Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (CHD) plunged 6.52% in pre-market trading on Thursday after the consumer goods company reported mixed first-quarter results and significantly lowered its full-year 2025 outlook, citing slowing consumption and macroeconomic uncertainty.
The maker of Arm & Hammer and OxiClean products reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.91 for Q1, slightly beating the consensus estimate of $0.90. However, revenue fell short of expectations, coming in at $1.47 billion compared to analysts' projections of $1.51 billion. Organic sales decreased by 1.2% during the quarter.
In a move that alarmed investors, Church & Dwight drastically cut its full-year 2025 guidance. The company now expects organic sales growth of just 0% to 2%, down from its previous forecast of 3% to 4%. Additionally, adjusted earnings per share growth for the year is now projected at 0% to 2%, a sharp decrease from the earlier outlook of 7% to 8% growth.
CEO Rick Dierker explained the challenges facing the company: "The sales outlook now reflects no recovery in retailer destocking from Q1 and slower category growth due to macroeconomic uncertainty. The deceleration of category growth in our largest categories in the US reflects the tentativeness of the US consumer."
Adding to investor concerns, Church & Dwight announced strategic actions for its Flawless, Spinbrush, and Waterpik showerhead businesses, which may include shutting down or selling these operations. The company expects to record a Q2 charge of approximately $60 to $80 million related to these actions.
Further complicating matters, Church & Dwight disclosed that it is currently projecting a 12-month run-rate gross tariff exposure of approximately $190 million. To mitigate this, the company announced a series of supply chain actions, including no longer sourcing Waterpik flossers from China for the U.S. market. These efforts are expected to reduce the company's tariff exposure by approximately 80%.
As Church & Dwight navigates these headwinds, investors will be closely watching for signs of improvement in category growth and the effectiveness of the company's tariff mitigation strategies in the coming quarters.
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