Shares of Newell Brands Inc. (NWL) dropped a significant 12.2% in premarket trading on Friday, hitting a 14-year low. This decline comes on the heels of the consumer brands company’s third-quarter revenue falling short of estimates and its downbeat outlook for the current quarter.
Financial Performance
Newell Brands reported a net loss of $218 million, or 53 cents per share, in the third quarter compared to a net income of $19 million, or 5 cents per share, in the same period last year. Adjusted earnings per share came in at 39 cents, surpassing the FactSet consensus of 23 cents, thanks to cost cuts and saving initiatives that helped boost the gross margin to 30.3% from 29.2%.
Unfortunately, sales took a hit, declining by 9.1% to $2.05 billion. This figure fell short of the FactSet consensus of $2.12 billion, with all business segments experiencing declines.
Bleak Outlook
Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, Newell Brands expects adjusted EPS to be between 15 cents and 20 cents, significantly lower than the current FactSet consensus of 43 cents. The company also predicts that revenue will range from $1.96 billion to $2.03 billion, which is below Wall Street’s forecast of $2.16 billion.
Market Response
Investors responded to this disappointing news by pushing the stock price down to its lowest point during regular-session hours since April 2009. Year-to-date, Newell Brands’ stock has plummeted by 43.5%, contrasting with the S&P 500’s gain of 7.8%.