Key Takeaways
- Helen of Troy shares crashed Tuesday after the consumer products maker missed profit and sales estimates and slashed its guidance as beauty and wellness product demand slumped.
- The company was also negatively impacted by a technical problem at its Tennessee distribution facility.
- Helen of Troy CEO Noel Geoffroy said the challenges the firm faced increased toward the end of the quarter and some “continue to evolve.”
Helen of Troy (HELE) shares cratered more than 30% Tuesday after the consumer products firm posted lower-than-expected results and slashed its outlook on falling demand for its beauty and wellness products.
The company behind brands including Revlon, Vicks, and OXO reported fiscal 2025 first-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.99, well below the $1.59 consensus estimate of analysts compiled by Visible Alpha. Revenue slid 12.2% year-over-year to $416.8 million, also short of forecasts.
Helen of Troy blamed the drop in revenue primarily on a decline in sales of hair appliances, prestige hair care products, and humidifiers, as well as lower replenishment orders from retail customers and the impact of technical issues at its Tennessee distribution center.
Sales at the Beauty & Wellness segment tumbled 15.2% to $218.4 million, and Home & Outdoors unit sales were down 8.6% to $198.5 million.
‘Unusual Number of Internal and External Challenges’
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Noel Geoffroy said Helen of Troy “battled an unusual number of internal and external challenges in the quarter.” She warned that many of those challenges “became more pronounced toward the end of the first quarter and some continue to evolve.“
Because of that, the company has cut its full-year guidance for adjusted EPS to $7.00 to $7.50 from its earlier prediction of $8.70 to $9.20. It also sees Beauty & Wellness sales sinking 5.0% to 8.0%, and Home & Outdoors sales falling 1.0% to 3.0%, worse than previous forecasts.
Shares of Helen of Troy lost nearly a third of their value soon after the opening bell Tuesday, sinking to their lowest point in nearly a decade.
CORRECTION—An earlier version of this story incorrectly referred to CEO Noel Geoffroy as a man.
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