Who owns Colgate?
Colgate is owned by Colgate-Palmolive (the United States, NYSE: CL).[1]
Evidence: Colgate-Palmolive Company Annual Report on Form 10-K filed 2026-02-23, SEC EDGAR, 23 February 2026. Verified from filings; last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- Colgate-Palmolive Company verified
- Owner HQ
- 🇺🇸 United States, New York
- Origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Founded
- 1873
- Category
- Personal care & beauty › Oral care › Toothpaste & toothbrushes
- Parent ticker
- NYSE: CL
- Trademark registrant
- Colgate-Palmolive Company (USPTO)
- Last verified
- · 2 sources
About Colgate
Colgate sold the first toothpaste in a jar in 1873 and the first in a collapsible tube in 1896, an innovation that made daily brushing practical. The company traces to a starch, soap and candle business William Colgate started in New York in 1806, and the toothpaste is now the most widely used in the world.
How often Colgate-Palmolive names Colgate in its annual report
A plain count of the times the name appears in the text of each annual report, not counting the start of a sentence. A brand that an owner writes about more is usually one it treats as central. The brand is named less often than it was three years earlier.
Trademark record for Colgate
The USPTO record for the Colgate mark lists Colgate-Palmolive Company as the owner of record (serial number 87650573). That name matches the owner named above.[2]
Ownership timeline of Colgate
- Current owner Colgate-Palmolive [1] verified
Where Colgate sits in Colgate-Palmolive
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full Colgate-Palmolive ownership tree →
See the full Colgate-Palmolive brand portfolio (15) →
Other brands owned by Colgate-Palmolive
Colgate-Palmolive controls 15 brands on Brandtree, 10 of them in personal care & beauty.
Also in personal care & beauty
- Colgate Total (1992)
- elmex (1962)
- Filorga (1978)
- meridol (1990)
- Protex (1985)
- Sanex (1977)
- Softsoap (1980)
- Speed Stick (1978)
- Tom's of Maine (1970)
Other brands in toothpaste & toothbrushes, and who owns them
Colgate-Palmolive has more brands in toothpaste & toothbrushes on Brandtree than any other owner: 5 of 42.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Desensin | Dentaid | 🇪🇸 Spain |
| Close-Up | Unilever | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
| Parodontax | Haleon | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
| Pepsodent (United States) | Church & Dwight | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Bioniq | Dr. Wolff Group | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| CLINICA | Lion | 🇯🇵 Japan |
| Elgydium | Pierre Fabre | 🇫🇷 France |
| Crest | Procter & Gamble | 🇺🇸 United States |
About the owner: Colgate-Palmolive
Colgate-Palmolive is a publicly listed company headquartered in New York, United States, founded in 1806. Brandtree records 15 brands under its control, and it is listed as NYSE: CL.
Colgate-Palmolive traces to a New York soap and candle business started in 1806 and took its present form in 1928. Oral care is its largest business, and its Hill's Pet Nutrition subsidiary is a major veterinary pet food maker.
Colgate-Palmolive: full profile, brands and acquisition history →
🇺🇸 Colgate and other American brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 2,549 brands that began in the United States. 478 of them (19%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country; Colgate is not one of them.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of Colgate?
The parent company of Colgate is Colgate-Palmolive, a publicly listed company headquartered in the United States.
Is Colgate American?
Yes. Colgate originated in the United States in 1873 and its owner, Colgate-Palmolive, is also headquartered in the United States.
Is Colgate still owned by Colgate-Palmolive?
Yes. As of 4 October 2026, Colgate is still owned by Colgate-Palmolive. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (2) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] Colgate-Palmolive Company Annual Report on Form 10-K filed 2026-02-23 — SEC EDGAR, SEC Form 10-K, published 23 February 2026; retrieved 16 September 2026.
- [2] USPTO: COLGATE, serial 87650573 — United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark registry; retrieved 4 October 2026.
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