Joining me today are Marc Bitzer, our chairman and chief executive officer; and Jim Peters, our chief financial officer. Before we begin, I remind you that as we conduct this call, we will be making forward-looking statements to assist you in understanding Whirlpool Corporation's future expectations.
Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) today reported financial results for the first-quarter of 2020.
Whirlpool (WHR) delivered earnings and revenue surprises of 8.05% and -1.18%, respectively, for the quarter ended March 2020. Do the numbers hold clues to what lies ahead for the stock?
Q1 2020 Whirlpool Corp Earnings Call
Whirlpool Corporation (WHR), Dow (DOW) and Reynolds Consumer Products (REYN) are teaming up to create PAPR, powered, air-purifying respirators.
As a side effect of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, home appliance manufacturers such as Whirlpool (NYSE: WHR) and retailers like Lowe's (NYSE: LOW) or Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) may profit from a new trend in purchases as people stock up on the freezers needed to store extra food during and after the outbreak. According to the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, or AHAM, pandemic buying has boosted deep freezer sales by approximately 45% year over year during the first quarter. Anecdotal evidence from appliance store owners supports the figures.
As consumers bake more, strong sales growth of KitchenAid stand mixers was icing on the cake in Whirlpool's latest quarterly results.
Moody's Investors Service, ("Moody's") assigned a Baa1 rating to Whirlpool Corporation's ("Whirlpool") new $500 million senior unsecured 30-year notes. Last week, Whirlpool also put in place a new $500 million 364-day revolver which is not rated. Moody's expects that Whirlpool's operating performance will be negatively impacted in 2020 by lower demand for its products as a result of weakening global economic conditions caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- After a prolonged shutdown, Ford Motor Co. officially resumed production at its North American factories this week. It hasn’t been as smooth a process as the company might have hoped: Ford had to temporarily close two critical facilities this week to allow for a deep cleaning after workers tested positive for the coronavirus. An Explorer SUV plant in Chicago was closed a second time after an employee at a nearby supplier facility tested positive for the virus, causing a parts shortage.This is the reality of manufacturing for the time being as companies fret about worker safety and the legal and reputational risks of not doing enough to protect employees. Unlike Ford, whose products fall into a category of consumer spending that’s become even more discretionary amid the pandemic, wide swaths of the industrial sector were deemed essential and allowed to remain operational. Those companies, too, have had their share of growing pains as they adjust to a new way of working.Boeing Co. temporarily closed its factories in the Puget Sound area in March after a worker died of the coronavirus and later briefly shuttered work at its 787 plant in South Carolina. CBS Minnesota reported earlier this month that a Honeywell International Inc. facility in Minneapolis had closed after a worker tested positive. Whirlpool Corp. closed its Amana, Iowa, refrigerator plant at least twice after employees tested positive for the virus, according to the Gazette local paper. Deere & Co. and Altria Group Inc.’s Philip Morris USA are among the many others that have had to close plants on a limited basis to avoid outbreaks among workers. Lockheed Martin Corp., meanwhile, said this week it will temporarily slow production of the F-35 fighter jet because of delays at suppliers. It’s a lot harder, though, to bring factories back to life than it is to just figure it out as you go along. Ford may be a manufacturer, but because it’s one of the few to have experienced an extended lockdown, it’s arguably a better benchmark for the non-industrial economy. You better believe that office-based companies that have sent most of their workers home are keeping a close eye on how the likes of Ford fare in flipping the switch back on. Seeing the automaker’s setbacks this week, companies that can operate without their employees clustered in the same place may be less keen to rush back. They’re getting a more continuous stream of work out of their employees now than they would if they had to hit the pause button and clear out the office every few weeks. And the mixed messages from the White House aren't helpful: President Donald Trump is due to visit a Ford factory in Michigan that’s been converted to ventilator production and has been wishy-washy on whether he will adhere to the company’s face-mask requirements. Already, American Express Co. CEO Steve Squeri and Visa Inc. CEO Al Kelly said this week that most of their employees would work from home for the rest of the year. Some 28% of employers recently surveyed by Challenger, Gray & Christmas said they would make work-from-home arrangements permanent for at least some employees. Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and social media site Twitter Inc. are among those who have publicly said remote working will be their indefinite default option. Facebook Inc. said Thursday it would follow suit and move to a more permanent remote workforce.At the end of the day, manufacturing or non-manufacturing, it's all interconnected. How permanent this shift to work from home will be is debatable, but if companies end up needing less office space, by default that means fewer HVAC systems, commercial lighting, fire and security products or even 3M Co.’s Post-it notes. And if workers aren’t going to be commuting, do they still need to buy cars from Ford? There's a lot riding on getting reopening right. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Brooke Sutherland is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering deals and industrial companies. She previously wrote an M&A column for Bloomberg News.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Soft demand and disruptions in production due to the COVID-19 situation are likely to have hurt Whirlpool's (WHR) Q1 performance.
Shares of Whirlpool and Clorox rise, while United States Steel falls Continue reading...
Best Buy takes a novel approach to start reopening its physical stores.
Whirlpool Corporation, Dow and Reynolds Consumer Products are pleased to announce a collaboration to provide much-needed respirators to the heroic men and women in healthcare who are working on the frontlines to combat the spread of COVID-19. The joint project is a protective piece of headgear and respirator system that will be manufactured and sold through WIN Health Labs, LLC, in addition to an initial donation to hospitals.
Christian Gianni, Whirlpool VP of Technology, joins Yahoo Finance's Alexis Christoforous and Brian Sozzi to discuss the creation of respirators, alongside its partner Dow and Reynolds Consumer Products. Gianni also weighs in the potential for future innovation at Whirlpool.
Whirlpool Corp. shares rose 3% in the extended session Thursday after the appliances maker reported first-quarter sales that met Wall Street expectations and said it enjoyed "strong liquidity" to weather the economic downturn due to the coronavirus pandemic. Whirlpool said it earned $152 million, or $2.41 a share, from $471 million, or $7.31 a share, a year ago. Sales fell 9% to $4.33 billion from $4.76 billion a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected the company to report first-quarter GAAP earnings of $2.60 a share on sales of $4.3 billion. The company said it had a cash balance of $2.8 billion as of March 31, and about $2 billion available in credit facilities already secured. Shares of Whirlpool ended the regular trading day down nearly 9%.
Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) will release its first-quarter financial results and presentation materials at 4:10 p.m. ET on Thursday, April 30, 2020. Whirlpool Corporation will then hold a conference call to discuss its performance with the investment community at 8 a.m. ET on Friday, May 1, 2020.
Appliance maker Whirlpool posted a beat on its first quarter sales and profit expectations. Marc Bitzer, Whirlpool CEO, joins Yahoo Finance to break down the report. Bitzer also shares that KitchenAid stand mixers have seen the strongest sales growth of their products as consumers turn to baking while in quarantine.
Another 55,000 machines in UK homes should stop being used and need repairing or replacing.
Swedish home appliance maker Electrolux on Thursday warned it expected to make a significant second-quarter loss due to headwinds from the COVID-19 pandemic, after it beat earnings forecasts in the first three months of the year. The rival of U.S. Whirlpool said first-quarter operating earnings were 122 million Swedish crowns ($12.42 million), up from a 53 million loss in the year-ago quarter, which was marred by large one-off costs, and above the 19 million profit seen in a Refinitiv analyst poll.
Whirlpool Corp. , Dow Inc. and Reynolds Consumer Products Inc. said Thursday they were collaborating to to provide respirators to health care workers, who are struggling with a lack of personal protective equipment in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. The companies said the equipment being made is a protective piece of headgear and respirator system made and sold through WIN Health Labs LLC. The equipment includes a powered, air-purifying respirator, or PAPR. Whirlpool designed and made the headset, Dow provided the polyethylene resin for the hoods and Hefty bags-maker Reynolds Consumer designed and produced the disposable hood. Volkswagen of America helped connect materials and supply chain partners.