Feb 10 (Reuters) - Home improvement firm Masco MAS.N beat Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter profit on Tuesday, as price hikes on certain products helped offset higher tariff-related costs and a weak housing market.
WHY IT'S IMPORTANT
U.S. President Donald Trump's administration last year imposed tariffs from 50% on copper pipes to 25% on kitchen cabinets and 10% on softwood lumber.
This added significant cost pressure for homebuilders and home‑improvement companies that depend on such materials.
Lower‑income homeowners have curbed spending on costly home renovations and big-ticket projects amid higher borrowing costs, hurting sales at companies including Masco.
CONTEXT
Masco raised prices across various products in 2025 to help offset higher commodity and tariff costs, followed by cost‑reduction and diversifying the supply chain.
The duties have impacted sourcing of key materials such as copper and brass from foreign suppliers, prompting the company to adjust pricing to preserve margins.
Its quarterly gross margin contracted 80 basis points to 33.9%.
KEY QUOTE
"We also began to implement various restructuring actions to further streamline our business, reduce headcount and optimize operations...we expect to incur approximately $50 million in additional charges in 2026," CEO Jon Nudi said.
"We anticipate the savings generated from these actions will fund additional growth initiatives and contribute to future margin expansion."
BY THE NUMBERS
The company expects full-year adjusted earnings per share in the range of $4.10 to $4.30, compared with analysts' average expectation of $4.19, according to data compiled by LSEG.
It earned quarterly profit of 82 cents per share on an adjusted basis, topping estimates of 79 cents.
Masco posted sales of $1.79 billion in the fourth quarter, below estimates of $1.82 billion.
Sales at its plumbing products segment, a major revenue contributor, rose 5% after a 1% decline a year ago.
(Reporting by Sanskriti Shekhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)
((Sanskriti.Shekhar@thomsonreuters.com))