After raising prices last summer, Procter & Gamble will update investors this week on its financial results amid a jump in gas prices and renewed inflation fears due to the U.S. war against Iran.
The Cincinnati-based consumer products giant disclosed last July it would boost prices around 5% on a quarter of its products sold in North America in part to offset the impact of President Trump’s trade wars.
The company initially anticipated the dispute between the U.S. and trading partners including Canada, China, the European Union and Mexico would cost the company as much as $1 billion in higher costs.
Despite fears that tariffs would spur inflation, Trump’s off-and-on style of fighting the trade war led to a relatively tame 2.7% increase in 2025. Since the fall, P&G has revised its estimate of higher costs from tariffs down to $500 million this year, before a February Supreme Court decision struck down Trump’s levies and opened the door to refunds.
Gas and inflation up since beginning of Iranian war
On Feb. 28, Trump announced the U.S. had launched “combat operations” against Iran, reigniting worries about inflation and the economy. Since then, the U.S. national average for a gallon of gas has jumped more than 30% above $4, up from $2.98 two days before the initial airstrikes, according to AAA’s fuel tracker. Earlier this month, new data by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed a jump in overall U.S. inflation rate of 3.3%, the highest increase of Trump’s presidency.
Renewed financial anxiety for consumers and global instability are unwelcome operating conditions for P&G. Last summer, the company launched an ambitious plan to slash 7,000 office jobs worldwide by 2027 that would help finance investments into a raft of upgraded products designed to lure customers to pay more for innovative items. The plan was announced following P&G’s disclosure last spring of its most sluggish annual sales performance in seven years.
When inflation rises, P&G prices follow
When P&G first announced the cuts, it cited “uncertainty” facing consumers as well as an “unpredictable … geopolitical environment.”
After a wave of inflation early in this decade, P&G disclosures show the company raised prices on its products to pass along higher costs of manufacturing. After boosting prices 1% in both 2020 and 2021 fiscal years, P&G raised prices 4% in 2022, 9% in 2023 and 4% in 2024 before slowing down to 1% in 2025.
Based in downtown Cincinnati, P&G employs 109,000 workers worldwide, including about 10,000 in Greater Cincinnati. Generating $84.3 billion in sales a year, the company produces a wide portfolio of consumer brands in your medicine cabinet and pantry, including Tide laundry detergent, Gillette razors, Pampers diapers, Pantene shampoo, Mr. Clean household cleaners and Vicks cough medicine.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: P&G faces renewed inflation pressures amid Trump’s war in Iran
Reporting by Alexander Coolidge, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
