What's going on?

Procter & Gamble (P&G) announced better-than-expected quarterly earnings on Tuesday, proving that � wow! � its home care range really does get sparkling results every time!

What does this mean?

One year into the pandemic and P&G�s results suggest we�re still committed to sprucing up our homes and hairdos alike. It�s those segments that did particularly well for the consumer staples giant, driving strong results even as its beauty and family care units missed the mark. And those uneven gains aren�t just expected, they�re why investors are so keen on P&G in the first place: that diversified business model has seen the company latch onto pandemic-driven trends in the last twelve months, and should see it adapt to post-pandemic trends too � whatever they might be.

Why should I care?

The bigger picture: Price hikes are coming.

Investors were also focused on P&G�s admission that it�d need to balance out the rising prices of raw materials by hiking the prices of its products. It�s the third big consumer firm to clamp down after Coca-Cola and Kimberly-Clark�s announcements earlier this month, and the move might add to the mounting evidence that inflation is on its way. That�s a scary prospect for investors: central banks are more likely to raise interest rates if prices are rising too quickly, which could hurt company earnings and, in turn, drive stocks lower.

Zooming out: Veganism is the future.

Talking of consumer staples, France�s Danone posted weaker results on Tuesday as the pandemic continues to dent demand for bottled water and baby food. The world�s biggest yogurt maker might want to take a leaf out of Oatly�s book: the plant-based rival officially filed to list on the stock market earlier in the week, and its paperwork revealed that the company�s sales more than doubled last year. In other words, vegan products are only getting more popular � and incumbents like Danone might want to play catch-up.