July 23, 2026, ST. PETERSBURG, FL – Water Tower Research (www.watertowerresearch.com) has published an Initiation of Coverage Report on WD-40 Company (NASDAQ: WDFC) titled, “Clear Growth Strategy, But Input Cost Spike to Affect Gross Margin”. The report can be accessed here.
WD-40 is a best-in-class global organization that markets multi-purpose maintenance products under brands including WD-40 and 3-IN-ONE. The “juice” in the can has a trade secret formulation and the brand’s blue-and-yellow “shield” represents a valuable brand equity. WD-40 is memorable, easily recognizable, and known for its superior quality and reliability.
Premiumization drives secular gross margin expansion for WD-40. The company continuously innovates, giving its Smart Straw and patented EZ Reach products a differentiated competitive advantage. Only ~40% of units sold globally are premium priced versus ~80% of units sold in the US. Those products and WD-40 Specialist carry gross margins that exceed regular WD-40’s and their targeted CAGRs are greater than 10%. Overall, the company targets a mid- to high-single-digit long-term constant currency sales CAGR, with EBITDA growth higher than sales growth.
WDFC shares are trading at 38.4x our FY27E EPS of $6.19, which is below the midpoint (39.8x) of their 10-year range of 26.5-53.0x, according to FactSet data.
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