Whirlpool Corporation WHR posted third-quarter 2024 results, wherein earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate but sales missed the same. Both top and bottom lines declined year over year.
Despite the challenging macroeconomic conditions in North America, the company managed to achieve sequential ongoing EBIT margin growth in the third quarter. The company’s ability to capitalize on the future recovery in the U.S. housing market indicates that MDA North America is well-prepared to benefit when market conditions improve.
Whirlpool Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Whirlpool Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Whirlpool Corporation Quote
Whirlpool’s Quarterly Performance: Key Metrics and Insights
The appliance maker reported third-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $3.43, which came ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.99. However. Adjusted EPS tumbled 37.1% year over year.
Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.
Net sales of $3.99 billion missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.06 billion and declined 18.9% year over year. Excluding the unfavorable impacts of foreign exchange, organic net sales were $4.07 billion, down 0.7% year over year.
Quarterly gross profit was $643 million, down 19.5% from $799 million reported in the year-ago quarter. The gross margin declined 10 basis points (bps) year over year to 16.1%.
Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses declined 16.5% year over year to $395 million. As a percentage of net sales, SG&A expenses climbed 0.3 percentage points to 9.9%.
The ongoing EBIT of $233 million declined 27.6% from $322 million in the year-ago quarter. The ongoing EBIT margin of 5.8% contracted 70 bps year over year.
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WHR’s Region Wise Performance Details
Net sales for the MDA North America segment declined 4.3% year over year to $2.65 billion. Excluding currency, net sales decreased 4.2% year over year. This decline was primarily caused by an unfavorable price and product mix. However, there was a marked improvement in this price/mix compared with the previous quarter. The segment’s EBIT decreased 23.6% year over year to $194 million, while the EBIT margin contracted 190 bps to 7.3% owing to adverse price/mix. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for net sales of the MDA North America segment was pegged at $2.69 billion.
Net sales from MDA Latin America rose 0.4% year over year to $846 million. Excluding currency, the segment’s sales rose 8.8% year over year, driven by higher industry demand, which offset the adverse price/mix. The segment’s EBIT of $58 million advanced 11.5% year over year. The EBIT margin increased 70 bps year over year to 6.9% attributable to fixed cost leverage and cost take-out actions. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for net sales of the MDA Latin America segment was pegged at $849.7 million.
Net sales in MDA Asia increased 9.1% year over year to $239 million. Excluding the currency impacts, sales rose 10.3% due to higher volume from share gains. The segment’s EBIT of $7 million reflected a robust 40% increase from $5 million reported in the year-ago quarter. Segmental EBIT margin of 2.9% expanded 60 bps from 2.3% in the prior-year quarter, benefiting from improved price/mix and fixed cost leverage. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for net sales of the MDA Asia segment was pegged at $242.5 million.
Net sales in SDA Global declined 3% year over year to $261 million. Excluding the currency impacts, sales decreased 3.3% due to growth from new product launches and direct-to-consumer business offset by the soft industry. The segment’s EBIT of $37 million reflected a 24.5% decrease from $49 million reported in the year-ago quarter. Segmental EBIT margin of 14.2% contracted 400 bps from 18.2% in the prior-year quarter due to continued marketing investments in new product launches. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for net sales of the SDA Global segment was pegged at $271.5 million.
Whirlpool’s Financial Health Snapshot
The company ended the third quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $1.08 billion, long-term debt of $6.38 billion and total stockholders’ equity of $3.29 billion.
In the first nine months of 2024, Whirlpool used cash of $271 million from operating activities and reported a negative free cash flow of $586 million. WHR incurred capital expenditure of $315 million in the same period.
WHR’s 2024 Outlook
Whirlpool reaffirmed its sales guidance for 2024, anticipating net sales of $16.9 billion, down from $19.5 billion reported in the year-ago period. The company anticipates an ongoing EBIT margin of 6%, indicating a decrease from 6.1% reported in 2023.
Whirlpool revised its GAAP EPS view for 2024 to 50 cents, owing to the updated GAAP tax rate and a non-cash charge related to the Europe transaction. However, the company reiterated its ongoing EPS guidance of $12. The ongoing earnings guidance includes approximately $300 million of cost actions. In 2023, WHR reported EPS of $8.72 and $16.16 on a GAAP and ongoing basis, respectively.
Cash provided by operating activities is expected to be nearly $1.05 billion, with an estimated free cash flow of roughly $500 million. This includes nearly $250-$300 million of MDA Europe cash usage. WHR anticipates paying dividends of roughly $400 million in 2024.
Shares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company have gained 4.5% in the past six months compared with the industry’s growth of 6.9%.
Key Picks
We have highlighted some better-ranked stocks in the broader discretionary sector, namely G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. GIII, Gildan Activewear Inc. GIL and Crocs, Inc. CROX.
G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. is a manufacturer, designer and distributor of apparel and accessories, currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
It has a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 118.2%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GIII’s current fiscal-year sales indicates growth of 3.3% from the year-ago reported figures.
Gildan Activewear Inc. is a manufacturer and marketer of premium quality branded basic activewear. It carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present.
The consensus estimate for Gildan Activewear’s 2024 earnings and sales indicates growth of 14% and 1.4%, respectively, from 2023’s reported levels. GIL has a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 5.5%.
Crocs develops and manufactures lifestyle footwear and accessories. It currently has a Zacks Rank #2. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 14.9%, on average.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Crocs’ current financial-year sales and earnings implies an improvement of 4.2% and 7.3%, respectively, from the prior-year actuals.
5 Stocks Set to Double
Each was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2024. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +143.0%, +175.9%, +498.3% and +673.0%.
Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.
Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Whirlpool Corporation (WHR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Crocs, Inc. (CROX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
G-III Apparel Group, LTD. (GIII) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Gildan Activewear, Inc. (GIL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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