The Procter & Gamble Company
Explore The Procter & Gamble
Core profile pages, annual revenue records, and related research hubs for this company.
The Procter & Gamble Company
Explore The Procter & Gamble
Core profile pages, annual revenue records, and related research hubs for this company.
Company History
Founded 1837 in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
P&G began in Cincinnati in 1837 when William Procter, a candlemaker from England, and James Gamble, a soapmaker from Ireland, formed a partnership encouraged by their mutual father-in-law Alexander Norris.
William Procter brought candle-making and commercial discipline to the partnership that became Procter & Gamble.
James Gamble brought soap-making expertise and production quality to the partnership that became Procter & Gamble.
William Procter and James Gamble sign a partnership agreement on October 31, 1837, establishing Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, Ohio, with combined capital of approximately 7,192 dollars. The company initially manufactures candles and soap for local sale and distribution along the Ohio River system.
P&G wins contracts to supply the Union Army with soap and candles, generating significant revenue that enables manufacturing expansion and introduces millions of American soldiers to P&G products for the first time. The contracts establish the company as a significant regional manufacturer rather than merely a local producer.
Harley Procter and James Norris Gamble introduce Ivory soap, promoted as 99 and 44/100 percent pure and notable for its floating characteristic. The product launches with national magazine advertising — a pioneering investment in direct-to-consumer marketing — and becomes P&G's first nationally recognized brand.
Procter & Gamble incorporates in Ohio with capital of 4.5 million dollars and begins building manufacturing capacity outside Cincinnati, establishing the operational infrastructure for national distribution that the Ivory soap advertising campaign had created demand for.
P&G launches Crisco vegetable shortening, the first hydrogenated vegetable oil product marketed to American consumers as an alternative to lard and butter. The introduction demonstrates P&G's capacity for technology-driven product innovation and establishes the company's presence in the food ingredient category.
P&G executive Neil McElroy writes a famous internal memo proposing that each brand have its own dedicated management team responsible for competing against all rivals including other P&G brands. This memo establishes the brand management system that P&G develops into a standard organizational model and that business schools teach for decades afterward.
P&G introduces Tide synthetic detergent, which rapidly becomes the best-selling laundry product in the United States and establishes the template for all future P&G brand development: superior product performance, heavy consumer advertising, and sustained market leadership investment. Tide remains the market-leading laundry detergent in the United States nearly eighty years after its introduction.
P&G introduces Pampers disposable diapers, transforming the infant care category and creating what will become one of the company's most globally significant brands. The Pampers launch demonstrates P&G's ability to create entirely new consumer categories rather than merely competing in existing ones.
P&G completes the acquisition of Gillette Company for approximately 57 billion dollars in an all-stock transaction, adding Gillette razors, Braun appliances, Oral-B dental products, and Duracell batteries to the P&G portfolio. The acquisition is the largest in P&G history and significantly expands the company's presence in grooming and oral care categories globally.
CEO A.G. Lafley announces P&G's plan to divest more than 100 brands and focus the company on approximately 80 core brands in ten product categories. The strategic transformation represents one of the most radical portfolio restructurings in Fortune 500 history and reflects management's conviction that focus will drive superior long-term returns.
P&G completes the brand portfolio simplification, having divested more than 100 brands and consolidated around approximately 65 core brands. The transformation includes the sale of beauty brands to Coty Inc., the divestiture of Duracell to Berkshire Hathaway, and the exit from dozens of peripheral product categories that represented a fraction of company profits despite consuming significant management attention.
P&G reports fiscal year 2024 net sales of approximately 84 billion dollars and net earnings of roughly 14.9 billion dollars, while extending its consecutive annual dividend increase streak to 68 years and maintaining a market capitalization of approximately 380 billion dollars. The company increases its quarterly dividend by 5 percent, to 1.0065 dollars per share.
Added a leading grooming franchise and brands such as Gillette, Venus, Braun, and Oral-B.
Added Vicks, NyQuil, Olay, and Pantene-related health and beauty capabilities.
P&G is a global consumer packaged goods company selling daily-use brands such as Tide, Pampers, Dawn, Gillette, Oral-B, Crest, Olay, Always, Bounty, and Charmin. FY2025 net sales were $84.284 billion.
P&G reported $84.284 billion of net sales for FY2025. This figure is the headline source-backed value used for the financials page, revenue table, and quick company snapshot in this profile.
P&G's founding story traces to William Procter and James Gamble.
The Civil War supply contracts and later invention of brand management turned P&G from a Cincinnati soap-and-candle maker into a national consumer-products company.