Mike Larson | Editor-in-Chief
Not to be a Debbie Downer. But it hasn’t been ALL good news on the earnings front. Exhibit A is Whirlpool Corp. (WHR). So, how much should you worry?
Let’s start with the details. Whirlpool warned of a “recession-level industry decline” for big-ticket consumer purchases like household appliances. It lost 56 cents per share in Q1, missing the average forecast for 38 cents in earnings by a country mile. Plus, it cut its full-year profit forecast range in half – and suspended its dividend.
Result? Whirlpool stock slid 11.9% to the lowest level since December 2011, as you can see in my MoneyShow Chart of the Day.
Whirlpool Corp. (WHR)
Source: TradingView
Not great. Shares of global competitor AB Electrolux (ELUXY) also trade like death warmed over, recently slumping to a 17-year low amid lousy North American market sales.
Worth noting: Larry McDonald also highlighted the weak performance of housing-market-sensitive stocks like Home Depot Inc. (HD) in this week’s MoneyShow MoneyMasters Podcast. It’s down 5.4% year-to-date, while competitor Lowe’s Cos. (LOW) is down 2.2%. The State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is up 5.9% in the same timeframe.
So, getting back to the original question: Should you worry about this action? Sell stocks broadly and move to cash because some appliance makers are hurting bad…and home improvement retailers look “meh?” I wouldn’t go THAT far.
Appliance maker LG Electronics is trading just fine in South Korea. Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. is going vertical – though that’s because of its AI-related operations, not appliance demand! Plus, we’re seeing companies with commercial construction exposure – especially data center-related operations – doing great. Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) is Exhibit A there.
That means this is more of a “some winners, some losers” situation. Not a reason to run for the hills.
In this episode, Larry McDonald joins the MoneyShow MoneyMasters Podcast to discuss what he calls "The Great Migration" of capital from tech and growth stocks into hard assets. The founder of The Bear Traps Report explains why the traditional 60/40 portfolio is failing – and why investors should consider a significant allocation to commodities like gold, silver, base metals, and energy.
Looking ahead, the discussion focuses on the essential power infrastructure needed for the AI growth cycle, highlighting opportunities in uranium, natural gas, and "trapped gas" plays. Finally, learn how even a small fraction of the trillions of dollars currently in the NASDAQ 100 could dramatically revalue hard asset and value plays in the coming years.
Although capital flows remain slightly above trend, the internal strength behind the advance has weakened. In Q1, much of the upside move was fueled by a lack of sellers rather than strong demand as downside capital‑weighted volume often overwhelmed upside even as indexes drifted higher, notes Buff Dormeier, chief technical analyst at Kingsview Partners.
Commodities continue to trade with a “risk-on/war-off” tone as oil prices plunged recently before recovering some losses amid shifting headlines surrounding US-Iran ceasefire prospects, writes Tom Essaye, president of the Sevens Report.
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