Whirlpool Corporation

Whirlpool drew fresh scrutiny after its Q2 earnings release, which showed revenue down year on year and misses on both sales and quarterly EPS estimates, alongside higher full-year EPS guidance. The share price reaction has been harsh, with the stock falling 16.4% after the Q2 release and now trading at US$31.97, contributing to a year to date share price decline of 57.1% and a 1 year total shareholder return loss of 60.3%. The most followed narrative pegs fair value at $51.55, well above the last close, leaning toward recovery rather than permanent impairment on expected structural operating margin improvement from restructuring, cost takeout programs, and supply chain efficiencies, plus a strengthened domestic U.S. manufacturing footprint that positions Whirlpool as a primary beneficiary of forthcoming tariff implementation. On a P/E of 12.3x, the stock trades slightly below the US Consumer Durables average of 13x, yet well under its own fair ratio of 26.6x. The recovery story could still crack if prolonged weak demand in mature markets and intense competition from lower cost Asian manufacturers keep squeezing pricing and profitability.

Canada's retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods took effect at 12:01 a.m. on September 8, imposing duties of 15%, 25%, and 50% on about C$27.6 billion ($20 billion) of U.S. imports, including steel, aluminum, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, plastics, and electronics. The measures escalate an 18-month trade dispute following the collapse of negotiations between Ottawa and Washington, and come after the U.S. imposed new 50% duties on Canadian exports in August. U.S. companies to watch include Nucor, Steel Dynamics, Cleveland-Cliffs, Alcoa, Deere, Caterpillar, Whirlpool, Kraft Heinz, General Mills, Eaton, Emerson Electric, Honeywell, International Paper, Dow, LyondellBasell, General Motors, and Ford, among others. Bombardier faces added uncertainty after President Donald Trump threatened to block its aircraft from the U.S. market unless it manufactures in the U.S. The dispute could weigh on Canadian growth, exports, and business investment, with Canadian exports to the U.S. already falling 6.6% in July.

Whirlpool shares have fallen about 15% since its second-quarter earnings report, underperforming the S&P 500. The company posted a wider-than-expected ongoing loss of 21 cents per share, compared with a consensus estimate of a 20-cent loss, and net sales declined 6.8% year over year to $3,517 million, missing expectations. Gross margin contracted 360 basis points to 12.6% due to lower volumes and inflationary pressures, while ongoing EBIT plunged 69.1% to $62 million. For 2026, Whirlpool lowered its ongoing earnings guidance to $2.50-$3.00 per share from $3.00-$3.50, and now expects net sales of approximately $15 billion and an ongoing EBIT margin of about 4%. The company also completed a $2 billion asset-based lending facility and issued $2 billion of secured bonds to clear debt maturities until 2028.

CEOs from Kraft Heinz, McDonald's, and Whirlpool are warning that lower-income American consumers are running out of money at the end of the month. Kraft Heinz CEO Steve Cahillane said the company is seeing negative cash flows in lower-income brackets, with consumers dipping into savings, and the company is cutting prices, increasing promotions, and rolling out smaller package sizes. McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski flagged heightened anxiety among consumers, while CFO Ian Borden noted higher gas prices are hitting lower-income households especially hard. Whirlpool CEO Marc Bitzer described a sharp pullback in demand for big-ticket appliances, with discretionary demand down roughly 15%. Credit card balances stood at $1.25 trillion in the first quarter of 2026, auto loan balances climbed to $1.69 trillion, and the personal saving rate fell to just 2.7% in June.

Several major companies saw significant premarket stock moves following their latest quarterly earnings reports. McDonald's gained 1.9% after posting adjusted earnings of $3.38 per share, beating the LSEG consensus of $3.32, though revenue of $7.1 billion missed the expected $7.13 billion. Caterpillar climbed 8% after reporting adjusted earnings of $8.17 per share on revenue of $20.54 billion, both exceeding analyst expectations of $6.20 per share and $19.34 billion. Palantir Technologies surged 15% on second-quarter results driven by a nearly 150% jump in U.S. commercial revenue. Merck rose more than 1% after losing an adjusted 13 cents per share on revenue of $16.61 billion, better than the anticipated loss of 27 cents per share on $16.36 billion, and raised its full-year revenue guidance. Pfizer gained after beating estimates with adjusted earnings of 77 cents per share on revenue of $15.03 billion and increasing the low end of its full-year revenue outlook. On Semiconductor jumped 7% on better-than-expected second-quarter results and margins. Snap rose 5% after revenue of $1.6 billion topped the $1.54 billion estimate, with global daily active users and average revenue per user also exceeding expectations. Whirlpool was little changed after a larger-than-expected adjusted loss of 21 cents per share and a lowered full-year earnings forecast. Wayfair fell 4% despite beating estimates with earnings of 95 cents per share on revenue of $3.52 billion. DigitalOcean plunged 11% even though second-quarter earnings of 45 cents per share on revenue of $281 million surpassed analyst expectations.

Several stocks made significant after-hours moves following their quarterly earnings reports. Palantir Technologies surged 10% after reporting blowout second-quarter results driven by a nearly 150% surge in U.S. commercial revenue. On Semiconductor gained 5% as its second-quarter earnings of 74 cents per share on revenue of $1.6 billion beat analyst expectations. Snap jumped 11% after the Snapchat parent posted revenue of $1.6 billion, exceeding estimates, along with better-than-expected global daily active users and average revenue per user. Whirlpool fell 3% after reporting a larger-than-expected adjusted loss of 21 cents per share and lowering its full-year earnings guidance.

Whirlpool is set to report its quarterly results after market hours on Monday. The market expects revenue to decline 5.7% year on year, in line with the 5.4% decrease recorded in the same quarter last year. Last quarter, the company missed analysts' revenue expectations, reporting $3.27 billion, down 9.6% year on year, with full-year EPS guidance and EPS estimates both significantly missed. Analysts have generally reconfirmed their estimates over the last 30 days, suggesting they anticipate the business will stay the course. Whirlpool shares are down 1.6% over the last month, heading into earnings with an average analyst price target of $52.55 compared to the current share price of $37.33.

Whirlpool has been downgraded to a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) after analysts slashed earnings estimates by 26.6% for this year and 25.5% for next year. The company reported second-quarter revenue of $3.77 billion, down 5.4% year-over-year and missing expectations, while adjusted EPS fell to $1.34 from $2.39 a year ago. Net income tumbled 70% to $65 million, and sales are projected to decline 7.2% in 2025 and another 3.6% in 2026 amid higher costs, intensifying Asian import competition, and soft consumer demand. The stock is down 28% year-to-date and trades at 13.6 times forward earnings, above the industry average of 11.2 times and its own 10-year median of 9.4 times, leaving room for further downside. Investors are advised to avoid the stock until earnings stabilize and margin recovery becomes visible.

Whirlpool Corporation is expected to report a steep drop in second-quarter 2026 earnings, with the consensus estimate falling to 8 cents per share, a 94% decline from the year-ago quarter. Revenue is projected at $3.61 billion, down 4.5% from the prior year, while the company’s North American major appliance segment is forecast to see a 5.8% revenue decline to $2.42 billion. In contrast, the Small Domestic Appliances segment is expected to grow 13.5% to $227 million, driven by KitchenAid product launches and direct-to-consumer momentum. Management has implemented its largest price increase in over a decade, including promotional price hikes above 10%, and remains on track to deliver more than $150 million in cost savings during 2026 through manufacturing optimization and other initiatives. The Zacks model gives Whirlpool an Earnings ESP of negative 436% and a Zacks Rank of 5, indicating a low probability of an earnings beat.

Zacks Value Investor portfolio editor Tracey Ryniec analyzes five well-known stocks trading near multi-year lows to determine whether they represent true values or value traps. Whirlpool shares have fallen 82.5% to five-year lows, with earnings expected to decline another 59.4% in 2026 and a recent dividend cut to $0.90 per share, yielding 9.8%. Nike has dropped 73.5% over five years, earnings are forecast to fall 31% in fiscal 2026, and it trades at a forward P/E of 22.6 with an uncut dividend yielding 3.8%. Wendy's hit five-year lows after a 68.4% decline, has a new management team, a forward P/E of 13.6, and a dividend cut to $0.14 yielding 7.1%. Tractor Supply plunged 38.5% this year to new five-year lows, trades at a forward P/E of 14.2, and raised its dividend to $0.24 in February 2026, though six earnings estimates were recently cut. Adobe reported record quarterly revenue of $6.6 billion, up 13% year-over-year, with earnings expected to grow 15.4% in fiscal 2026, a forward P/E of 8.1, and shares down 44.7% year-to-date to five-year lows.

StockStory identified Gorman-Rupp as a top industrials stock to buy, while recommending investors sell Covenant Logistics and Whirlpool. Gorman-Rupp posted 14.9% annual revenue growth over five years and expanded its free cash flow margin by 6.2 percentage points, with earnings per share rising 30% annually over the past two years. Covenant Logistics saw earnings per share fall 15.7% annually despite revenue growth, and its returns on capital remain weak. Whirlpool’s sales declined 5.8% annually over five years, its free cash flow margin shrank by 5.4 percentage points, and it carries a high net-debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 7 times.

GE Vernova reported first-quarter revenues of $9.34 billion, a 16.3% year-on-year increase that exceeded analysts' expectations by 0.8%. The company, spun off from General Electric in 2023, also delivered an impressive beat on adjusted operating income and EPS estimates. Among the 14 electrical systems stocks tracked, the group collectively beat revenue consensus by 3.4% but issued next-quarter revenue guidance 3.3% below expectations. Garrett Motion posted the best performance with revenues of $985 million, up 12.2% and beating estimates by 9.3%, while Whirlpool was the weakest, with revenues falling 9.6% to $3.27 billion and missing estimates by 4.4%. Powell reported revenues of $296.6 million, up 6.5% but missing estimates by 0.8%, and Hubbell reported revenues of $1.52 billion, up 11.1% and beating estimates by 0.8%.

Whirlpool stock could be 31.3% undervalued following a $2 billion senior secured notes offering, higher expected interest costs, and dividend and guidance cuts. The refinancing replaced cheaper euro-denominated notes with higher-cost debt, while credit rating downgrades from Moody's and Fitch reinforced concerns about future earnings and free cash flow pressure. At a share price of $38.86, the stock has fallen 9.40% over the past seven days and 47.84% year to date, with a one-year total shareholder return down 56.69%. A widely followed narrative places Whirlpool's fair value estimate at $56.55, supported by over 100 new product introductions and a longer-term recovery story, though reliance on mature markets and pressure from lower-cost competitors pose risks to that thesis. The current price-to-earnings ratio of 15.5 times sits above the US Consumer Durables industry average of 13.4 times and the peer average of 14.1 times, even as analysts estimate a fair ratio of 26.9 times.

StockStory recommends buying Quanta and Fair Isaac Corporation while questioning Whirlpool. Whirlpool is flagged for annual sales declines of 5.8% over five years, a shrinking free cash flow margin, and a 7× net-debt-to-EBITDA ratio. Quanta is favored for its 21.2% average backlog growth, expected 19.6% revenue growth, and 26% annual earnings per share growth. Fair Isaac Corporation is praised for 29.3% annual earnings per share growth, strong free cash flow, and rising returns on capital.