• The company said the war in Iran resulted in “recession-level industry decline” in the U.S.
• For the first quarter, revenue came in at $3.27 billion, and adjusted earnings were a loss of $0.56 per share, both below estimates.
• For the full year, the company expects revenue of $15 billion and adjusted earnings per share between $3.00 and $3.50.

Shares of home appliances giant Whirlpool (WHR) are on track to hit their lowest level in over 14 years after the company reported first-quarter results that missed the average analyst estimate by a wide margin, as demand in its main market took a major hit from the ongoing U.S.-Iran war.

At the time of writing, WHR stock was down nearly 17% in premarket trading on Thursday.

WHR Says War Created Recession-Level Industry Decline

The company said the ongoing U.S.-Iran war created a “recession-level industry decline” in its home market, which led to a collapse in consumer confidence from late February through March.

In an interview with Yahoo Finance, CFO Roxanne Warner stated that the industry contracted about 7.4%. “These are levels that last time you've seen was in the great financial crisis,” Warner said.

To counterbalance that, the company hiked prices for its products by double digits in North America, which it claims is the largest increase in over a decade. It also moved to reduce its inventory levels, accelerate cost-cutting measures, and suspend dividend payments.

WHR Results At A Glance

For the first quarter (Q1), revenue fell 9.6% to $3.27 billion, below the Fiscal AI estimate of $3.44 billion. The company reported a loss of $0.56 per share, versus the estimate of $0.47 earnings per share.

For the full year, the company expects revenue to grow 1.5% to roughly $15 billion, below the $15.27 billion estimate, and adjusted earnings per share between $3.00 to $3.50, below the $4.73 per share estimate.

What Retail Traders Think Of WHR Stock

On Stocktwits, users noted that the report fell short of their expectations.

WHR stock is down more than 24% so far this year and has lost nearly 28% over the past 12 months, underperforming the S&P 500.

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