New York, February 19, 2026, 07:51 (ET) — Premarket
- Kenvue shares were trading near $18.88 ahead of the market open.
- Shares gained roughly 2.6% last session, following a quarterly earnings beat and news of a new restructuring plan.
- Deal talks at Kimberly-Clark have investors on alert, with activist pressure also drawing attention.
Kenvue hovered at $18.88 before the bell Thursday. The stock had jumped in the previous session, drawing fresh attention to the consumer-health maker.
Shares finished Wednesday at $18.88, up 2.55%. Volume ran higher than the 50-day average, putting the stock ahead of major U.S. benchmarks. (MarketWatch)
Kenvue is under pressure to demonstrate business momentum as it heads toward a planned acquisition by Kimberly-Clark. The shares keep twitching on any signal about how fast — or expensive — the cleanup moves along.
Kenvue topped analyst expectations for the fourth quarter on Tuesday and announced its board has greenlit a plan to streamline operations, which includes cutting around 3.5% of its workforce. Adjusted earnings landed at 27 cents per share, with net sales hitting $3.78 billion—both surpassing Wall Street forecasts. The company also flagged roughly $250 million in pre-tax restructuring costs and other charges set for 2026. (Reuters)
Kenvue reported that organic sales climbed 1.2% for the quarter, with gross margin unchanged at 56.5%. The company isn’t providing forward guidance due to the ongoing deal, though CEO Kirk Perry said Kenvue is “progressing toward completion” of its merger with Kimberly-Clark. (Kenvue Investors)
Kenvue shares bounced on Wednesday after losing 1.55% the previous session—snapping a nine-day rally. (MarketWatch)
Starboard Value LP, the activist investor, bumped up its holding in Kenvue during the December quarter, according to a filing. That move keeps Kenvue in focus for activists, even with the company heading toward an acquisition. (Reuters)
On January 29, Kimberly-Clark and Kenvue announced that shareholders from both sides had signed off on the proposals required for the deal to go through. “This is an exciting milestone,” Kimberly-Clark CEO Mike Hsu said then. Perry added that the companies were still aiming to close the transaction “later this year,” pending regulatory sign-off. (Kenvue)
The stretch between green light and closing isn’t always simple. Regulatory holdups or fresh requirements might weigh on the deal’s schedule, and there’s also the question of whether Kenvue’s sluggish volumes — which the company has linked to quieter seasonal demand and shifting customer inventories — rebound quickly enough, or if this restructuring just boils down to margins in the end.
