Stock Market Today, Feb. 18: Kenvue Rises After Earnings Beat Expectations

Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE), maker of consumer health products including Tylenol, Neutrogena, and Listerine, closed Wednesday at $18.88, up 2.55%. The stock moved higher after Q4 results beat expectations and analysts raised price targets, while investors are watching progress on the pending Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) acquisition and related restructuring plans.
Trading volume reached 46.9 million shares, coming in roughly 3.9% above its three-month average of 45.2 million shares. Kenvue IPO'd in 2023 and has fallen 30% since going public.

How the markets moved today

The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX:^GSPC) rose 0.56% to 6,881, while the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX:^IXIC) gained 0.78% to finish at 22,754. Among personal care products, industry peers Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) closed at $111.61 (-0.47%) and Coty (NYSE:COTY) ended at $2.61 (+1.95%), showing mixed moves against Kenvue’s advance.

What this means for investors

Kenvue reported Q4 adjusted EPS of $0.27 compared to estimates of $0.22 on revenue of $3.78 billion that increased 3.2% year over year. Several analysts boosted Kenvue stock price targets into the $18-$20 per share range on the heels of the report.

Kenvue entered into a definitive merger agreement in November with Kimberly-Clark for a roughly $48.7 billion cash-and-stock acquisition. Kenvue announced a worldwide restructuring related to the merger, which includes reducing its workforce by 3.5% and incurring approximately $250 million in pre-tax charges for 2026. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026.

Howard Smith has positions in Kenvue. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Kenvue. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.