Whirlpool posts third-quarter loss as net sales fall 8.8% from a year earlier

Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) swung to a third-quarter loss on Monday as net sales fell 8.8% from a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.

The company reported a net loss available to common shareholders of $249 million for the quarter, compared with income of $73 million a year earlier. The result included a non-cash impairment charge of $124 million on its equity method investment in Whirlpool India.

Here’s how the company did:

• GAAP earnings (loss) per diluted share: $(3.80) vs. $1.29 a year earlier
• Ongoing earnings (loss) per diluted share: $(0.21) vs. $2.09 a year earlier
• Net sales: $3,677 million vs. $4,033 million a year earlier
• Ongoing EBIT: $97 million vs. $180 million a year earlier

Ongoing EBIT, or earnings before interest and taxes adjusted to exclude items the company says are unrelated to its ongoing operations, produced a margin of 2.6%, down from 4.5%. The adjustments include restructuring costs, the India impairment and a $54 million charge tied to a trade customer’s bankruptcy.

Net sales rose from $3,517 million in the second quarter. Organic net sales, which exclude currency and the previously owned India business, fell 5.4% to $3,643 million from $3,852 million a year earlier.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Marc Bitzer offered a view on the quarter. “Our structural cost take out and pricing realization drove consecutive margin progress through Q3,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Marc Bitzer. “While the pace of recovery is slower than expected, these actions are setting a clear path for further improvements in 2027.”

Here’s how the company’s segments did during the quarter, with MDA standing for major domestic appliances and SDA for small domestic appliances:

• MDA North America: net sales $2,495 million vs. $2,722 million a year earlier; EBIT $74 million vs. $134 million
• MDA Latin America: net sales $858 million vs. $802 million a year earlier; EBIT $18 million vs. $45 million
• SDA Global: net sales $286 million vs. $288 million a year earlier; EBIT $53 million vs. $47 million

Excluding currency, MDA North America net sales decreased 8.2% on soft industry demand. The company said EBIT margin there expanded sequentially, driven by price increases and structural cost take-out, partly offset by cost inflation on raw materials, fuel and logistics.

The company announced a 7% price increase for MDA North America, effective in the fourth quarter and supported by product innovation. In Latin America, it announced price increases of up to 10% across the region.

Excluding currency, MDA Latin America net sales increased 2.5% on higher volume. The company said EBIT margin there was pressured by mix shifts following the bankruptcy reorganization of Grupo Casas Bahia.

Excluding currency, SDA Global net sales decreased 0.9%. The company said October orders in the U.S. rose about 40% from a year earlier, citing strong sell-out and order timing shifts in the third quarter.

Restructuring costs were $35 million in the quarter, including $24 million tied to the closure of its Supsa manufacturing facility in Apodaca, Mexico. The company said that facility is expected to cease production by the second quarter of 2027.

The company also recorded a $54 million charge related to the bankruptcy reorganization of a trade customer in Latin America, which the filing says is not indicative of ongoing operational performance.

For the first nine months, cash used in operating activities was $826 million, compared with $669 million a year earlier. Free cash flow, which is operating cash less capital expenditures, was a use of $1,081 million, compared with $907 million a year earlier.

Chief Financial Officer Roxanne Warner addressed the balance sheet. “Through disciplined working capital management, we are protecting our year end free cash flow and our balance sheet resilience to navigate challenging market conditions,” said Chief Financial Officer Roxanne Warner. “As a result, we now expect net debt below $4.5B at the end of 2026 and have preserved a clear debt maturity ladder until 2028.”

Net debt is now expected to be below $4.5 billion by the end of 2026, improved from under $5 billion previously.

For full-year 2026, the company expects net sales of about $14.5 billion. That is a decline of about 1.5% from like-for-like 2025 net sales of about $14.7 billion, which exclude the India business for January through November. Reported 2025 net sales were $15.5 billion.

The company expects a GAAP loss of about $4.95 per diluted share for 2026, against earnings of $5.66 per diluted share in 2025. It expects an ongoing loss of about $1.30 per diluted share, against ongoing earnings of $6.23 a year earlier.

Ongoing EBIT margin is expected at 2.0% to 2.2%, compared with 4.7% in 2025. The company expects cash provided by operating activities of about $700 million, against $470 million in 2025, and free cash flow of about $300 million, against $81 million.

The filing also gives a fourth-quarter net sales outlook of about $4.0 billion. The press release is attached to the filing as Exhibit 99.1.