Whirlpool Stock Sinks on Appliance Maker's Weaker-Than-Expected Results, Outlook

Investopedia
30 Jan

Key Takeaways

  • Whirlpool's North American sales dropped, and the home appliance maker's fourth-quarter results and guidance came up short of forecasts.
  • The company swung to a loss because of a Maytag brand impairment charge.
  • Whirlpool also announced it was cutting its stake in its Indian subsidiary.

Shares of Whirlpool (WHR) tumbled nearly 17% Thursday as the maker of home appliances posted worse-than-expected results and gave weak guidance as North American sales slumped. The company also said it was slashing its stake in its Indian subsidiary in half. 

Whirlpool swung to a fourth-quarter loss of $7.10 per share because of a Maytag brand impairment charge. Analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha expected a loss of $0.88 per share.

Revenue fell 19% year-over-year to $4.14 billion, also missing forecasts. The company blamed the decline on the divestiture of most of its European operations.

North American major domestic appliances (MDA) sales dropped 1.2%, which Whirlpool noted was driven by "a sizeable trade inventory reduction coupled with strong sell through in the quarter, negatively impacting price/mix." MDA sales were up 8.8% in Asia and 7.3% in Latin America. Sales of small domestic appliances grew 6.4% globally.

Along with the results, Whirlpool announced that it intends to cut its ownership in Whirlpool of India Ltd. to about 20% through a market sale in 2025.

The company sees full-year adjusted EPS of about $10.00 and revenue of roughly $15.8 billion. Visible Alpha estimates were $11.05 and $15.92 billion, respectively.

On Monday, Whirlpool shares hit their highest level since the fall of 2023. With today's slide, they turned negative for the past 12 months.

TradingView

Do you have a news tip for Investopedia reporters? Please email us at
tips@investopedia.com

Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.

Most Discussed

  1. 1
     
     
     
     
  2. 2
     
     
     
     
  3. 3
     
     
     
     
  4. 4
     
     
     
     
  5. 5
     
     
     
     
  6. 6
     
     
     
     
  7. 7
     
     
     
     
  8. 8
     
     
     
     
  9. 9
     
     
     
     
  10. 10