For financial data by geographic region, refer to the information set forth under the caption “Results of Operations” in Part II, Item 7, of this report and in Note 15, Segment Information to the Consolidated Financial Statements. For a discussion of risks associated with our international operations, see Item 1A “Risk Factors.”

SetIn addition to the risks described elsewhere in this report, set forth below is a summary of the material risks to an investment in our securities. These risks are not the only ones we face. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also have an adverse effect on us. If any of the belowthese risks actually occur, our business, results of operations, cash flows orand financial condition could be materially and adversely impacted, which might cause the value of our securities to decline.

These risks could have a significant impact on our ability to sell our products on a competitive basis in international markets and may adversely affect our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.

In an effort to minimize the impact on earnings of foreign currency rate movements, we engage in a combination of cost-containment measures,selling price increases, where permitted, sourcing strategies, selling price increasescost-containment measures and selective hedging of foreign currency transactions. However, these measures may not succeed in offsetting any negative impact of foreign currency rate movements on our business and results of operations.

We face vigorous competition worldwide, including from strong local competitors and from other large, multinational companies, some of which may have greater resources than we do. We face this competition in several aspects of our business, including, but not limited to, the pricing of products, promotional activities, new product introductions and expansion into new geographies. Such competition also extends to administrative and legal challenges of product claims and advertising. Our ability to compete also depends on the strength of our brands and on our ability to enforce and defend our intellectual property, including patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret and trade dress rights against infringement and legal challenges brought by competitors.

We may be unable to anticipate the timing and scale of such initiatives or challenges by competitors or to successfully counteractrespond to them, which could harm our business. In addition, the cost of responding to such initiatives and challenges, including management time, out-of-pocket expenses and price reductions, may affect our performance in the relevant period. A failure to compete effectively could adversely affect our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.

Our business is subject to extensive legal and regulatory requirements in the U.S. and abroad. Such legal and regulatory requirements apply to most aspects of our products, including their development, ingredients, manufacture, packaging, labeling, storage, transportation, distribution, export, import, advertising and sale. U.S. federal authorities, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”), the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency, regulate different aspects of our business, along with parallel authorities at the state and local levels and comparable authorities overseas. Also, our selling practices are regulated by competition law authorities in the U.S. and abroad.

Because of our extensive international operations, we could be adversely affected by violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the “FCPA”) and similar worldwide anti-bribery laws. The FCPA and similar worldwide anti-bribery laws generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to government officials or other third parties for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. While our policies mandate compliance with these anti-bribery laws, we cannot provide assurance that our internal control policies and procedures will always protect us from reckless or criminal acts committed by our employees, joint-venture partners or agents. Violations of these laws, or allegations of such violations, could disrupt our business and adversely affect our reputation and our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.

While it is our policy and practice to comply with all legal and regulatory requirements applicable to our business, a finding that we are in violation of, or out of compliance with, applicable laws or regulations could subject us to civil remedies, including fines, damages, injunctions or product recalls, or criminal sanctions, any of which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition. Even if a claim is unsuccessful, is without merit or is not fully pursued, the negative publicity surrounding such assertions regarding our products, processes or business practices could adversely affect our reputation and brand image. For information regarding our legal and regulatory matters, see Item 3 “Legal Proceedings” and Note 13, Commitments and Contingencies to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Our products are sold in a highly competitive global marketplace which has experienced increased trade concentration and the growing presence of large-format retailers and discounters. With the growing trend toward retail trade consolidation, we are increasingly dependent on key retailers, and some of these retailers, including large-format retailers, may have greater bargaining strength than we do. They may use this leverage to demand higher trade discounts, allowances or slotting fees, which could lead to reduced sales or profitability. The loss of a key customer or a significant reduction in sales to a key customer could adversely affect our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition. For additional information regarding our customers, see “Distribution; Raw Materials; Competition; Trademarks and Patents” in Item 1 “Business.”

We may also be negatively affected by changes in the policies or practices of our retail trade customers, such as inventory de-stocking, limitations on access to shelf space, delisting of our products, environmental or sustainability initiatives and other conditions. For example, a determination by a key retailer that any of our ingredients should not be used in certain consumer products or should otherwise be newly restricted could adversely impact our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition. In addition, private label products sold by retail trade chains, which are typically sold at lower prices than branded products, are a source of competition for certain of our product lines, including liquid hand soaps and shower gels. The emergence of new sales channels for our products, such as sales via e-commerce, may affect consumer preferences and market dynamics and could also adversely impact our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.

Our growth depends on the continued success of existing products, as well as the successful development and launch of innovative new products and line extensions. The development and introduction of innovative new products and line extensions involve considerable costs, and any new product or line extension may not generate sufficient customer and consumer interest and sales to become a profitable product or to cover the costs of its development and promotion. Our ability to achieve a successful launch of a new product or line extension could be adversely affected by preemptive actions taken by competitors in response to the launch, such as increased promotional activities and advertising. In addition, our ability to create new products and line extensions and to sustain existing products is affected by whether we can successfully:

The identification, development and introduction of innovative new products and line extensions involve considerable costs, and any new product or line extension may not generate sufficient customer and consumer interest and sales to become a profitable product or to cover the costs of its development and promotion. Our ability to achieve a successful launch of a new product or line extension could also be adversely affected by preemptive actions taken by competitors in response to the launch, such as increased promotional activities and advertising.

In the fourth quarter of 2012, we commenced a four-year Global Growth and Efficiency Program for sustained growth, which was expanded in 2014 and 2015 (the “2012 Restructuring Program”) for sustained growth.. The 2012 Restructuring Program’s initiatives are expected to help us ensure continued andsustained solid worldwide growth in unit volume, organic sales and earnings per share and enhance our global leadership positions in our core businesses.

Maintaining our strong reputation with consumers and our trade partners globally is critical to selling our branded products. Accordingly, we devote significant time and resources to programs designed to protect and preserve our reputation, such as our Ethics and Compliance, Sustainability, Brand Protection and Product Safety, Regulatory and Quality initiatives. Adverse publicity about us, our brands, our supply chain or our ingredients regarding health concerns, legal or regulatory proceedings, environmental impacts (including packaging, energy and water use and waste management) or other sustainability or policy issues, whether or not deserved, could jeopardize our reputation. In addition, negative posts or comments about us on any social media website, whether true or untrue, could harm our reputation. The success of our brands could also suffer if our marketing initiatives do not have the desired impact on a brand's image or its ability to attract consumers.

In addition, third parties sell counterfeit versions of our products, which are inferior or may pose safety risks. As a result, consumers of our brands could confuse our products with these counterfeit products, which could cause them to refrain from purchasing our brands in the future and in turn could impair our brand equity and adversely affect our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.

Similarly, adverse publicity about us or our brands regarding health concerns, legal or regulatory proceedings, environmental impacts, including packaging, energy and water use and waste management, or other sustainability issues, whether or not deserved, could jeopardize our reputation. In addition, negative posts or comments about us on any social media web site could harm our reputation. Damage to our reputation or loss of consumer confidence in our products for these or any of these

We are engaged in manufacturing and sourcing of products and materials on a global scale. We are subject to the risks inherent in such activities,Our operations and those of our suppliers could be disrupted by a number of factors, including, but not limited to:

We rely extensively on information technology systems (“IT Systems”), including some which rely on third-party service providers,are managed, hosted, provided and/or used by third parties and their vendors, in order to conduct our business. TheseOur uses of these systems include, but are not limited to:

Although we have networka broad array of information security measures in place, the systems mayour IT Systems, including those of third-party service providers with whom we have contracted, have been, and will likely continue to be, vulnerablesubject to computer viruses security breachesor other malicious codes, unauthorized access attempts, phishing and other similar disruptionscyber-attacks. We cannot guarantee that our security efforts will prevent breaches or breakdowns of our, or our third-party service providers’, IT Systems since the techniques used in these attacks change frequently and may be difficult to detect for periods of time. In addition, although we have policies and procedures in place to ensure that all personal information collected by the Company or its third-party service providers is securely maintained, data breaches due to human error or intentional or unintentional conduct have occurred and likely will continue to occur. Although we have seen no material impact on our business operations from unauthorized users. Whilethe cyber-security attacks and data breaches we have experienced to date, if we suffer a loss or disclosure of confidential business or stakeholder information as a result of a breach of our IT Systems, including those of third-party service providers with whom we have contracted, we may suffer reputational, competitive and/or business harm, incur significant costs and be subject to government investigations, civil litigation, fines and/or damages, which may adversely impact our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.

Uncertain global economic conditions could adversely affect our business. Recent global economic trends pose challenges to our business and could result in declining revenues, profitability and cash flows. Although we suffer a losscontinue to devote significant resources to support our brands and market our products at multiple price points, during periods of economic uncertainty consumers may reduce consumption or disclosure of confidential business or stakeholder information as a result of a breachswitch to economy brands, which could reduce sales volumes of our information technology systemsproducts or failureresult in a shift in our product mix from higher margin to lower margin product offerings. Additionally, retailers may increase pressure on our selling prices or increase promotional activity for lower-priced or value offerings as they seek to maintain sales volumes and margins.

While we currently generate significant cash flows from ongoing operations and have access to global credit markets through our various financing activities, a disruption in the credit markets could negatively impact the availability or cost of third-party service providers, wefunding. Reduced access to credit or increased costs could adversely affect our liquidity and capital resources or significantly increase our cost of capital. In addition, if any financial institutions that hold our cash or other investments or that are parties to our revolving credit facilities supporting our commercial paper program or other financing arrangements, such as interest rate or foreign exchange hedging instruments, were to declare bankruptcy or become insolvent, they may suffer reputational, competitive, and/be unable to perform under their agreements with us. This could leave us with reduced borrowing capacity or unhedged against certain interest rate, foreign currency or commodity price exposures. In addition, tighter credit markets may lead to business harm,disruptions for certain of our suppliers, contract manufacturers or trade customers which maycould, in turn, adversely impact our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.

The Company owns or leases approximately 370330 properties which include manufacturing, distribution, research and office facilities worldwide. Our corporate headquarters is located in leased property at 300 Park Avenue, New York, New York.

In the U.S., the Company operates approximately 70 properties, of which 1415 are owned. Major U.S. manufacturing and warehousing facilities used by the Oral, Personal and Home Care product segment of our business are located in Morristown, New Jersey;Greenwood, South Carolina; Morristown, Tennessee; and Cambridge, Ohio. The Pet Nutrition segment has major manufacturing and warehousing facilities in Bowling Green, Kentucky; Topeka, Kansas; Emporia, Kansas; and Richmond, Indiana. The primary research center for Oral, Personal and Home Care products is located in Piscataway, New Jersey, and the primary research center for Pet Nutrition products is located in Topeka, Kansas. Our global data center is also located in Piscataway, New Jersey.

Overseas, the Company operates approximately 300260 properties, of which 8474 are owned, in over 7080 countries. Major overseas manufacturing and warehousing facilities used by the Oral, Personal and Home Care product segment of our business are located in Australia, Brazil, China, Colombia, France, Greece, Guatemala,India, Italy, Mexico, Poland, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, Venezuela and Vietnam. The Pet Nutrition segment has major manufacturing and warehousing facilities in the Czech Republic and the Netherlands.

All of the facilities we operate are well maintained and adequate for the purpose for which they are intended.

As a global company serving consumers in more than 200 countries and territories, the Company is routinely subject to a wide variety of legal proceedings. These include disputes relating to intellectual property, contracts, product liability, marketing, advertising, foreign exchange controls, antitrust and trade regulation, as well as labor and employment, privacy, environmental and tax matters, and consumer class actions. Management proactively reviews and monitors the Company’s exposure to, and the impact of, environmental matters. The Company is party to various environmental matters and, as such, may be responsible for all or a portion of the cleanup, restoration and post-closure monitoring of several sites.

Based on current knowledge, management does not believe that the ultimate resolution of loss contingencies arising from the matters discussed herein will have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position or its ongoing results of operations or cash flows. However, in light of the inherent uncertainties noted above, an adverse outcome in one or more of these matters could be material to the Company’s results of operations or cash flows for any particular quarter or year.

Refer to the information set forth under the caption “Historical Financial Summary” included in Part IV, Item 15 of this report.

Colgate-Palmolive Company (together with its subsidiaries, the “Company” or “Colgate”) seeks to deliver strong, consistent business results and superior shareholder returns by providing consumers globally with products that make their lives healthier and more enjoyable.

To this end, the Company is tightly focused on two product segments: Oral, Personal and Home Care; and Pet Nutrition. Within these segments, the Company follows a closely defined business strategy to develop and increase market leadership positions in key product categories. These product categories are prioritized based on their capacity to maximize the use of the organization’s core competencies and strong global equities and to deliver sustainable long-term growth.

The Oral, Personal and Home Care product segment is operated throughmanaged geographically in five reportable operating segments: North America, Latin America, Europe/SouthEurope, Asia Pacific Asia and Africa/Eurasia, all of which sell to a variety of retail and wholesale customers and distributors. The Company, through Hill’s Pet Nutrition, also competes on a worldwide basis in the pet nutrition market, selling its products principally through authorized pet supply retailers and veterinarians. The Company’s products are also sold online through various e-commerce platforms and retailers.

On an ongoing basis, management focuses on a variety of key indicators to monitor business health and performance. These indicators include market share, net sales (including volume, pricing and foreign exchange components), organic sales growth (net sales growth excluding the impact of foreign exchange, acquisitions, divestments and divestments),the deconsolidation of the Company’s Venezuelan operations) and gross profit margin, operating profit, net income and earnings per share both on a GAAP and non-GAAP basis, as well as measures used to optimize the management of working capital, capital expenditures, cash flow and return on capital. The monitoring of these indicators and the Company’s Code of Conduct and corporate governance practices help to maintain business health and strong internal controls.

To achieve its business and financial objectives, the Company focuses the organization on initiatives to drive and fund growth. The Company seeks to capture significant opportunities for growth by identifying and meeting consumer needs within its core categories, through its focus on innovation and the deployment of valuable consumer and shopper insights in the development of successful new products regionally, which are then rolled out on a global basis. To enhance these efforts, the Company has developed key initiatives to build strong relationships with consumers, dental and veterinary professionals and retail customers. In addition, the Company has strengthened its capabilities in e-commerce, developing its relationships with online only retailers and its digital marketing capabilities. Growth opportunities are greater in those areas of the world in which economic development and rising consumer incomes expand the size and number of markets for the Company’s products.

The investments needed to support growth are developed through continuous, Company-wide initiatives to lower costs and increase effective asset utilization. Through these initiatives, which are referred to as the Company’s funding-the-growth initiatives, the Company seeks to become even more effective and efficient throughout its businesses. These initiatives are designed to reduce costs associated with direct materials, indirect expenses, and distribution and logistics, and advertising and promotional materials, among other things, and encompass a wide range of projects, examples of which include raw material substitution, reduction of packaging materials, consolidating suppliers to leverage volumes and increasing manufacturing efficiency through SKU reductions and formulation simplification. The Company also continues to prioritize its investments toward its higher margin businesses, specifically Oral Care, Personal Care and Pet Nutrition.