Major ClientsNarrow moat

Procter & Gamble (PG) — moat facet

P&G's ten largest retailers buy 43% of what it makes, up from 35% nine years ago, and Walmart alone about a sixth.

P&G sells mainly to retailers, not to the people who use its products. Sales to Walmart and its affiliates were about 16% of total sales in fiscal 2026, fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2024, and no other customer was above 10%1. The top ten customers together were about 43% of net sales in fiscal 20262, up from 35% in fiscal 20173.

Top ten customers share of net sales (%)35%FY201736%FY201938%FY202039%FY202240%FY202342%FY202443%FY2026P&G Forms 10-K FY2019-FY2026, customer concentration
Up eight points in nine years.

The trend is the story. The top ten share rose almost every year: 36% in fiscal 2018 and fiscal 2019, 38% in fiscal 2020, 39% in fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2022, 40% in fiscal 2023, 42% in fiscal 2024 and 43% in fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2026456789. P&G's customers are consolidating faster than its categories are growing, and each is a larger share of the bill.

The concentration is in revenue, not in contracts. P&G's disclosed commitments run the other way, $3,651 million of take-or-pay purchase obligations to suppliers10; retailers order continuously and owe P&G no multi-year volume. The company's own list of risks includes "the ability to manage and maintain key customer relationships"11.

Geography spreads the risk. United States net sales were $41.7 billion in fiscal 2026 and international sales $45.3 billion12, and P&G says operations outside the United States generate more than 50% of annual net sales13.

The channels are broad. The 10-K lists mass merchandisers, digital commerce including social commerce, grocery, club, drug and department stores, distributors, wholesalers, specialty beauty stores including duty-free, high-frequency stores, pharmacies, electronics and professional channels, and sales direct to consumers14. Only one of those customers, Walmart, is large enough to be disclosed by name.

On balance, this is a narrow position that is narrowing: no customer can do without P&G's leading brands, but the largest ones take a bigger share of its sales every year. The number that would sharpen the concern is the top-ten share; above 45% it would mean a few retailers set the terms for nearly half the company.

Moat trajectory: Narrowing

Top ten customers 35% (FY2017) to 43% (FY2026); Walmart about 16%.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
US net sales, FY2026
$41.7bn (about 48% of total)

P&G's home market, where the largest retailers sit; a falling share would shift the risk to currencies.

Source: P&G Form 10-K, FY2026 ↗
Dig deeper
DIG DEEPER 01
Walmart: About Sixteen Percent
Walmart buys about $13.9 billion a year from P&G, more than P&G's whole Health Care business sells.
DIG DEEPER 02
Ten Customers, Forty-Three Percent
P&G's ten biggest customers bought 35% of its goods in fiscal 2017 and 43% in fiscal 2026.
DIG DEEPER 03
Fifty-Two Percent Outside America
More than half of P&G's sales are outside the United States, which spreads customer risk and adds a currency risk that has cost it three market exits.
DIG DEEPER 04
No Order Book: The Commitments Run to Suppliers
P&G's customers owe it nothing beyond their next order, while P&G owes suppliers $3.7 billion under take-or-pay contracts.
References
  1. ReportedSales to Walmart and its affiliates were about 16% of total sales in fiscal 2026, fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2024, and no other customer was above 10%.
    Procter & Gamble Form 10-K for fiscal 2026 (year ended 30 June 2026) - Item 1 business and Item 2 properties: employees, manufacturing sites, customers, channels, competition and strategy. — FY2026 · publ. 4 August 2026 · source ↗
  2. ReportedThe top ten customers together were about 43% of net sales in fiscal 2026, up from 35% in fiscal 2017.
    Procter & Gamble Form 10-K for fiscal 2026 (year ended 30 June 2026) - Item 1 business and Item 2 properties: employees, manufacturing sites, customers, channels, competition and strategy. — FY2026 · publ. 4 August 2026 · source ↗
  3. ReportedThe top ten customers together were about 43% of net sales in fiscal 2026, up from 35% in fiscal 2017.
    Procter & Gamble Form 10-K for fiscal 2019 - the $8.3 billion Shave Care impairment, the Merck KGaA over-the-counter acquisition, five-year financial summary, segment shares, Walmart and top-ten customers. — FY2019 · publ. August 2019 · source ↗
  4. ReportedThe top ten share rose almost every year: 36% in fiscal 2018 and fiscal 2019, 38% in fiscal 2020, 39% in fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2022, 40% in fiscal 2023, 42% in fiscal 2024 and 43% in fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2026.
    Procter & Gamble Form 10-K for fiscal 2019 - the $8.3 billion Shave Care impairment, the Merck KGaA over-the-counter acquisition, five-year financial summary, segment shares, Walmart and top-ten customers. — FY2019 · publ. August 2019 · source ↗
  5. ReportedThe top ten share rose almost every year: 36% in fiscal 2018 and fiscal 2019, 38% in fiscal 2020, 39% in fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2022, 40% in fiscal 2023, 42% in fiscal 2024 and 43% in fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2026.
    Procter & Gamble Form 10-K for fiscal 2020 - top-ten customers 38% of net sales. — FY2020 · publ. August 2020 · source ↗
  6. ReportedThe top ten share rose almost every year: 36% in fiscal 2018 and fiscal 2019, 38% in fiscal 2020, 39% in fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2022, 40% in fiscal 2023, 42% in fiscal 2024 and 43% in fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2026.
    Procter & Gamble Form 10-K for fiscal 2022 - segment shares of sales and earnings, Walmart share 2020-2022, top-ten customers and share repurchases. — FY2022 · publ. August 2022 · source ↗
  7. ReportedThe top ten share rose almost every year: 36% in fiscal 2018 and fiscal 2019, 38% in fiscal 2020, 39% in fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2022, 40% in fiscal 2023, 42% in fiscal 2024 and 43% in fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2026.
    Procter & Gamble Form 10-K for fiscal 2024 - net sales drivers by segment for fiscal 2024 (price +4%) and top-ten customer share. — FY2024 · publ. August 2024 · source ↗
  8. ReportedThe top ten share rose almost every year: 36% in fiscal 2018 and fiscal 2019, 38% in fiscal 2020, 39% in fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2022, 40% in fiscal 2023, 42% in fiscal 2024 and 43% in fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2026.
    Procter & Gamble Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - segment results for fiscal 2023, net sales drivers, Walmart share, top-ten customers and debt at June 2024 and 2025. — FY2025 · publ. August 2025 · source ↗
  9. ReportedThe top ten share rose almost every year: 36% in fiscal 2018 and fiscal 2019, 38% in fiscal 2020, 39% in fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2022, 40% in fiscal 2023, 42% in fiscal 2024 and 43% in fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2026.
    Procter & Gamble Form 10-K for fiscal 2026 (year ended 30 June 2026) - Item 1 business and Item 2 properties: employees, manufacturing sites, customers, channels, competition and strategy. — FY2026 · publ. 4 August 2026 · source ↗
  10. ReportedP&G's disclosed commitments run the other way, $3,651 million of take-or-pay purchase obligations to suppliers; retailers order continuously and owe P&G no multi-year volume.
    Procter & Gamble Form 10-K for fiscal 2026 (year ended 30 June 2026) - notes: restructuring, goodwill and intangibles, acquisitions and divestitures, subsequent events and commitments. — FY2026 · publ. 4 August 2026 · source ↗
  11. ReportedThe company's own list of risks includes "the ability to manage and maintain key customer relationships".
    Procter & Gamble fourth-quarter and fiscal 2026 results release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1, with fiscal 2027 guidance - quarterly and fiscal-year headline results and cash flow. — Q4 FY2026 · publ. 29 July 2026 · source ↗
  12. ReportedUnited States net sales were $41.7 billion in fiscal 2026 and international sales $45.3 billion, and P&G says operations outside the United States generate more than 50% of annual net sales.
    Procter & Gamble Form 10-K for fiscal 2026 (year ended 30 June 2026) - Item 1 business and Item 2 properties: employees, manufacturing sites, customers, channels, competition and strategy. — FY2026 · publ. 4 August 2026 · source ↗
  13. ReportedUnited States net sales were $41.7 billion in fiscal 2026 and international sales $45.3 billion, and P&G says operations outside the United States generate more than 50% of annual net sales.
    Procter & Gamble Form 10-K for fiscal 2026 (year ended 30 June 2026) - Item 1A risk factors, Item 5 market information and performance graph, and critical accounting estimates (Gillette brand). — FY2026 · publ. 4 August 2026 · source ↗
  14. ReportedThe 10-K lists mass merchandisers, digital commerce including social commerce, grocery, club, drug and department stores, distributors, wholesalers, specialty beauty stores including duty-free, high-frequency stores, pharmacies, electronics and professional channels, and sales direct to consumers.
    Procter & Gamble Form 10-K for fiscal 2026 (year ended 30 June 2026) - Item 1 business and Item 2 properties: employees, manufacturing sites, customers, channels, competition and strategy. — FY2026 · publ. 4 August 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 26, 2026