By Janet H. Cho

Shares of appliance manufacturer Whirlpool Corp. were down in early afternoon trading on Monday, days after the company reported weaker-than-expected first-quarter earnings.

The stock price was down 6.5% at $42.03 just after 1:30 p.m. Eastern time, on track for its lowest closing price in about 17 years. The stock is down 41.7% this year, and down nearly 50% over the past 12 months.

The Benton Harbor, Mich.-based company, whose brands include Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag, and Amana, has been battered by economic and policy uncertainty, rising costs, and aggressive competition.

On May 6, Whirlpool reported a loss of 56 cents a share from first-quarter sales of $3.3 billion. Analysts were expecting earnings of 38 cents a share on sales of $3.4 billion, according to FactSet.

In the first quarter of 2025, it reported earnings of $1.70 a share from sales of $3.6 billion.

The Supreme Court's February ruling overturning President Donald Trump's broad-based trade tariffs, which had helped Whirlpool compete against imported foreign appliances, now enabled those rivals to offer more competitive prices, Whirlpool said. About 80% of the company's sales come from the U.S.

Whirlpool lowered its full-year earnings guidance to between $3 and $3.50 a share, down from the $7 a share it forecast in January. It reduced its expected free cash flow to $300 million, from about $450 million previously.

The company also suspended its dividend, which had been 90 cents a quarter.

Its stock closed down 11.9% at $48.21 on Thursday, and had traded as low as $44.87 intraday. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.4% and 0.6%, respectively.

Citi analyst Kyle Menges noted that industry demand fell to recession-level lows while "the aggressive promotional environment re-accelerated following recent tariff rulings," as Whirlpool announced double-digit percentage price increases to help restore profitability.

But the recent change in Section 232 tariffs, from 50% on steel and aluminum to levies on entire products made primarily of steel and aluminum is expected to help Whirlpool stay competitive.

Write to Janet H. Cho at janet.cho@dowjones.com

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May 11, 2026 14:25 ET (18:25 GMT)

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