Investors no longer smiling as Colgate's market share worries weigh

Rise in competitive intensity could make share gains difficult

After the initial gains last week, following its better-than-expected performance in the June quarter (Q1), the stock of Colgate-Palmolive India (Colgate) lost most of the gains. The Street is worried about the pace of market share recovery for the toothpaste major.

Q1 offers some positives, including an increase in toothpaste revenues, which could reflect on market share gains. The company lost 400 basis points (bps) of market share in June 2019, and stopped giving data on this since then.

However, good performance by the oral care segment of other FMCG majors like Hindustan Unilever and Dabur raises doubts about Colgate’s market share