Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NYSE: KMB), a consumer products entity whose colleagues include Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), is up today on third-quarter results. At the time of this writing, my screen was showing shares of Kimberly-Clark higher by a little under 6%.

According to the corporate press release, sales declined 1.7%. Not a great start, but Kimberly-Clark highlighted a better metric: organic sales increased 3%, helped along by price increases. Luckily, sales volume didn't fare too badly; they were essentially flat.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB), a consumer-products company that counts Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) and Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL) as colleagues, announced Q2 results on Thursday. The performance wasn't spectacular, but management successfully defended the bottom line from the recession by instituting pricing strategies that leveraged the brand equity of the company's portfolio.

The bottom line fell, of course, but probably not as far as it would have if there weren't any pricing mechanisms in place. Earnings per share came in at 97 cents. This was six cents lower than last year's adjusted Q2 income. Revenues were challenged by dollar fluctuations, dropping well over 5%. However, here's the silver lining: organic sales increased almost 3%, even with volumes on the decline.

I would think that all of the diapers the latest FightBaby goes through may have helped Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) a bit, but that was not the case.

The home of Kleenex and Huggies announced yesterday that it will cut 1,600 jobs, roughly 3% of its total workforce. A majority of the cuts will come from salaried and nonproduction workers; the company does not plan to close any plants. The company believes that these cuts will save roughly $150 million a year, or 25 cents per share. These results will be reflected the most in the second quarter, when the company will record $110 million of the costs.

Shareholders of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL) received some not-so-cool news on Wednesday. The consumer-products business was subjected to a downgrade courtesy of Linda Bolton Weiser of Caris & Co. The analyst changed the designation on Colgate-Palmolive from "Buy" to "Above Average." The effects of currency translations is what she's worried about. She believes that they could be a drag on earnings.

If you're a long-term shareholder, I probably wouldn't worry too much about this downgrade. The stock didn't react much to the news, dropping only modestly at the end of the trading session on Wednesday (it was down like 0.3%). Obviously Colgate-Palmolive, like Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Clorox (NYSE: CLX), and Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB), has great potential as a core investment because of its brand portfolio.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) shares surged after earnings easily topped Q4 expectations.
• AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) reported that its Q4 earnings fell while its revenue rose marginally.
• Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) posted a big loss and lower revenue due to strikes and design changes.
• Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) reported that Q4 profit fell despite higher revenue and lowered its guidance.
• Danaher Corp. (NYSE: DHR) lower Q4 profit topped analysts' estimates, sending shares higher.
• Eastman Kodak Co. (NYSE: EK) reported a Q4 net loss and announced additional job cuts.

Consumer-products company Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NYSE: KMB), whose colleagues include The Procter & Gamble Compay (NYSE: PG) and Energizer Holdings (NYSE: ENR), reported earnings for the fourth quarter, and they weren't great, at least to me. Sales decreased over 3%, and earnings per share were $1.01 on an adjusted basis, which represented a dive of 9%. According to Stocks in the News, that missed estimates by the proverbial penny. Another weak showing was cash from operations, which fell by 1%. Not disastrous, maybe, and certainly understandable, but disappointing, nevertheless.

One thing to keep in mind is that the swings in the value of the dollar affected net sales. Organic growth actually expanded by 5% in the quarter. Kimberly-Clark doesn't expect much to happen in 2009. Management's headline in the release states that adjusted earnings should be between $4 and $4.20 per share next year. This year, earnings were $4.14 per share. Also to keep in mind is that management is watching pension expenses.

"If you're going to stay invested, you should look to defensive sectors," explain Ron Rowland and Brandon Clay, who point to consumer staples as a top pick for the current market environment.

In their Invest with an Edge, the advisors explain, "Perhaps the best way to stay defensive is with the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLP), an exchange traded fund.

"In a bear market, opportunities are usually limited to certain sectors. Surveying the investment horizon, we think the consumer staples sector has the best opportunity for growth in this economy.

"Regardless how the economy acts, people still eat. Consumers may not shop at Whole Foods, but they'll still buy groceries. Companies like Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and Safeway (NYSE: SWY) will continue to rake in revenues from hungry customers.

"In addition, these companies should continue to receive additional revenue from consumers who normally shop at specialty stores, but can no longer afford to.

"Consumers may not be shopping at Sharper Image any more, but there are other creature comforts that will be difficult for Americans to abandon.

"Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) and PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) will still sell products during a prolonged downturn. In addition, companies providing toiletries and convenience like Procter and Gamble and CVS Pharmacy stand to do well during a shifty economy.

Clorox (NYSE: CLX) greeted investors on Friday with a sparkling clean earnings report for the fiscal first quarter. According to the press release, sales rose 8% once the effect of the Burt's Bees acquisition was eliminated, and earnings per share came in at $0.91. Analysts were looking for $0.84 per share.

That's an awesome beat. For the most part, shareholders don't have much to complain about. Operational cash flow did decrease, but you can once again factor in Burt's Bees and its effect on working capital. I always like to see cash flow increase, but since this is the first quarter, and since Clorox is backed by a whole bunch of powerful brands, I can let it go for now. Going beyond the numbers, I think the big thing to think about when considering Clorox is that it is, like colleagues Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL), and Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB), a pretty strong name in supermarket aisles. Who hasn't purchased some of the company's bleach or trash bags at one time or another? I know I've been attracted to Clorox's brand equity.

On a forward-looking basis, Clorox can be looked upon as a long-term dividend play. Right now, the stock has a decent yield and is comfortably away from the 52-week low. Of course, we've been hearing a lot lately about how currency rates may start to give global companies a hard time. That's something to consider with Clorox. My feeling is that long-term thinkers shouldn't sweat it too much. One thing about the management here is they seem to be very willing to aggressively protect their brand equity against no-name brand competition and to figure out exactly what marketing messages will work with consumers. That's my top priority when it comes to consumer-products businesses and retail. I always ask myself the following question: Does management get that it's all about the branding/marketing? From what I've read, I think Clorox gets it.

No, I don't think the stock is simply going to rise from here. But I do think it could be one of the better defensive plays out there (assuming there still is such a thing as defensive play these days, that is).

Disclosure: I don't own any company mentioned; positions can change at any time.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), which competes with Clorox (NYSE: CLX), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB), and Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL), will be reporting earnings for the fiscal first quarter on Wednesday. The data will be scrutinized carefully to see if P&G might be a viable idea in these tumultuous times. Of course, P&G is a great long-term investment for a core portfolio of buy-and-hold stocks, but there will be plenty of investors on Wall Street looking to gauge the company's potential as a defensive trade.

According to Earnings.com, P&G should earn about $0.98 per share. At least, that's the goal that analysts have set for management. If P&G hits that number, then it will have achieved a modest growth rate of around 6%. I expect P&G to beat expectations by a penny or two, given its recent history. The company usually is pretty good about that. Also, free cash flow should be more than acceptable to investors. Management watches cash-flow generation carefully (as it should), and traditionally makes that a priority. Naturally, it wants to balance the needs of long-term growth along with the need to deliver a proper flow of cash. So far, things have worked out over time on that count.

The big question now is: What about the future outlook? What the company says about this subject will probably end up driving the stock's reaction. The global marketplace is headed for a slowdown. Consumers are tightening their belts. Will they reach for generic brands and ignore the brand equity of the products in P&G's vast portfolio? P&G is going to have become aggressive about promoting its stuff. The company will want to make sure that people still feel their getting value for their dollar. That dollar, after all, goes farther with a generic equivalent. From my viewpoint, I think there is still value to be had from name brands. Even during a recession, I'll buy better quality items. Just yesterday I happened to pick up one of P&G's family members -- Bounty paper towels. It was on sale, but I'm sure there was a generic lurking around the corner that was cheaper. I didn't even bother looking for it. Sure, I do buy some generics, but I don't necessarily become obsessed with them.

P&G wasn't that far from the 52-week low at Monday's close. I wouldn't be setting up an earnings trade ahead of it because of all the uncertainty, but holders of the stock should fare reasonably well come the middle of the week (P&G did fine the last time).

Disclosure: I don't own any company mentioned; positions can change at any time.

Consumer-products company Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) was the latest company to see its stock placed on the chopping block. That's been happening a lot these days. The shares tumbled over 7% on Wednesday and closed at $57.22. While 7% is bad enough, it actually feels worse to say that the stock lost $4.45 per share on the session. When it comes to businesses that sell popular brands to consumers, shedding $4 per share is just awful. Especially for a stock that should be a defensive name, a proverbial port in the even more proverbial storm.

Kimberly-Clark posted an adjusted profit of $1.02 per share Wednesday morning, which was a penny better than analyst expectations. The article also states that the company is suffering from a shifting exchange-rate environment and competition from private-label products. That latter point is really going to be a problem for businesses such as Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Clorox (NYSE: CLX), and Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL). At some point, many will probably reach for generic items as opposed to name-brand counterparts.

This doesn't mean that companies who use big brands as their main ammunition for long-term growth should be avoided. Indeed, a company that can figure out how to strike a prosperous balance between the premium it can charge for its name products and the willingness of consumers to pay it will oftentimes do well in tough markets. Kraft (NYSE: KFT) had success with this during the previous quarter. Price increases were able to power results. Kimberly-Clark is going to be severely challenged in terms of maintaining margins and keeping up a proper level of marketing spending. Everyone's going after the consumer's wallet these days, so breaking out from the pack is a requisite undertaking.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) reported its Q4 and full-year results on Tuesday. The numbers looked very good to me (save for one, which I'll get to). P&G was up over 3% on Tuesday. Granted, the Dow saw one heck of a rally yesterday, but even so, P&G deserved a bid just due to its blue-chip corporate performance.

Revenues for the quarter increased 10%, and adjusted earnings per diluted share jumped over 19% to $0.80. For the year, revenues increased 9% and adjusted earnings per diluted share rose 15% to $3.50. As I stated in my earnings preview from the other day, Wall Street was looking for adjusted earnings to be around $0.78 per share. So P&G beat by two pennies.

Of course, the earnings beat is nice, but cash flow is even nicer. In fact, management likes to evaluate itself by comparing its free cash flow to net earnings. P&G would like the so-called "free cash flow productivity" metric to equal at least 90%. Well, shareholders need not worry, since productivity in these terms was 96% for the quarter and 106% for the fiscal year. Free cash flow for the year expanded by 21%, and it was more than enough to power P&G's great dividend.

The company that brings you Ivory Soap, Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), is set to divulge its Q4 numbers on Tuesday. So, what should shareholders expect from this consumer-products behemoth?

Well, I don't think it's going to be much of a surprise. Data at Earnings.com suggest that analysts believe P&G will do $0.78 per share in terms of the bottom line. Management actually expects around that number, as well. A recent piece I wrote about P&G reiterating its guidance shows that between $0.76 and $.78 per share is the range being looked at. So, I think we'll see the top end of the range reported tomorrow. P&G has a solid recent history of slightly beating expectations. Perhaps there will be a beat, but it most likely won't be by more than a penny.

This will represent pretty decent performance in a market wracked by horrible inflationary pressures. Going back to Earnings.com, the previous year's bottom-line number was $0.67 per share, so P&G will be looking at good double-digit growth. The top line, by the way, should expand at least 8%. Volume data will also be important to look at so investors can get a handle on how successfully the company is cultivating price increases. P&G has a significant advantage over competitors since its line of products is so well-known and trusted. I mean, when it comes to things like Ivory Soap, many consumers will refuse to alter their brand loyalties even if they have to pay more at the pump. Yes, sales of generic products obviously do have a challenging impact, but as I found with Kraft's (NYSE: KFT) recent earnings report, brand equity is a selective advantage in the Darwinian landscape of supermarket shelves. It's also useful for protecting margins.

It wasn't a super quarter for Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB). The consumer-products company only met expectations set for it by Wall Street. But, sometimes, that's pretty good, given the conditions the business is working in. As a matter of fact, I see that Brent Archer penned a recent post discussing how inflation is hurting Kimberly-Clark (and just about every other entity, as well). At that time, the company projected a $900 million increase in terms of inflationary pressures, double management's previous estimate. So, looking through this current earnings release, I can't help but feel that things could have been worse.

For the second quarter, net sales rose 11% to $5 billion. Earnings on an adjusted basis dropped a penny compared to the year-ago period, coming in at $1.03 per share. Like I said, that matched expectations, according to Briefing.com. Guidance for the future also appears to be in-line. Kimberly-Clark seems, to me at least, to be holding its own during a difficult time. And here's a couple cash-flow data points that should appeal to many investors. Operating cash flow for the quarter was up 16% to $753 million. Prudent management of the company's working capital benefited this metric. And on a six-month basis, cash from operations also increased, albeit not by much. That sum rose a little under 2% to almost $1.2 billion. I like to see good cash-flow numbers like that, especially for dividend-paying concerns.

And speaking of dividends, Kimberly-Clark's stock is trading at a great yield, over 4%. Of course, that means that investors buying today will need a lot of patience. You'll be paid to wait, but if you're into fast capital-appreciation rates, you probably won't get it here, not in this trading environment. Inflation will continue to be a concern for it, as well as consumer-product colleagues such as Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL), and Energizer (NYSE: ENR).

(See more of today's earnings news here.)

Disclosure: I don't own any company mentioned; positions can change at any time.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVID) sees strong Q1 results driven by Guitar Hero.
• Allegheny Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ATI) raised its Q2 earnings guidance ahead of its report.
• Cintas Corp. (NASDAQ: CTAS) strong Q4 and full-year results included a record quarterly revenue.
• Citigroup (NYSE: C) posted better-than-expected results despite a big loss on further write-downs.
• eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) reported better-than-expected results and offered a soft outlook (see transcript).
• Fastenal Co. (NASDAQ: FAST) posted strong Q2 earnings despite the housing slump but lower revenues.
• Grainger Inc. (NYSE: GWW) posted strong Q2 results on expansion in Mexico and China.
• Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG) beat Q2 expectations despite profit and revenue declines.
• International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) easily topped Wall Street earnings expectations.
• Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) beat Q2 estimates and raised its full-year forecast (see transcript).
• Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB) warned of lower Q2 earnings due to energy and distribution costs.
• Merrill Lynch & Co. (NYSE: MER) reported worse-than-expected Q2 results on further write downs.
• Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) earnings surged but investors were put off by its full-year guidance.
• Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) reaffirmed its guidance following the Kimberly-Clark warnings.
• United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) beat Q2 estimates, lifting shares from a recent 52-week low.
• ValueClick Inc. (NASDAQ: VCLK) posted weak results and warned about the second half of the year.

For more highlights from this week, see: Google, Intel, JPMorgan, Coca-Cola, Nokia and others

The earnings crunch continues next week. Among companies scheduled to report are Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Merck (NYSE: MRK), Texas Intruments (NYSE: TXN), Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), Halliburton (NYSE: HAL), United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS), Wachovia (NYSE: WB), Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Anheuser-Busch (NYSE: BUD), AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), Boeing (NYSE: BA), Hershey (NYSE: HSY), and Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) wants to calm the nerves of jittery Wall Street. According to this item, the Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) warning has spooked investors worried about inflation (I'm one of them). So, P&G wanted to let everyone know that things will be all right at the maker of Ivory soap and Pringles potato chips (or is that crisps?).

P&G is confident that it can deliver top-line growth of between 8% and 10% when it next reports. Also, management believes that earnings per share will still be somewhere between $0.76 and $0.78. You know it's a bad market when an announcement indicating that the status quo will merely be maintained as opposed to being exceeded is enough to keep a stock slightly in the green by a few pennies, as opposed to down nearly 5% (which is how the stocks of P&G and Kimberly-Clark are trading, respectively, as of this writing).

Of course, the fact that P&G came out and supported its guidance doesn't mean that inflation shouldn't be feared. We're still in bad shape in this regard, the bears haven't gone away, and I don't think either P&G or Kimberly-Clark are trading buys. I like both for the longer-term, and in terms of Kimberly-Clark, the yield is attractive. However, in terms of buy-and-hold-and-forget, you can't beat the safe reliability of P&G, whose product portfolio is one of the best out there in the consumer sector. I would imagine that P&G's brand equity is helping it navigate this vicious commodity storm, but don't think it can't weaken in coming quarters.

Disclosure: I don't own any stock mentioned; positions can change at any time.