Reading the Income Statement of Fast Moving Consumer Goods

Wikipedia defines Fast Moving Consumer Goods [FMCG] as products that are sold quickly at relatively low cost. Though the absolute profit made on FMCG products is relatively small, they generally sell in large quantities, so the cumulative profit on such products can be large. The consumer goods industry is one of the largest in the world, valued at approximately US$4 trillion. Although growth has slowed in this industry, companies that provide these types of goods still benefit from large margins and strong balance sheets. Some basic examples of consumer goods are food and beverages, clothing, tobacco and household products. While the universe of consumer goods companies is huge, this article will focus on five of these companies : P&G (PG), Kimberly Clark (KMB), Colgate (CL), Nestle (NSRGY.PK) and Unilever (UL).