Whirlpool Sees Ongoing Loss of $1.30 per Share in 2026 After Sales Decline
Key Facts
Whirlpool reported an adjusted ongoing loss of $0.21 per share in the third quarter of 2026, while analysts’ consensus had called for a profit of $1.04 per share, according to Investing.com coverage. The result came as net sales totaled $3.677 billion, down 8.8% year over year, according to the company’s statement. Organic sales were $3.643 billion, down 5.4% from the same period last year. The company also swung to a $249 million net loss available to common shareholders, compared with a profit of $73 million in the third quarter of 2025. In its outlook for fiscal 2026, Whirlpool cut its sales estimate to about $14.5 billion, versus analysts’ consensus of $15 billion.
The company expects to post a 2026 GAAP diluted loss of about $4.95 per share, alongside an ongoing loss of about $1.30 per share, according to its statement. The outlook follows 2025 sales of $15.5 billion and ongoing earnings of $6.23 per share. On a third-quarter basis, the ongoing per-share loss of $0.21 was worse than analysts’ estimate of a $1.04 profit, a shortfall of $1.25 per share, according to Investing.com. Quarterly revenue was about $3.68 billion, compared with a consensus estimate of $3.97 billion. The results combined a miss against market estimates with a reduction in the annual sales and earnings outlook.
By segment, sales of major domestic appliances in North America fell 8.3% to $2.495 billion in the third quarter, compared with $2.722 billion a year earlier. Whirlpool attributed the decline, excluding the impact of currency, to weak demand in the segment, where sales on that basis fell 8.2% year over year. The company announced a 7% price increase in North America, effective in the fourth quarter. By contrast, segment sales in Latin America rose 6.9% to $858 million, from $802 million a year earlier. The company said the region’s sales increased 2.5% excluding currency effects, driven by volume, while operating profit margin was pressured by a change in sales mix following the restructuring of Casas Bahia Group’s bankruptcy; it announced price increases of up to 10% in the region.
Ongoing operating profit margin, known as EBIT margin, fell to 2.6% in the third quarter from 4.5% a year earlier. Chief Executive Mark Bitzer said structural cost cuts and the emergence of pricing benefits supported sequential margin improvement during the quarter. He added that the recovery is slower than expected, but said the measures in place “chart a path to further improvement in 2027.” Whirlpool expects ongoing operating profit margin of between 2.0% and 2.2% in 2026. For the fourth quarter, it expects sales of about $4 billion and ongoing operating margin of about 2.2%.
On liquidity, the company expects operating cash flow of about $700 million and free cash flow of about $300 million in fiscal 2026. It also lowered its year-end net debt outlook to less than $4.5 billion, from a previous forecast of less than $5 billion. In May, Whirlpool said the Iran war had weakened consumer confidence and pushed the sector into a recession-level downturn. At the time, it cut its annual earnings outlook to a range of $3 to $3.50 per share, after posting a quarterly loss of $82 million in the first quarter. The current per-share outlook points to a shift from ongoing earnings of $6.23 in 2025 to an expected ongoing loss in 2026.
Whirlpool shares fell 5.91% during Monday’s session on October 26, 2026, then dropped 8.6% in after-hours trading following the results announcement, according to Investing.com. The company scheduled a call to discuss third-quarter performance with the investment community on October 27, 2026, at 8 a.m. Eastern time. The call follows the results announcement and the new annual outlook. Fourth-quarter results are expected to reflect the announced price increases in North America and Latin America, according to the company’s plans. The fourth-quarter sales and margin outlook will also form part of the framework Whirlpool has set for the remaining months of the year.