Kimberly-Clark Faces a Messy Situation

Higher costs, rising competition put consumer-goods maker in a tough spot

A combination of rising competition, higher costs and reduced pricing power are hitting consumer-goods makers. Few are suffering as much as Kimberly-Clark.

The maker of Kleenex tissues, Scott toilet paper and Huggies diapers reported second-quarter results that narrowly beat muted analyst estimates. But the company also lowered its outlook for full-year earnings, citing higher commodity costs.

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