Newell Brands' Q1 Loss Narrower Than Expected, Lower Core Sales Hurt

Newell Brands Inc. NWL posted first-quarter 2026 reported normalized loss of 5 cents per share, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 9 cents. The company recorded a loss per share of a penny in the year-ago quarter. Net sales of $1.55 billion dipped 1.1% year over year but topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.51 billion.

Results came in ahead of management’s expectations, aided by improving consumer demand and favorable pricing dynamics. Core sales fell 3.5% year over year, but surpassed management’s expectations on better-than-anticipated category performance and consumer demand, with a net pricing benefit from customer programs, better claims experience and deduction management.

Management noted improving point-of-sale and share trends as investment in innovation and advertising supported demand despite a challenging macro backdrop. The company said it expects to return to top-line growth in the second quarter, as its strategic actions are gaining traction.

Newell shares have gained around 9% in premarket trading after the company posted quarterly results and raised its outlook. In the past six months, the company’s shares have rallied 37.3% against the industry’s 2.2% decline.

Newell’s Margin Analysis

Gross margin increased 100 basis points (bps) year over year to 33.1%, as pricing and gross productivity more than offset soft volumes, inflation and tariff costs. Normalized gross margin improved 70 bps to 33.2%, signaling better underlying profitability.

Operating income rose 61.9% to $34 million from $21 million, while normalized operating income jumped 4.2% to $74 million. Normalized operating margin expanded 30 bps to 4.8%, reflecting improved operating performance and disciplined cost management. Normalized EBITDA was $135 million, down 0.7% from $136 million seen in the year-ago period. Our model anticipated an decrease of 23.9% in adjusted EBITDA for the same quarter.

NWL’s Segmental Details

Net sales in the Home & Commercial Solutions segment were $780 million, down 3.9% from the year-ago period. The decrease was due to a 6.9% decline in core sales, offset by favorable foreign exchange rates. We had expected sales of $778.7 million for the segment.

The Learning and Development segment recorded net sales of $554.3 million, up 3.8% from $572 million in the year-ago quarter. Core sales grew 2%, offset by favorable foreign exchange rates. We had expected net sales of $624 million for the segment.

The Outdoor and Recreation segment’s net sales were $175 million, down 3.8% in the year-ago quarter. Core sales fell 5.7%, offset by favorable foreign exchange. We had expected the segment's net sales to be $172 million.

Other Financial Details of Newell

This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $201 million, long-term debt of $4.5 billion, outstanding debt of $5 billion and shareholders’ equity of $2.3 billion.

NWL also used $233 million in cash for operating activities during first-quarter 2026.

Newell Lifts 2026 Outlook

Newell updated its outlook for 2026, raising expectations for net sales, core sales and normalized earnings per share. The company now sees full-year net sales flat to up 2% and core sales down 1% to up 1%, while maintaining its normalized operating margin view of 8.6% to 9.2%. It raised its normalized earnings per share (EPS) outlook to 56-60 cents, versus 54-60 cents anticipated earlier. It had earlier guided net sales in the range of down 1% to up 1% and core sales to decline 2% to flat. NWL recorded net sales of $7.20 billion and EPS of 57 cents in 2025.

For the second quarter, management expects net sales to be flat to up 2% and core sales flat to up 2%, with a normalized operating margin of 9.6% to 10.2% and normalized EPS of 16-19 cents. NWL recorded net sales of $1.94 billion and EPS of 24 cents in the year-earlier quarter.

3 Stocks Looking Good

Freshpet, Inc. FRPT, which is a pet food company, currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Freshpet’s current financial-year sales indicates growth of 9.3% from the prior-year level. FRPT delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 50%, on average.

United Natural Foods UNFI, which is the leading distributor of natural, organic and specialty food and non-food products, currently carries a Zacks Rank of 2.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for United Natural Foods’ current financial-year earnings is expected to rise 254.9% from the year-ago reported figure. UNFI delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 51.9%, on average.

B&G Foods BGS, which has a diversified portfolio of brands, including B&G, B&M, Cream of Wheat, Las Palmas and more, currently carries a Zacks Rank of 2. BGS delivered a negative average earnings surprise of 19.5% in the trailing four quarters. 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BGS’ current financial-year earnings indicates growth of 5.9% from the year-ago number. 

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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