Whirlpool stock closed at $48.21 on Thursday, down 11.9%, after the company reported a surprise first-quarter loss and suspended its dividend.
The appliance maker posted a Q1 loss of 56 cents per share on sales of $3.3 billion. Wall Street had expected earnings of 38 cents per share from $3.4 billion in sales. A year ago, Whirlpool earned $1.70 per share on $3.6 billion in revenue.
The company also cut its full-year earnings guidance sharply. It now expects to earn between $3.00 and $3.50 per share, down from prior guidance of $7.00. Free cash flow guidance was trimmed from $450 million to $300 million.
The dividend suspension was the headline shock. Whirlpool had paid a quarterly dividend of 90 cents — and had done so through 10 U.S. recessions and every major global crisis since the 1950s. Last year, the company cut the dividend by nearly half for the first time in decades. Now it’s gone entirely, at least for now.
CEO Marc Bitzer addressed the move on the earnings call. “We would like to resume the dividend as quickly as possible, but clearly, it’s a board decision,” he said. “We need to have a better ongoing operating margin, and we want to continue to pay down our debt.”
The stock had already been under pressure. Coming into Thursday, WHR was down 24% year-to-date and 28% over the prior 12 months. Over five years, the stock has fallen more than 80%.
Tariffs have played a complicated role. Whirlpool makes about 80% of its products domestically, which should give it an edge when import tariffs are high. But in February, the Supreme Court overturned the so-called Liberation Day tariffs, which had been helping the company compete with foreign rivals. With those gone, importers returned with lower prices.
At the same time, separate Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum raised Whirlpool’s input costs. That two-sided tariff squeeze — losing help on one end while facing higher costs on the other — hit margins hard.
In April, Section 232 tariffs were restructured to apply a flat 25% levy on the full value of appliances, rather than just the steel content. Bitzer said the new structure gives Whirlpool a clearer competitive edge over importers. But investors aren’t waiting around to see if it works.
Citi analyst Kyle Menges noted that “industry demand reached recession-level lows” in North America during the quarter, with a competitive pricing environment making things worse. He added that Whirlpool’s double-digit price increases “should be relatively defensible.”
Whirlpool has raised prices across its range of washers, dryers, refrigerators, and stoves this year, and plans another round of increases in the summer. Bitzer acknowledged the increases will likely outpace competitors, but pointed to new products as justification.
Earlier this year, the company raised $1.1 billion through a new stock offering. That drew criticism from investor David Tepper of Appaloosa Management, who called it shareholder dilution and suggested Whirlpool explore partnerships or mergers.
Last month, Whirlpool announced a $60 million investment in a new factory in Perrysburg, Ohio, focused on washer and dryer components.
The company also cited falling U.S. consumer confidence — which it attributes partly to the Iran war driving up oil prices — as a drag on appliance demand in the quarter. Organic net sales fell 6% year-over-year in Q1.
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