MW Inflation from tariffs should hit this year, consumer-brands company says

By Tomi Kilgore

Oxo, Revlon, Vicks and Hydro Flask parent's stock tumbles toward a 14-year low as tariffs take a big bite out of sales

Shares of Helen of Troy Ltd. tumbled toward a 14-year low Thursday after the consumer-brands company missed quarterly profit expectations by the widest margin in years and in effect blamed tariffs for sales falling below expectations.

The company $(HELE)$, with brands including Oxo, Revlon, Hydro Flask and Vicks, also provided a sales outlook for the current quarter that was well below Wall Street forecasts, as tariff-related pressures are expected to start affecting consumer spending.

It's not helping matters that the company is still looking for a chief executive, following the sudden departure in May of longtime CEO Noel Geoffroy. Chief Financial Officer Brian Grass is serving as interim CEO.

"As we saw from the U.S. administration's trade announcements on Monday, there is still a lot of uncertainty that will need to play out," Grass said, according to an AlphaSense transcript of the post-earnings call with analysts. "We also believe that the inflationary impacts from higher tariffs have not yet been fully realized by the consumer, which could create further pressure on our results in the second half of the year."

The stock sank 21.3% in afternoon trading, putting it on track to close at its lowest price since Oct. 3, 2011. It was headed for the biggest one-day decline since the record 27.7% selloff on July 9, 2024.

For the fiscal first quarter to May 31, sales fell 10.8% from the same period a year ago, to $371.66 million from $416.85 million, and missed the average analyst estimate compiled by FactSet of $395.7 million.

The company said "tariff-related impacts" accounted for 8 percentage points of the revenue decline. Excluding that decline, revenue would have fallen to about $405.2 million, which was above the FactSet consensus.

Grass said the impact on sales from tariffs was threefold.

First, direct import orders from China were canceled in response to higher tariffs. Second, orders were pulled forward in the fiscal fourth quarter ahead of tariff announcements, which led to higher inventory and lower purchasing in the first quarter. And third, the tariffs resulted in weakness in China, as they led to increased competition from China-based sellers, made worse by government subsidies.

Indirectly, because of the higher prices from tariffs, "we're seeing clear evidence of the consumer trading down, with the average price compression of 3% to 4% in our U.S. business, which impacted first-quarter revenue and profitability," Grass said.

Given the uncertainties related to tariffs and the outlook for the economy, the company said it would only provide an outlook for the current fiscal second quarter and not for the full year. The company expects second-quarter sales of $408 million to $432 million, compared with the current FactSet consensus of $470.2 million.

Regarding the company's business segments for the first quarter, beauty and wellness sales dropped 11.3% to $193.7 million, amid weakness in sales of thermometers, fans and hair appliances.

Home and outdoor sales declined 10.3% to $178 million, amid softer demand for home products and insulated beverageware.

The company also swung to a net loss of $450.7 million for the quarter, from net income of $6.2 million, due mostly to a noncash goodwill impairment charge of $414.4 million. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share were down to 41 cents from 99 cents and missed the FactSet consensus of 85 cents.

The margin of that miss - results were 51.8% below expectations - was the widest in at least five years, according to available FactSet data going back to July 2020.

The stock has plunged 59.2% in 2025, while the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR exchange-traded fund XLY has slipped 1.2% and the S&P 500 SPX has gained 6.8%.

-Tomi Kilgore

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July 10, 2025 15:29 ET (19:29 GMT)

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