Newell Q2 Earnings Meet Estimates, Core Sales Down 4.4%

Core Insights - Newell Brands Inc. (NWL) reported a decline in net sales and earnings for Q2 2025, with normalized EPS of 24 cents, down 31.4% year over year, matching consensus estimates [1][9] - The company experienced a 4.8% decrease in net sales to $1.9 billion, attributed to lower core sales, business exits, and adverse foreign exchange impacts [2] - Despite margin improvements, the overall performance disappointed investors, leading to a 5% drop in share price during premarket trading [4] Financial Performance - Normalized gross margin increased by 80 basis points to 35.6%, marking the eighth consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth [3] - Normalized operating margin rose by 10 basis points to 10.7%, while normalized EBITDA was reported at $280 million, slightly down from $282 million in the previous year [3] - The company ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $219 million, long-term debt of $4.5 billion, and total outstanding debt of $5.1 billion [11] Segment Performance - The Home & Commercial Solutions segment saw net sales of $892 million, a 7.3% decline year over year, driven by a 6.0% drop in core sales [7] - The Learning and Development segment reported net sales of $809 million, down 0.5% from the previous year, with core sales also declining by 0.5% [8] - The Outdoor and Recreation segment's net sales were $234 million, down 9.3% year over year, with core sales falling by 10.9% [10] Future Outlook - For Q3 2025, Newell Brands anticipates a decline in net and core sales between 4% and 2%, with normalized EPS expected to be between $0.16 and $0.19 [12] - The company revised its full-year 2025 guidance, projecting a net and core sales decline of 3% to 2%, and normalized EPS between $0.66 and $0.70 [13] - An incremental cash tariff cost of approximately $155 million is expected compared to 2024, leading to a revision in operating cash flow guidance to a range of $400 million to $450 million [13]