Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG), which today reported better-than-expected fiscal third quarter quarter results, owes no small part of its success to Tide detergent. It's easy to see why.

Like many consumers, I am a loyal Tide user. In my unscientific opinion, it's orders of magnitude better than other brands. Plus, the Cincinnati-based company continues to amaze me with how many variations of this stuff it can dream up. My laundry room now has Mountain Spring Tide. That's sounds great, even though I am not quite sure that that means since it's been years since I've smelled an actual mountain spring.

Luckily for Procter & Gamble shareholders, there are plenty of Tide devotees like me. Net income in the quarter that ended in March rose to $2.51 billion, or 74 cents a share, compared with $2.21 billion, or 63 cents, a year earlier. Sales rose 8.4% to $18.69 billion. Analysts had expected profit of 74 cents on revenue of $18.56 billion, according to Thomson Financial

Procter & Gamble also raised its guidance for the year from $3.01 to $3.03 per share compared with $2.99 to $3.03. Analysts are forecasting profit of $3.03. Sales are expected to rise 11 % to 12% this year and 5% on an organic basis.

That's quite a bit of Tide.

Still, I guess investors were expecting better. Shares of the company are trading down in pre-market trading. Maybe the company needs to work harder to come up with even more variations.

How early summer morning?

Better yet, why don't you send me your ideas for new Tides and I'll forward them to the company.