Whirlpool shares take a bath as elections jitters knock sales
Blame the voters – Whirlpool’s shares tumbled more than 10 per cent on Tuesday after it said that consumer jitters after the UK’s Brexit vote and ahead of the US presidential election had softened third-quarter demand in those markets for washers and other home appliances. Shares of Whirlpool, which had been up about 1 per cent over the past year prior to today, hit an eight-month low on Tuesday after it unveiled earnings that were largely weaker than expected. On Tuesday, Whirlpool reported net sales fell in the third quarter of 2016 to $5.25bn, from $5.28bn during the same three-month period last year and missing the $5.3bn predicted by analysts. The company said revenue was dragged down by a weaker post-Brexit pound and UK consumer demand , and a flurry of promotional activity in the US that it said allowed importing rivals to undercut its prices with cheaper goods. Quarterly net income gained slightly from a year earlier, to $238m, or $3.10 per diluted share, up from $235m, or...