Key Takeaways
- Toro Company missed third-quarter earnings and revenue estimates as both homeowners and businesses pulled back on purchases.
- The maker of lawn mowers and snowblowers also reduced its full-year profit and sales forecasts.
- CEO Richard Olsen said the results were impacted by macroeconomic pressures.
Toro Company (TTC) shares sank Thursday as the manufacturer of lawn mowers and snowblowers reported worse-than-expected results and guidance on falling demand for its products amid what Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Richard Olson called a “very dynamic environment.”
The company posted fiscal 2024 third-quarter earnings per share (EPS) of $1.14, with revenue rising 6.9% year-over-year to $1.16 billion. Both were short of consensus estimates of analysts compiled by Visible Alpha.
Sales at the Professional segment fell 1.7% to $880.9 million, “primarily driven by lower shipments of snow and ice management products, lawn care equipment, and compact utility loaders.” Sales jumped 52.6% to $267.5 million at its Residential division, mostly the result of higher shipments to its mass channel.
Toro ‘Saw Increased Caution’ From Customers
Olson said the company “saw increased caution from homeowners and lawn care dealers as summer progressed due to macro factors, which resulted in lower-than-expected shipments of residential and professional lawn care products to our dealer channel.”
Toro now sees full-year net sales growth of about 1%, down from its previous outlook of a low-single-digit percentage gain. It anticipates adjusted EPS in a range of $4.15 to $4.20 versus the earlier $4.25 to $4.35. Both were less than analysts’ forecasts.
Shares of Toro Company sank 10% to $81.78 in late-morning trading Thursday. They are down about 15% this year.