Procter & Gamble (PG)

The sleeper story is that P&G's restructuring is actually funding offensive moves, not defensive cuts. Andre explicitly called the 7,000 job reductions 'the enabler' to create 'smaller teams that are focused on the brand' and 'fuel for us to be able to invest over the next 12 to 18 months into the very strong innovation programs.' While everyone sees cost cutting, this is resource reallocation to win share wars in categories where they've lost superiority. The obvious headline is China's acceleration to 5% growth, but the real concern is North America's consumption 'decelerated throughout the quarter' from 'strong 2%' to 'weaker 2%' while only 24 of 50 category/country combinations now hold share versus 28 last quarter. The binding constraint is superiority gaps in core categories where competitors have caught up on quality while being more promotional. Andre admitted 'in some categories we have not been able to maintain the level of superiority that we know we need.' Most revealing quote: 'We don't believe it's just price. We believe it's the combination of all factors that we need to integrate.' My view changes if they can't show market share stabilization in North America by Q3 or if the restructuring savings don't translate to visible innovation acceleration by mid-2026.