Clorox stock climbs as investors bet coronavirus will boost demand for bleach and disinfectant wipes

• Clorox shares have climbed as much as 5% this week as investors bet the coronavirus epidemic will boost demand for bleach and disinfectant wipes.
• CEO Benno Dorer said in a CNBC interview this month that Clorox was "leaning into inventory to be ready, just in case."
• Clorox reported strong demand for disinfectant wipes during the H1N1 or "bird flu" pandemic in 2009.
• Bleach "is the only product known to man that will kill every single virus," a Clorox executive said in 2013.
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Clorox stock has climbed as much as 5% this week, making it one of only seven S&P 500 stocks to rise during the brutal selloff fueled by the novel coronavirus.

Investors are betting the maker of bleach and disinfectant products will benefit from the public health crisis. Coronavirus - which causes a respiratory disease called COVID-19 - has infected more than 82,000 people, killed at least 2,800, and spread to upwards of 40 countries.

During the H1N1 or "bird flu" pandemic in 2009, the company "significantly increased manufacturing capacity for Clorox disinfectant wipes to really help us stay ahead of the strong demand we're seeing," former CEO Don Knauss said on an earnings call that year. "Disinfecting products are critical in fighting the spread of viruses that can cause the flu."

"Organisms cannot adapt to bleach," Knauss said at a conference in 2013. "Bleach actually destroys the entire cell structure of a virus or bacteria. So over 100 years they've never been able to adapt."

However, current CEO Benno Dorer said in a CNBC interview earlier this month that Clorox was yet to see a demand boost from coronavirus. "We're leaning into inventory to be ready, just in case," he added.

Yet the rapid spread of coronavirus is likely to be a sales boon.

Clorox recently highlighted its disinfectant wipes, disinfecting bleach, and clean-up cleaner with bleach as useful in preventing coronavirus from spreading. It said the trio of products have "demonstrated effectiveness" against similar viruses on "hard, non-porous surfaces."

Moreover, the Center for Biocide Chemistries recently published a list of approved products for combating the coronavirus. Clorox sells 21 of the 139 items - more than any other brand including Lysol and Purell.

Clorox has trumpeted the value of its cleaning products in the past.

Bleach "is the thing that is the most effective against most bacteria and viruses out there," Knauss said on an earnings call in 2015.

"We are very fortunate that we have Clorox sodium hypochlorite," Grant Lamontagne, head of professional products, said at an analyst day in 2013, referring to the key ingredient in bleach. "It is the only product known to man that will kill every single virus."

However, Clorox is wary of being seen to profit from serious illnesses. "We're always very careful about trying to take advantage of some public health scare for people," Knauss said in 2015.