Kao Corporation KAOOY

Consumer StaplesPersonal & Household Products & ServicesJapan

Last close 7.84 USD on Nov 1, 2026, +20.1% year to date

Quant rating

Quant rating D Rank 122 of 174 in Consumer Staples

Growth D 138 of 174
Valuation D 122 of 174
Quality C 80 of 174
Revisions D 144 of 174
Momentum A 16 of 174

Historical valuation

Multiples use consensus estimates for the next twelve months. The dashed line is the 5-year average.

Key data

Market cap: 21.6B
Enterprise value: 21.1B
52-week range: 5.95 – 8.26
3-year range: 5.95 – 8.42
Dividend yield: 2.06%
Beta (5 years): 0.27
Shares outstanding: 907M
Next earnings: –

About the company

Kao Corp is a Japan-based company engaged in the manufacture and sale of consumer products and chemical products. The Company operates in five business segments. The Hygiene & Living Care segment provides fabric care products, home care products, and sanitary products. The Health & Beauty Care segment provides skin care products, hair care products, and personal health products. The Life Care segment is mainly involved in the provision of commercial hygiene products, health drinks and other life care products. The Cosmetic segment produces counseling cosmetics and self-cosmetics. The above four business segments are included in the consumer products business. Chemical segment provides oil and fat products, such as oleochemical alcohols, oleochemical amines, fatty acids, and edible oils and fats for commercial use, functional material products, such as surfactants, additives for plastics, and high-performance water reducers for concrete, as well as specialty chemicals products.

Growth and profitability fiscal year ends December 31

Growth and profitability by fiscal year
	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014	5Y avg
Revenue (mil)	10,780	10,360	10,865	11,830	12,329	–
Revenue growth	4.0%	−4.6%	−8.2%	−4.0%	−7.9%	−4.2%
EPS (basic, normalized)	–	0.44	1.94	–	–	–
EPS growth	–	−77.2%	–	–	–	–
Gross margin	39.6%	39.2%	36.6%	35.4%	40.4%	38.2%
Net margin	7.1%	6.6%	2.9%	5.6%	7.7%	6.0%
ROE	11.2%	10.6%	4.5%	8.9%	11.6%	9.4%

Balance sheet, last quarter
Cash & short-term investments (mil)	2,072
Current ratio	1.80x
Long-term debt (mil)	1,016
Net debt (mil)	−428
Total equity (mil)	6,887
Net debt / equity	−0.06x
Net debt / EBITDA	–

Estimates and valuation

Consensus estimates and implied multiples
	Sales (mil)			EBITDA (mil)			EPS
Fiscal year	Mean est.	Growth	EV/Sales	Mean est.	Growth	EV/EBITDA	Mean est.	Growth	P/E
2018 actual	10,780	+4.0%	2.0x	–	–	–	–	–	–

Estimate revisions

Change in consensus estimates over 1, 3 and 6 months
	Sales				EPS
Fiscal year	Estimate (mil)	1M	3M	6M	Estimate	1M	3M	6M
2019	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
2020	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
2021	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

Earnings surprises

Reported results versus consensus, last 10 fiscal quarters
	FQ-9	FQ-8	FQ-7	FQ-6	FQ-5	FQ-4	FQ-3	FQ-2	FQ-1	FQ0
Sales reported (mil)	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Sales mean (mil)	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Surprise	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
EPS reported	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
EPS mean	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Surprise	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

FQ0 is the most recent reported quarter, FQ-1 the one before, and so on.

Peer comparison Personal & Household Products & Services

Peers in the same industry group, by market capitalization
Company	Market cap	Net debt/EBITDA	Net margin	P/B	FY1 P/E	FY2 P/E	FY1 EV/EBITDA	FY2 EV/EBITDA
KAOOY Kao Corporation	21.6B	–	7.1%	2.99x	–	–	–	–
PG The Procter & Gamble Company	374.5B	1.04x	18.1%	6.80x	23.1x	21.8x	16.2x	15.4x
CL Colgate-Palmolive Company	76.0B	1.35x	10.5%	321.88x	24.6x	23.3x	16.2x	15.5x
EL Estee Lauder Companies Inc	39.6B	1.53x	1.6%	10.38x	32.8x	27.3x	15.2x	13.4x
KVUE Kenvue Inc.	37.1B	2.14x	9.7%	3.51x	16.3x	15.5x	12.1x	11.3x
RKT Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC	45.8B	–	22.5%	6.06x	15.9x	15.2x	11.9x	11.3x
Mean		1.52x	11.6%	58.60x	22.6x	20.6x	14.3x	13.4x
Median		1.44x	10.1%	6.43x	23.1x	21.8x	15.2x	13.4x

Technical analysis

1M+7.0%
3M+16.5%
1Y+13.3%
3Y+38.2%

Financial statements in millions of USD

Income statement in millions of USD, fiscal years

Income statement, Kao Corporation, fiscal years, most recent first
	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013
Total revenue	10,780	10,360	10,865	11,830	12,329	13,386
Cost of revenue	6,514	6,299	6,892	7,648	7,348	7,665
Gross profit	4,265	4,062	3,973	4,182	4,981	5,722
Selling, general & administrative expenses	2,661	2,594	2,668	2,699	2,971	3,197
Research & development	390	395	444	462	513	567
Depreciation/amortization	174	180	197	202	228	264
Interest expense (income), operating	–	–	–	–	–	–
Unusual expense (income)	28.3	−10.4	189	27.9	80.2	32.4
Other operating expenses	−34.9	−30.2	49.8	−48.0	−57.3	−39.2
Operating income	1,047	933	426	840	1,247	1,701
Net interest income (expense)	35.3	27.0	25.9	43.4	56.3	−26.3
Gain (loss) on sale of assets	–	–	–	–	–	–
Other non-operating income (expense)	1.6	0.9	1.1	0.6	0.1	10.9
Net income before taxes	1,084	961	453	884	1,303	1,685
Provision for taxes	316	256	124	212	334	443
Minority interest	−3.2	−16.6	−16.2	−13.0	−15.5	−18.6
Equity in affiliates	–	–	–	–	–	–
U.S. GAAP adjustment	–	–	–	–	–	–
Net income before extraordinary items	765	688	313	658	954	1,223
Extraordinary items	1.6	−2.6	−1.6	−2.1	−1.7	−1.4
Net income	767	686	311	656	953	1,222
EBIT, normalized	1,076	923	614	867	1,327	1,733
EBITDA, normalized	1,624	1,485	1,249	1,552	2,086	2,567
Basic EPS, normalized	–	0.44	1.94	–	–	–

Balance sheet in millions of USD, fiscal years

Balance sheet, Kao Corporation, fiscal years, most recent first
	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013
Assets
Cash & short-term investments	2,133	2,343	2,114	2,073	2,973	3,491
Receivables	1,601	1,549	1,638	1,791	1,901	1,958
Total inventory	1,866	1,747	1,870	2,123	1,982	1,914
Prepaid expenses	88.2	87.5	80.3	83.6	83.1	76.4
Other current assets	94.2	88.2	96.4	85.7	98.0	99.4
Total current assets	5,783	5,815	5,799	6,157	7,037	7,540
Property, plant & equipment	3,551	3,435	3,876	4,408	4,976	5,622
Goodwill	1,475	1,453	1,561	1,463	1,595	1,715
Intangibles	507	521	563	459	457	467
Long-term investments	289	271	274	278	292	313
Note receivable	–	–	–	–	–	–
Other long-term assets	364	384	470	402	450	477
Total assets	11,970	11,880	12,544	13,167	14,807	16,133
Liabilities
Accounts payable	1,104	1,100	1,148	1,313	1,355	1,334
Payable/accrued	–	–	–	–	–	–
Accrued expenses	659	683	681	–	–	–
Short-term debt	5.3	4.6	99.4	4.9	7.4	4.0
Current portion of long-term debt	294	351	135	644	219	483
Other current liabilities	1,245	1,104	1,197	1,749	2,084	2,300
Total current liabilities	3,308	3,242	3,261	3,712	3,666	4,121
Long-term debt	1,253	1,205	1,616	1,356	2,108	2,169
Minority interest	195	204	201	178	163	141
Other liabilities	421	441	493	508	483	756
Total liabilities	5,177	5,093	5,571	5,753	6,420	7,186
Shareholders' equity
Preferred stock	–	–	–	–	–	–
Common stock	545	543	606	652	742	827
Additional paid-in capital	679	676	750	808	918	1,033
Retained earnings (accumulated deficit)	4,575	4,764	5,046	5,647	6,795	7,547
Treasury stock	−32.7	−37.7	−23.2	−26.4	−34.4	−37.4
Other equity	1,026	841	595	334	−33.9	−423
Total equity	6,793	6,787	6,973	7,414	8,387	8,947
Total liabilities & shareholders' equity	11,970	11,880	12,544	13,167	14,807	16,133

Cash flow statement in millions of USD, fiscal years

Cash flow statement, Kao Corporation, fiscal years, most recent first
	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013
Operating activities
Net income	1,084	961	453	884	1,303	1,685
Depreciation, depletion & amortization	548	563	635	684	759	834
Deferred taxes	–	–	–	–	–	–
Non-cash items	−21.4	−154	253	6.4	22.3	16.7
Changes in working capital	−336	−87.3	95.0	−576	−559	−456
Cash from operations	1,275	1,283	1,435	998	1,525	2,080
Investing activities
Capital expenditures	−452	−429	−471	−589	−621	−677
Other investing cash flows	6.9	137	−304	17.5	37.3	76.6
Cash from investing	−445	−292	−775	−571	−584	−600
Financing activities
Financing cash flow items	−14.5	−25.5	8.9	12.3	0	−20.6
Cash dividends paid	−454	−447	−492	−526	−590	−629
Issuance (retirement) of debt, net	–	–	–	–	–	–
Other financing cash flows	−649	−193	−84.3	−549	−641	−193
Cash from financing	−1,118	−665	−567	−1,063	−1,230	−843
Foreign exchange effects	68.9	95.1	72.4	118	141	−21.5
Net change in cash	−220	420	166	−517	−149	615
Free cash flow	822	853	964	410	904	1,403

Disclaimer

The financial data presented in this report is delayed and obtained from sources QDD Research believes to be reliable, including stock exchanges, SEDAR, and EDGAR. However, no representation or warranty is made as to the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the information. QDD Research accepts no liability for any errors, omissions, or financial losses arising from the use of this data.

This report is generated using a fully systematic and quantitative approach. All factor scores and the overall quant rating (ranging from D to A+) are derived from algorithmic models and are based solely on objective financial metrics. These scores are intended for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as investment advice or a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any securities.

QDD Research is not a registered investment advisor or broker-dealer and does not provide personalized financial advice. The content is not tailored to the specific investment goals, financial situation, or risk profile of any individual investor. We strongly encourage readers to consult with a licensed broker or investment advisor before making any investment decisions based on the information contained in this report.

Live quote provided by TradingView. Report data updated Nov 1, 2026 after market close.