Colgate-Palmolive remains the dominant name in the global toothpaste business, with the company reporting a 41.3% worldwide market share on a year-to-date basis in 2026.

The figure, disclosed with Colgate-Palmolive’s second-quarter results on July 31, 2026, was 0.2 percentage points higher than in the comparable 2025 period. It means that Colgate products generated roughly $41 of every $100 spent on toothpaste across the markets included in the company’s measurement.

That level of market share is particularly significant for a consumer category as widespread as toothpaste. It also reinforces the importance of oral care to Colgate-Palmolive, a company whose portfolio extends well beyond the product that carries its name.

The 41.3% figure is a value share, not a volume share. It does not mean that 41.3% of all tubes of toothpaste sold worldwide were made by Colgate-Palmolive.

According to the company’s second-quarter 2026 Form 10-Q, its market-share calculations are based on a combination of consumption and market-share information supplied by third-party vendors, primarily Nielsen, together with internal estimates.

Colgate defines market share as its percentage of the dollar value of category sales in countries where the company competes and purchases market data. Venezuela is excluded from all periods.

There are also important limitations to the measurement. Colgate says current market-share data is not generally available for some retail channels, including certain e-commerce outlets and discounters. Its year-to-date figures run from January 1 through the latest period for which market information is available, which typically trails the reporting date by one or two months.

The result should therefore be understood as Colgate’s share of the toothpaste sales value captured by its measurement system rather than a literal count of every toothpaste purchase made worldwide.

Colgate also cautions that its calculations may differ from market-share estimates produced by other organizations because of differences in country coverage, category definitions, data providers and internal estimates.

Even with those qualifications, the scale of Colgate’s position is substantial.

A 41.3% value share means the company controls more than two-fifths of the measured toothpaste category. Colgate-Palmolive describes itself as the global leader in both toothpaste and manual toothbrushes based on its market-share data.

The company’s toothpaste business also extends beyond products carrying the familiar Colgate name. Its portfolio includes toothpaste brands such as Colgate, elmex, Darlie, meridor, hello, Sorriso and Tom’s of Maine, giving the group exposure to different markets and consumer segments around the world.

Its position in toothbrushes is also considerable. Colgate reported a 32.7% global market share in manual toothbrushes on a year-to-date basis in its second-quarter 2026 results, up 0.6 percentage points from the comparable period a year earlier.

Together, those figures show the breadth of the company’s position across two of the most fundamental parts of the daily oral care routine.

Colgate’s latest toothpaste share is not the result of a single quarter.

The company reported a 39.4% global toothpaste market share in 2021. That increased to 39.8% in 2022, followed by a larger rise to 41.1% in 2023. Colgate reached 41.4% in 2024 before easing slightly to 41.3% for full-year 2025.

That puts the full-year 2025 figure 1.9 percentage points above the 2021 level.

The progression has not been uniform across regions. In 2025, Colgate said its toothpaste share increased in Europe, was unchanged in Asia Pacific and declined in North America, Latin America and Africa and Eurasia compared with 2024.

The regional pattern shifted again during 2026. On a year-to-date basis through the latest data available for the second-quarter filing, toothpaste market share was higher in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, while it was lower in North America, Latin America and Asia Pacific compared with the corresponding 2025 period.

The worldwide figure can therefore remain stable or increase even when performance varies considerably from one region to another.

Toothpaste matters to Colgate-Palmolive because oral care represents a remarkably large portion of the company.

During the first six months of 2026, Oral Care accounted for 44% of Colgate-Palmolive’s total net sales. Personal Care represented 17%, Home Care another 17% and Pet Nutrition 22%.

Colgate-Palmolive generated $10.69 billion in total net sales during the first half of 2026, up 6.6% from $10.02 billion in the same period of 2025. Its Oral, Personal and Home Care segment generated $8.30 billion of that total, an increase of 7.1%.

The company does not separately disclose toothpaste revenue in those results, meaning its 41.3% toothpaste market share should not be treated as a revenue figure or used to calculate toothpaste sales directly from total company revenue.

Colgate did say that growth in Oral Care during the first half of 2026 was primarily driven by higher organic sales of toothpaste and manual toothbrushes.

The relationship between the two figures is therefore clear even though they measure different things. Market share describes Colgate’s position within the measured toothpaste category, while the company’s financial statements report revenue earned by Colgate-Palmolive itself.

Few everyday consumer products are purchased as routinely as toothpaste, which makes maintaining such a large worldwide share notable.

Colgate’s 41.3% year-to-date share in 2026 is essentially unchanged from its 41.3% full-year share in 2025, while standing well above the levels reported earlier this decade. The company has also retained its leadership while performance has moved differently across individual regions.

The figure should not be interpreted as 41.3% of every toothpaste tube sold on Earth. It is Colgate-Palmolive’s estimate of its share of the sales value captured in the markets and channels covered by its data.

Within that clearly defined measure, however, the conclusion is striking. More than two-fifths of measured global toothpaste spending belongs to Colgate-Palmolive, making oral care not only the company’s largest product category but also one in which it continues to hold an exceptionally large worldwide position.