It's been a rough week for mattress maker Sealy
Sealy's fiscal second-quarter numbers are nightmares on Wall Street. Sales fell by 6.6% to $375.4 million, spanked by a 16% decline in domestic unit sales. Earnings fell to $0.13 a share, after last year's showing of $0.17, but would have actually clocked in at $0.08 if not for a one-time reserves-related benefit. Business may be healthy abroad, but the end result is still a bottom-line disaster. Higher material costs are tough to pass on to penny-pinching consumers.
Sealy's numbers are even worse than the company's first-quarter financials, and they seemed so bleak that the company suspended its dividend.
Sealy isn't alone. Niche bedding makers Tempur-Pedic
Other companies that rely on residential furnishings, like Leggett & Platt
Whatever you do, just don't tell Sealy investors to "sleep on it," because they already have. It's a bed of nails that apparently isn't going to get smoother until the economy rights its wrongs.
Other ways that the bedbugs bite: