By Kelly Cloonan

Shares of Snap-On fell amid lower first-quarter profit and sales as its technician customers dial back on big purchases amid an uncertain economic outlook.

The stock fell 9% to $301.63 on Thursday. Shares have gained 6% over the past 12 months.

The maker of high-end tools and equipment logged lower revenue in the quarter, down 3.5% to $1.14 billion, as falling sales in its tools group outweighed relative strength in its repair systems and information group segment.

Snap-On said an uncertain macroeconomic outlook amid the Trump administration's tariff policies has prompted its technician customers to pause on longer payback tools, adding to the group's prior worries over ongoing wars, the border crisis and consistent inflation.

"I don't think we've seen a place where the hits just kept coming so much. I mean, when the administration itself says there will be pain, this is kind of unprecedented," Chief Executive Nick Pinchuk said during the company's earnings call.

Snap-On said it had started executing a pivot to quicker payback products within its tools group before the quarter started amid declining confidence in its consumer base. That shift showed signs of success outside of the U.S., with international tools sales up a low-single digit percent in the quarter, he said.

"If you don't believe it's America, look at outside the United States," Pinchuk said, adding those regions have been less affected by recent turbulence and saw stable performance during the quarter.

The company posted a profit of $240.5 million, or $4.51 a share for the quarter compared with $263.5 million, or $4.91 a share, in the same period a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected $4.81 a share.

Write to Kelly Cloonan at kelly.cloonan@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 17, 2025 13:12 ET (17:12 GMT)

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