(Editor's note: In an earlier version of this story, it was reported that the Fool owned shares of Best Buy. It does not own any Best Buy shares. The Fool apologizes for the error.)
As the number of foreclosures escalates and inflation pressures for food and fuel continue to pinch consumers, the last thing on anyone's mind is buying a big-ticket home appliance. That doesn't make for a good trend for Whirlpool (NYSE: WHR), because 57% of its revenue was generated in the U.S. in the first quarter, which hindered overall performance.
Consolidated sales rose 5.1% on strong international numbers, but thanks to "one of the most challenging operating environments we have seen in three decades" in the U.S., earnings fell 19.6%. According to management's outlook, things likely won't get any easier for the rest of the year.
Whirlpool's CEO cited a "challenging global economic environment" and rising costs for raw materials that go into producing washers, dryers, refrigerators, and other household appliances. Still, sales grew in the double digits in every key region except for the U.S., with notable gains in Latin America (up 24%) and Asia (up 19%). The growth was in a much more pedestrian single-digit range when stripping out the benefits of a weak dollar, but growth in operating profits held up quite well abroad.
The problems are in North America, where sales fell 3% as industry shipments to customers such as Best Buy (NYSE: BBY), Sears (Nasdaq: SHLD), and hhgregg (NYSE: HGG) dropped 9%. Operating profit fell a whopping 29.6% on significantly higher costs related to oil and materials, the lower demand for industry shipments, and surging selling, general, and administrative costs. Add it all up and first-quarter profits of $1.22 didn't even come close to the $1.57 analysts were expecting. Management sees the difficulties lasting through this year and cut its full-year guidance to $7.00 to $7.50 from $8.50 to $9.00.
That's a pretty big drop, demonstrating that Whirlpool can indeed count on the cost-cutting benefits from acquiring archrival Maytag to weather the chilly economic climate. Things could get worse, especially if international demand catches a cold from U.S. difficulties, but as it stands, the stock is now trading at only about 10 times this year's earnings -- if Whirlpool hits the high end of its goals. For now, I'll stay on the sidelines, but the company is worth keeping an eye on as the undisputed global leader in home appliances.
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