Shares in Rubbermaid and DYMO owner Newell Brands Inc were slaughtered in early trade after third-quarter revenues and earnings undershot Wall Street forecasts.
Shares fell by a quarter after the company blamed the miss on retailers “rebalancing their inventories”.
Earnings per share were 86 cents when adjusted for one-off items, which compared with consensus estimates that were around 10 cent higher than that figure.
Sales up
Sales for the New Jersey-based outfit were US$234.4mln, up from US$187mln a year earlier.
“Despite challenging marketplace conditions, we are on a path to achieve our transformation objectives,” said chief executive Michael Polk.
“Our market share increases, point of sale growth, innovation and e-commerce development, and cost savings delivery have enabled competitive year-to-date results, strengthening our confidence in the transformative value creation opportunity inherent in Newell Brands.”
Investors weren’t convinced by the rhetoric and bolted for the exit, pushing the shares US$10.78, or 26% lower to US$30.17.