An uncertain U.S. economy has pushed customers mainly from the lower-income group to hunt for products at the cheapest price possible, hurting sales at P&G, as consumers move to rivals offering discounts, and cheaper private-label brands.
Additionally, a grim demand environment in China has resulted in P&G underperforming peers such as Nestle and Unilever.
P&G maintained its annual organic sales growth forecast of a 3% to 5% rise and core earnings per share expectation of $6.91 to $7.05.
Analysts also expect P&G to see a drag to its volumes from slowing demand in Latin America, China and the Middle East where people have called to boycott the company's products because of its connections to Israel.
P&G reported a 1% increase in overall organic volumes in the first quarter, while the average prices across its product categories rose 1%.
The company's first-quarter net sales fell 0.6% to $21.74 billion, compared with analysts' estimates of a 0.2% rise to $21.91 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. This is the company's second straight fall in quarterly net sales.
Shares of the Dawn dish soap maker were marginally down in premarket trading.
P&G reported first-quarter adjusted profit per share of $1.93, above analysts' average estimate of $1.90, driven by higher product prices.
