What happened
Shares of Goodyear Tire (GT 0.52%) fell more than 10% on Friday morning after the company reported second-quarter results that were down year over year and fell short of expectations. The company continues to struggle in what its CEO calls "a challenging environment."
So what
Before markets opened Goodyear said it had earned $0.25 per share in the second quarter on revenue of $3.6 billion, short of analyst expectations for $0.34 per share in earnings on $3.78 billion in sales. So far in 2019 Goodyear has generated sales of $7.2 billion, down 6% year over year due to unfavorable foreign currency conversion and lower volumes.
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Tire unit volumes totaled 75.4 million, down 3% from 2018. Original equipment volume is down 9%, while replacement tire shipments are down 1%.
CEO Richard J. Kramer said in a statement, "Our U.S. consumer replacement and commercial businesses continued to perform well in a challenging environment."
Now what
In the statement Kramer said he was "encouraged" that some of the factors that have negatively affected the business are beginning to moderate, which, if the trend continues, should help results in the second half of the year.
The stock could use the boost. Shares are down more than 30% for the year, in part because of a free fall in May on fears of tariffs and questions about the health of the U.S. consumer. Given continued fears about the U.S. auto industry, highlighted by Ford's earnings, it will likely be hard for Goodyear to bounce back quickly.
