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Henkel raised its 2026 organic sales growth forecast to 3%–4% after third-quarter sales rose 11% nominally to €5.7 billion, with organic growth of 6.5%. Its consumer brands outlook also improved, while the company said acquisitions are expected to add growth in the low-single-digit range.
Henkel raised its 2026 organic sales growth forecast after third-quarter sales rose 11% nominally to €5.7 billion and organic sales increased 6.5% year over year. The German consumer goods group said growth came from all regions and both business areas, with its adhesives division leading; the higher forecast points to stronger expected sales momentum for the remainder of the year.
Henkel now expects group organic sales growth of 3% to 4% for the full 2026 financial year, compared with its previous forecast of 1.5% to 3.5%. Organic growth measures sales excluding the effects of acquisitions, divestments and currency movements, so it offers a view of underlying performance rather than the change in reported revenue alone. The company’s third-quarter nominal sales figure includes those effects.
The consumer brands business, which includes hair care labels Schwarzkopf and got2b as well as laundry and home care products, recorded organic sales growth of 4.8%. Henkel said hair care, laundry and home care contributed to the result. It cited price development of 3.2% and volume growth of 1.6% in the division. The company has raised its 2026 organic growth outlook for consumer brands to 1.5%–2.5%, from a previous range of 0.5%–2.5%.
Henkel said acquisitions are expected to contribute positively to sales in the low-single-digit range. The company’s recent hair care acquisitions include Olaplex and Not Your Mother’s. The source report does not give a separate third-quarter organic growth rate for the adhesives division, but identifies it as the leading contributor to group growth.
Higher Guidance Sets a Stronger Sales Bar
The revised forecast gives investors and customers a higher benchmark for Henkel’s performance in 2026. It indicates that management expects the strength seen in the third quarter to support better full-year organic growth, rather than treating the quarter as an isolated improvement. The upgrade is broad at group level, while the consumer brands revision shows that the stronger outlook is not limited to adhesives.
The details also distinguish underlying growth from the boost expected from acquisitions. Henkel’s 6.5% organic third-quarter increase reflects sales growth excluding acquisition and currency effects, while the company separately expects acquisitions to add a low-single-digit contribution. This matters when judging whether performance is coming from demand and pricing in existing businesses or from a larger portfolio.
For consumer brands, the reported combination of 3.2% price development and 1.6% volume growth suggests that both pricing and quantities sold contributed to the division’s quarterly organic increase. Those figures describe the quarter and should not be read as a guarantee of the same pattern in future periods.
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Third-Quarter Growth Across Henkel
The upgrade follows a quarter in which Henkel reported sales of €5.7 billion, up 11% on a nominal basis from the same period a year earlier. Organic sales rose 6.5%. Because nominal sales include factors such as currency movements and acquisitions, the two measures are not interchangeable; the source report does not provide a breakdown of how much each factor contributed to the nominal increase.
Henkel operates across two business areas: adhesives and consumer brands. Its consumer portfolio spans hair care as well as laundry and home care, and the company has been expanding its hair care offering through acquisitions. The revised consumer brands guidance applies to that business area’s organic growth, while the separate low-single-digit estimate describes the expected positive impact of acquisitions on sales.
Henkel CEO Carsten Knobel said the company had strengthened its portfolio through acquisitions while pursuing its growth strategy. The company’s statement described the market environment as challenging, but did not provide a detailed regional or category-level account of demand in the supplied results summary.
“In a market environment that remains challenging, we delivered very strong organic sales growth.”
— Carsten Knobel, Henkel CEO
Demand and Acquisition Effects Ahead
The revised outlook is a forecast, not a final result. Henkel has not yet reported full-year 2026 sales, and the supplied material does not specify the precise regional contributions, category-level results beyond consumer brands, or the assumptions behind the new guidance. It is also unclear how much of the group’s nominal quarterly increase came from currency movements and acquisitions.
The company expects acquisitions to have a positive sales impact in the low-single-digit range, but the provided information does not state the exact percentage, timing of contributions, or how the expected impact is divided among acquired brands. The outlook can also change if market conditions or sales performance shift during the remaining reporting periods.
Full-Year Results Will Test the Forecast
Henkel’s next results updates will show whether the third-quarter pace carries into the rest of 2026 and whether group and consumer brands sales remain within the newly raised ranges. Readers should look for reported organic growth alongside nominal sales, since the measures account for different factors.
The company is also expected to provide further information on how acquisitions contribute to sales as the acquired businesses are incorporated into its results. Until Henkel reports those later periods, the revised ranges remain management’s expectations rather than confirmed full-year outcomes.
Key Questions
What changed in Henkel’s 2026 sales outlook?
Henkel raised its forecast for group organic sales growth to 3%–4%, from 1.5%–3.5%. Its consumer brands forecast increased to 1.5%–2.5%, from 0.5%–2.5%.
How did Henkel perform in the third quarter?
Sales rose 11% nominally to €5.7 billion compared with the same period a year earlier. Organic sales, which exclude acquisition, divestment and currency effects, grew 6.5%.
Which Henkel business led quarterly growth?
Henkel said its adhesives division led growth. Both business areas and all regions contributed, while consumer brands posted 4.8% organic sales growth.
What drove consumer brands growth?
Henkel cited hair care, laundry and home care. It reported 3.2% price development and 1.6% volume growth for the division.
How much are acquisitions expected to add?
Henkel expects acquisitions to have a positive impact on sales in the low-single-digit range. The supplied report does not give a more precise figure or detail the contribution by acquired brand.
Source: cosmeticsbusiness.com
