources
Generated September 26, 2026