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Forensic Analysis · Paper & Forest Products · as of Nov 8, 2026

Kimberly Clark Corp (KMB)

A forensic read on Kimberly Clark Corp built from its complete SEC filings — financial-health screens, earnings quality, red flags and a price-aware rating. Reproducible math, not opinion.

B · Sound & dependable
Forensic grade
Grey Zone
Financial health
2.2
Distress distance
Clean
Earnings quality
1
Forensic signals
172.6%
ROE
-2.1%
Revenue growth

This free snapshot doesn't read filing or proxy text, so the auditor-quality and governance checks that can lower a grade were not evaluated (auditor quality, say on pay, board independence, going concern). Those checks only ever lower a grade, so the full analysis can land below the grade above but never above it — treat it as the most favourable reading, not the settled one.

Kimberly Clark Corp earns a B (Sound & dependable) forensic quality grade, and its balance-sheet distress test reads 2.2, placing it in the Grey zone. 1 forensic signal was flagged in its latest SEC filings, led by shareholder returns.

What the filings flag

110% of FCF
FY2025
Shareholder returns. Returned $1.8B to shareholders (buybacks + dividends) in FY2025 — 110% of free cash flow. That is $162M (10%) more than free cash flow covered. It came out of the balance sheet's own liquid holdings, not new debt: cash fell $322M over FY2025, while total debt fell $529M. That ratio has been CLIMBING past free cash flow — 65% of free cash flow two years back — not just sitting there. Counting the $140M of stock-based comp paid out in shares on top of that, the combined claim on free cash flow is 118%.

Key fundamentals

Latest Revenue$16.45B
Revenue Growth YoY-2.1%
Revenue CAGR (2yr)-2.1%
Net Margin12.3%
Free Cash Flow$1.64B
Return on Equity172.6%
Debt / Equity4.58x

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Data from SEC EDGAR public filings · metrics as of Nov 8, 2026. Forensic signals flag probability, not certainty.

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