Whirlpool’s CEO Says the Presidential Election Has the Consumer Feeling ‘Not Good’

High mortgage rates aren’t the only thing weighing on home improvement demand, according to executives at Whirlpool Corp. (WHR), the maker of Whirlpool, KitchenAid, and Maytag appliances, which says the presidential election is another source of stress on the consumer dollar.

“The pre-election consumer sentiment is just not good,” said chief executive Marc Bitzer on the company’s Thursday morning earnings call, a transcript of which was provided by AlphaSense. “You’re exposed to negative news every day and negative messages every day and that does not lift consumer sentiment.”

That is adding to the pressure that elevated mortgage rates and high property values have put on makers and sellers of big-ticket items, especially those focused on home improvement projects. Existing home sales slumped to a nearly 14-year low in September despite an increase in inventory and declining mortgage rates throughout the third quarter. 

“As a result of this environment, demand in the US has shifted significantly toward lower margin replacement driven purchases, and the higher margin discretionary demand continues to be weak,” said Bitzer.

Whirlpool executives are hopeful that better days are on the horizon. “The good news,” said Bitzer, “ is in prior elections, we saw a pretty quick recovery of consumer sentiment once the elections were over, irrespective of outcome.” 

The timing of the housing market recovery, they said, is more uncertain. Nevertheless, they are “confident that the industry will have a multiyear recovery, with the underlying housing fundamentals remaining strong.”

The company on Wednesday reported third-quarter earnings of $2 per share, a 30% increase from the year-ago quarter despite a nearly 20% decline in revenue. The stock was up more than 13% Thursday afternoon, though it remained in the red for the year.