By Katherine Hamilton

Kirby shares took a dive after the marine company said tariffs were weighing on demand and creating uncertainty about its performance in the second half of the year.

The stock sank 22% to $93.21 on Thursday, marking the stock's largest percent decrease since 1987. Shares are now down 12% for the year.

Kirby is facing "new complexities to near-term planning" in the second half of the year, Chief Executive David Grzebinski said. Tariff policies in the U.S. are affecting trade flows and demand, as well as sourcing for its power-generation supply chain. They have added uncertainty, influenced customer-purchasing behavior and contributed to softness in select end markets, he said.

If the current softness continues, Kirby's full-year earnings growth will likely be at the lower end of the 15%-to-25% guidance range the company previously gave, Grzebinski said. The uncertain outlook overshadowed the Houston company's sales beat for the second quarter, which was $855.5 million compared with analysts' projected $852.5 million.

There is particular weakness from Kirby's clients in the chemical space, Grzebinski said on an analyst call. Volume from those clients started to pull back in July as tariffs, as well as softness in the automobile and housing industries, weighed on chemical companies, he said.

"They're in a challenging market," President Christian O'Neil said on the call. "They're trying to navigate the geopolitical and macro and tariffs and some of those uncertainties and it's created a lot of complexity for them."

Write to Katherine Hamilton at katherine.hamilton@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 31, 2025 13:50 ET (17:50 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.