SafetyMargin.ioSafetyMargin.io
BlogWatchlistCompare
Compare Stocks › CL vs T

Colgate-Palmolive Company (CL) vs AT&T Inc. (T): Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

As of 2026-06-19, CL is overvalued at $89, with a DCF intrinsic value of $45 and a margin of safety of -98%. T is undervalued at $22, with an intrinsic value of $57 and a margin of safety of 62%. Of the two, T has the wider margin of safety.

CL
Colgate-Palmolive Company
$89.48
VS
T
AT&T Inc.
$22.01

Rewards

CL
  • ★Colgate-Palmolive Company has maintained ROIC above 15% for 4 consecutive years, indicating a durable competitive advantage.
  • ★Gross margin of 60.1% indicates strong pricing power — typical of businesses with significant intellectual property or brand strength.
  • ★Colgate-Palmolive Company scores 98/100 on the Economic Moat Score (Wide Moat), with roic consistency as the strongest competitive dimension.
T
  • ★Free cash flow has grown at a 16.2% CAGR over the past 4 years, demonstrating strong earnings power growth.
  • ★Each dollar of retained earnings has created $14.89 of earning power — management is an exceptional capital allocator.
  • ★FCF yield of 12.7% is historically attractive — the business generates significant cash relative to its price.

Risks

CL
  • ⚠High leverage (13.49x net debt/equity) combined with thin interest coverage (-1.0x) poses financial risk.
  • ⚠10 insider sales with no purchases over the past 12 months — a persistent pattern of insider selling.
T
  • ⚠Altman Z-Score of 0.89 places the company in the distress zone — financial patterns resemble those of companies that experienced bankruptcy.

Key Valuation Metrics

Learn more →
CL
T
Valuation
$3.32B
Free Cash Flow
$19.44B
4.64%
FCF Yield
12.71%
34.68
Trailing P/E
7.24
22.13
Forward P/E
8.64
Quality & Moat
40.64%
ROIC
7.90%
363.58%
ROE
18.37%
60.06%
Gross Margin
59.41%
1.62
PEG Ratio
1.62
Balance Sheet Safety
13.49
Net Debt / Equity
1.16
N/A
Interest Coverage
N/A
1.33
Net Debt / EBITDA
3.33
2.30%
Dividend Yield
4.95%
CL: 3Ties: 3T: 6
CLT

Historical Fundamentals

Learn more →
CL

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.

T

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation. The dashed forward point is the forward P/E — today's price ÷ analyst consensus EPS.

$1 Retained Earnings Test

Learn more →
CL
$-1.07
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Market Cap Declined
Σ Retained
$1.96B
Δ Market Cap
$-2.10B
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer
T
$1.91
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Value Creator
Σ Retained
$22.78B
Δ Market Cap
+$43.59B
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Analysis

Learn more →
CL
98.0% Overvalued
Price is 98.0% above estimated fair value
Current Price: $89.48
Fair Value: $45.20
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued
T
61.6% Margin of Safety
Price is 61.6% below estimated fair value
Current Price: $22.01
Fair Value: $57.31
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued

Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth

Learn more →
CL

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $89?

+15.5%
Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
Standard FCF implies +9.9%

The market implies +15.5% Owner Earnings growth, above historical trends.

Standard FCF implies a demanding +9.9%, reflecting heavy growth investment.

T

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $22?

+2.5%
Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
Standard FCF implies +4.2%

The market implies +2.5% Owner Earnings growth, below historical trends — potential opportunity.

Standard FCF implies a more demanding +4.2%, reflecting heavy growth investment expected to generate future returns.

Economic Moat Score

Learn more →
CL
98/100
Wide Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Wide moat with strength across all dimensions. ROIC Consistency is the standout factor.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 4 years of fundamental data.
T
57/100
Narrow Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Narrow moat with margin stability as the key competitive advantage. Improving roic consistency would strengthen the moat.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 4 years of fundamental data.

Forensic Accounting

Learn more →
CL
-3.00
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.
T
-2.78
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Ownership Breakdown

Learn more →
CL
Insiders 0.1%Institutions 88.1%Retail & Other 11.8%
No. of Institutional Holders2,617
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.
T
Insiders 0.1%Institutions 69.3%Retail & Other 30.6%
No. of Institutional Holders3,701
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

Insider Buying Activity

Learn more →
CL
0
Buys (3M)
0
Buys (12M)
No open market insider purchases found.
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises
T
0
Buys (3M)
0
Buys (12M)
No open market insider purchases found.
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises

Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises.

Insider Selling Activity

Learn more →
CL
2
Sells (3M)
10
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $26.11M
MALCOLM GREGORY
Officer
$203,412
@ $88.44 · 2026-05-15
MASSEY SALLY
Officer
$751,633
@ $87.41 · 2026-05-07
TSOURAPAS PANAGIOTIS
Officer
$4.78M
@ $95.57 · 2026-02-12
HAZLIN JOHN
Officer
$1.98M
@ $94.25 · 2026-02-10
MALCOLM GREGORY
Officer
$1.21M
@ $94.91 · 2026-02-06
MASSEY SALLY
Officer
$1.51M
@ $95.03 · 2026-02-05
WALLACE NOEL R
Chief Executive Officer
$4.28M
@ $93.91 · 2026-02-04
DANIELS JENNIFER M.
Officer
$2.08M
@ $94.34 · 2026-02-04
SUTULA STANLEY J III
Chief Financial Officer
$9.22M
@ $94.27 · 2026-02-04
MASSEY SALLY
Officer
$100,061
@ $80.89 · 2025-11-21
MASSEY SALLY
Officer
$200,183
@ $88.97 · 2025-05-15
MASSEY SALLY
Officer
$736,152
@ $92.02 · 2025-02-25
MALCOLM GREGORY
Officer
$101,121
@ $95.94 · 2024-11-26
WALLACE NOEL R
Chief Executive Officer
$3.17M
@ $95.00 · 2024-11-22
SUTULA STANLEY J III
Chief Financial Officer
$4.27M
@ $94.11 · 2024-11-05
SUTULA STANLEY J III
Chief Financial Officer
$4.68M
@ $93.53 · 2024-11-01
HUND-MEJEAN MARTINA
Director
$240,228
@ $103.86 · 2024-08-23
DANIELS JENNIFER M.
Officer
$2.26M
@ $102.76 · 2024-08-08
TSOURAPAS PANAGIOTIS
Officer
$1.52M
@ $102.94 · 2024-08-08
KOOYMAN JOHN W
Officer
$2.55M
@ $102.88 · 2024-08-06
MASSEY SALLY
Officer
$1.64M
@ $103.28 · 2024-08-06
MALCOLM GREGORY
Officer
$1.09M
@ $103.10 · 2024-08-06
TSOURAPAS PANAGIOTIS
Officer
$3.98M
@ $99.47 · 2024-07-31
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives
T
0
Sells (3M)
0
Sells (12M)
SABRINA SANDERS S
Officer
$41,348
@ $27.57 · 2025-05-28
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives

Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives.

🎭 Mr. Market's Mood

Learn more →
CL
FearGreed
😐Neutral(55/100)

"Market is pricing this stock without strong emotion in either direction"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.
T
FearGreed
😨Fear(34/100)

"Market is pessimistic — investigate whether fears are temporary or structural"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

Composite sentiment score based on market signals. Inspired by Buffett’s "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

⚖️ Buffett Signal

Learn more →
CL
⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Neutral (55)
T
⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Fear (34)
View CL Full AnalysisView T Full Analysis

Frequently Asked Questions: CL vs T

Is Colgate-Palmolive Company or AT&T Inc. more undervalued in 2026?▼

Based on our discounted cash flow model, T trades at a 61.6% margin of safety (intrinsic value $57 vs. price $22), compared to CL's -98.0% margin of safety (intrinsic $45 vs. $89).

Which stock has a wider economic moat, Colgate-Palmolive Company or AT&T Inc.?▼

CL scores 98/100 (Wide moat), while T scores 57/100 (Narrow moat). The moat score measures competitive advantage durability across ROIC consistency, margin stability, revenue predictability, and reinvestment efficiency.

Is AT&T Inc. in financial distress?▼

T's Altman Z-Score of 0.9 places it in the Distress zone, signaling elevated bankruptcy risk. CL scores 6.7 (Safe zone). The Altman Z-Score is a five-factor model that predicts insolvency within two years; scores below 1.81 indicate significant distress.

Which company has better free cash flow, Colgate-Palmolive Company or AT&T Inc.?▼

AT&T Inc. (T) generates a 12.7% free cash flow yield, compared to Colgate-Palmolive Company's 4.6%. A higher FCF yield means the business converts more of its market value into cash that can be returned to shareholders or reinvested.

Which stock has higher return on invested capital, Colgate-Palmolive Company or AT&T Inc.?▼

CL earns 40.6% ROIC versus T's 7.9%. A higher ROIC means the company generates more profit per dollar of capital employed, a hallmark of durable competitive advantage in Buffett-style analysis.

Which dividend is safer, Colgate-Palmolive Company's or AT&T Inc.'s?▼

T's dividend earns a safety score of 91/100 (Very Safe), compared to CL's 64/100 (Safe). T has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years.