Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) Reports Sales Below Analyst Estimates In Q1 Earnings
Home appliances manufacturer Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) fell short of the market’s revenue expectations in Q1 CY2025, with sales falling 19.4% year on year to $3.62 billion. Its GAAP profit of $1.28 per share was 17% below analysts’ consensus estimates.
Revenue: $3.62 billion vs analyst estimates of $3.66 billion (19.4% year-on-year decline, 1% miss)
EPS (GAAP): $1.28 vs analyst expectations of $1.54 (17% miss)
Adjusted EBITDA: $267 million vs analyst estimates of $313.5 million (7.4% margin, 14.8% miss)
Operating Margin: 5.1%, up from -2.6% in the same quarter last year
Free Cash Flow was -$793 million compared to -$988 million in the same quarter last year
Market Capitalization: $4.28 billion
Credited with introducing the first automatic washing machine, Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) is a manufacturer of a variety of home appliances.
Like many equipment and component manufacturers, electrical systems companies are buoyed by secular trends such as connectivity and industrial automation. More specific pockets of strong demand include Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity and the 5G telecom upgrade cycle, which can benefit companies whose cables and conduits fit those needs. But like the broader industrials sector, these companies are also at the whim of economic cycles. Interest rates, for example, can greatly impact projects that drive demand for these products.
Reviewing a company’s long-term sales performance reveals insights into its quality. Any business can put up a good quarter or two, but many enduring ones grow for years. Whirlpool’s demand was weak over the last five years as its sales fell at a 4.7% annual rate. This wasn’t a great result and suggests it’s a low quality business.
Whirlpool Quarterly Revenue
We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within industrials, a half-decade historical view may miss cycles, industry trends, or a company capitalizing on catalysts such as a new contract win or a successful product line. Whirlpool’s recent performance shows its demand remained suppressed as its revenue has declined by 10.1% annually over the last two years.
Whirlpool Year-On-Year Revenue Growth
This quarter, Whirlpool missed Wall Street’s estimates and reported a rather uninspiring 19.4% year-on-year revenue decline, generating $3.62 billion of revenue.
Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to decline by 1.3% over the next 12 months. While this projection is better than its two-year trend, it’s tough to feel optimistic about a company facing demand difficulties.
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Whirlpool was profitable over the last five years but held back by its large cost base. Its average operating margin of 4.1% was weak for an industrials business. This result isn’t too surprising given its low gross margin as a starting point.
Looking at the trend in its profitability, Whirlpool’s operating margin decreased by 6.8 percentage points over the last five years. Whirlpool’s performance was poor no matter how you look at it – it shows that costs were rising and it couldn’t pass them onto its customers.
In Q1, Whirlpool generated an operating profit margin of 5.1%, up 7.7 percentage points year on year. The increase was solid, and because its operating margin rose more than its gross margin, we can infer it was more efficient with expenses such as marketing, R&D, and administrative overhead.
We track the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) for the same reason as long-term revenue growth. Compared to revenue, however, EPS highlights whether a company’s growth is profitable.
Sadly for Whirlpool, its EPS declined by 59.8% annually over the last five years, more than its revenue. This tells us the company struggled because its fixed cost base made it difficult to adjust to shrinking demand.
Whirlpool Trailing 12-Month EPS (GAAP)
Diving into the nuances of Whirlpool’s earnings can give us a better understanding of its performance. As we mentioned earlier, Whirlpool’s operating margin improved this quarter but declined by 6.8 percentage points over the last five years. This was the most relevant factor (aside from the revenue impact) behind its lower earnings; taxes and interest expenses can also affect EPS but don’t tell us as much about a company’s fundamentals.
Like with revenue, we analyze EPS over a shorter period to see if we are missing a change in the business.
For Whirlpool, its two-year annual EPS growth of 41.6% was higher than its five-year trend. This acceleration made it one of the faster-growing industrials companies in recent history.
In Q1, Whirlpool reported EPS at $1.28, up from negative $4.72 in the same quarter last year. Despite growing year on year, this print missed analysts’ estimates. Over the next 12 months, Wall Street expects Whirlpool’s full-year EPS of $0.14 to grow 6,240%.
We struggled to find many positives in these results as its EPS and EBITDA missed significantly. Its revenue also fell short of Wall Street’s estimates. Overall, this was a softer quarter, but the stock traded up 4.6% to $81.25 immediately following the results.
