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Stock Comparison · Structural lead, mixed market

Colgate-Palmolive Company vs Imperial Brands: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

Imperial Brands holds the cleaner structural position, with valuation as the main driver and growth adding further support. The market setup broadly confirms the structural lead — Imperial Brands holds the more constructive position. That puts structure and market broadly in agreement — Imperial Brands's lead looks more confirmed than conflicted.

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels.

Updated 2026-04-05

Most of the lead runs through valuation, while growth helps make the separation broader. The overall score gap is 11 points in favour of Imperial Brands PLC.

Trajectory Similarity
0.78
Similar
Peer-set rank: #11
within Colgate-Palmolive Company's functional peer set

This pair is matched through long-term financial trajectory similarity within the selected peer universe.

A solid similarity means the pair shares a clearly comparable long-term financial profile, even if individual dimensions still differ.

The clearest structural overlap shows up in margin consistency and capital structure.

Similarity drivers
margin consistencycapital structure
How to read the score
0.85–1.00 · Very similar0.70–0.84 · Similar0.55–0.69 · Moderately similarbelow 0.55 · Loose match
Peer-Relative Score
CL
Colgate-Palmolive Company
69
Peer-Score
Signal qualityMedium
vs
IMB.L
Imperial Brands PLC
80
Peer-Score
Signal qualityMedium

Scores reflect position relative to comparable companies with similar long-term financial trajectories.

The largest gaps do not all point in the same direction.

Dimension spread: CL vs IMB.L Profitability 96 96 Stability 80 79 Valuation 51 81 Growth 43 56 CL IMB.L
Gap Ranking
#1 Valuation +30
#2 Growth +13
#3 Stability +1
#4 Profitability
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for CL and IMB.L Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer CLIMB.L Relative valuation Structural strength

Structure stays fairly close here, while current pricing still looks more supportive for Imperial Brands PLC.

Valuation position uses peer-relative PE percentile (idx_pct_pe) where available.

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Valuation
Both rank well on valuation, but Imperial Brands PLC still holds a clear edge.
Growth
On growth, the edge still sits with Imperial Brands PLC, even though both profiles look solid.
Valuation — Dominant Gap
CL
51
IMB.L
81
Gap+30in favour of IMB.L

The multiple-based pricing edge comes from a forward P/E that is 12.5 turns lower.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

Colgate-Palmolive Company still carries lower volatility exposure — that difference is real enough to prevent the comparison from becoming one-sided.

What this means for the comparison

Valuation is the clearest driver, and growth also supports Imperial Brands PLC's broader structural position.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

Break down the CL vs IMB.L comparison across all dimensions with the full interactive tool.

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Similar valuation-driven comparisons

Explore how CL and IMB.L each compare against other companies in their peer groups.

Rule-based, descriptive analysis only. Derived from peer percentile dimensions. Not investment advice. Peer groups are determined algorithmically based on structural similarity — not by sector classification alone.

How AssetNext Peer Scores Work

AssetNext scores reflect each company's structural position within its functional peer group — not a ranking against all stocks simultaneously. Peers are identified by similarity across eight financial dimensions, including revenue growth trajectory, margin structure, capital intensity, and earnings stability. A score of 75 means the company ranks in the top quartile within its own peer group, not the entire market.

Four dimension scores drive the overall peer score: Growth (revenue trajectory and expansion dynamics), Quality (margin structure and capital efficiency), Valuation (peer-relative pricing on standard multiples), and Stability (earnings consistency and financial predictability). Each dimension is scored 0–100 relative to the peer group, then combined into an overall peer score using equal weighting.

Scores are recalculated periodically as underlying financial data is updated. All analysis is descriptive and rule-based — AssetNext describes structural realities and never issues buy, sell or hold recommendations.