An unwelcome change in guidance was the development pushing down Kimberly-Clark's (KMB 0.54%) share price on Tuesday.
The sturdy consumer goods company released quarterly results that weren't awful, but the market was concerned about that adjustment. In mid-afternoon trading, Kimberly-Clark's stock was down by almost 3% as a result. Meanwhile, the bellwether S&P 500 index was rising by just under 2%.
Declines in all three business segments
Kimberly-Clark's first quarter of 2025 saw the company earn $4.84 billion in net sales, a figure that was down 6% from the same period of 2024. Management attributed the decline to "impacts of currency and divestitures and business exits." Nevertheless, analysts were collectively estimating a higher figure of $4.88 billion.
On the other hand, non-GAAP (adjusted) net income came in slightly ahead of the consensus pundit projection. It fell by 4% year over year to $1.93 per share.
All three of Kimberly-Clark's business segments suffered declines in net sales. International personal care, the No. 2 in terms of total sales, saw a nearly 9% year-over-year slide in the quarter to $1.4 million. The No. 1, North America, declined by nearly 4% to $2.7 billion.
No investor likes a guidance cut
Compounding that, Kimberly-Clark cut its full-year guidance. It now believes adjusted earnings per share will be flat to slightly positive over the 2024 result, on the back of an anticipated $300 million in additional costs arising from the current international trade disputes.
Previously it was expecting profitability to rise by at least a mid-single-digit percentage rate.
Personally, I feel as if the current situation with trade is becoming something of an excuse for some underperforming companies. Kimberly-Clark isn't showing much vibrancy in any of its business, and it seems as if the company needs more than a calm trade environment to get its growth engine restarted.
