Whirlpool Sees its Worst Day in Over Thirty Years After Reporting Q2 Results

Whirlpool, the manufacturer and marketer of home appliances, saw its shares collapse 14.5% on Tuesday, marking it the worst day for the stock since October of 1987.

The company reported second quarter 2018 results late Monday afternoon that sent shares to a new low. Revenue for the quarter decreased by 3.9% year-over-year to $5.14 billion. Adjusted EPS decreased by 1.5% year-over-year to $3.20. Analysts were waiting for revenue of $5.29 billion in revenue and adjusted EPS of $3.69.

CEO Marc Robert Bitzer commented during the earnings call, “Uncertainty related to tariffs and global trade actions have also led to increased cost for certain strategic components and finished goods imports and exports. While these increased raw material headwinds are significant, we’ve also demonstrated our ability to overcome these types of challenges in the past through a variety of means, including cost-based price increases, cost reductions and efficiency improvements and we will continue to do so.”

“Global steel cost has risen substantially and, particularly in the US, they have reached unexplainable levels,” Bitzer also said.

Traders showed concern when the company raised its guidance for the costs of steel and aluminum and adjusted its expected 2018 profits to be lower.
”
U.S. steel is 50 percent more expensive than the rest of the world and simply cannot be explained by the input cost,” Bitzer remarked.

“We are impacted by the tariffs, as we are an import of record of our suppliers who have to basically pay the tariffs,” He added.

Disclaimer: We have no position in Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) and have not been compensated for this article.