How does whirlpool corp. make money?

whirlpool corp. generates $15.5B in annual revenue (annual revenue · their business grew -6.5% last year).

What is WHR's XVARY composite score?

whirlpool corp. (WHR) has an XVARY composite score of 48/100, rated below average. This combines growth, value, risk, and momentum factors.

WHR — whirlpool corp. stock analysis

Start here if you're new

what it is

Whirlpool sells the big machines in your house: fridges, washers, stoves, and dishwashers.

how it gets paid

Last year Whirlpool made $15.5B in revenue. Refrigerators and freezers was the main engine at $4.8B, or 31% of sales.

why growth slowed
Revenue fell 6.5% last year. Margins were hurt by manufacturing inefficiencies, increased costs for new product development, and pricing pressure due to an aggressive promotional environment within the industry.

what just happened

The latest reported quarter showed $3.74 EPS, but the bigger story is how messy Whirlpool's earnings picture has become.

At a glance

B+ balance sheet — decent shape, but not bulletproof

70/100 earnings predictability — reasonably predictable

10.3x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal

5.6% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter

9.0% return on capital — nothing to write home about

xvary composite: 48/100 — below average

What they do

Whirlpool sells the big machines in your house: fridges, washers, stoves, and dishwashers.

Whirlpool wins by being everywhere you already shop. It sells in nearly every country, and 62% of sales come from North America, where retailers want full appliance lineups, not one-off gadgets. You replace a dead fridge fast. Whirlpool already has the fridge, washer, stove, and dishwasher on the floor.

industrials mid-cap appliances dividend housing-cycle

How they make money

$15.5B annual revenue · their business grew -6.5% last year

Refrigerators and freezers

$4.8B

Laundry appliances

$4.2B

Cooking appliances

$3.7B

Dishwashing and other

$2.8B

The products that matter

cold storage appliances

Refrigerators and Freezers

31% of sales

it's the largest category, generating 31% of the company's $15.5B in sales. if this line softens, the whole income statement feels it.

largest category

washers and dryers

Laundry Appliances

27% of sales

this category drives 27% of total sales. replacement demand helps, but it still depends on consumers saying yes to a big-ticket purchase.

27% of sales

ovens, ranges, and cooktops

Cooking Appliances

24% of sales

another 24% of sales comes from cooking products. put the top three categories together and you get 82% of the business tied to household hardware demand.

82% combined

Key numbers

$5.6B

long-term debt

That is leverage → borrowed money → risk. It is larger than Whirlpool's roughly $4B market cap.

10.3x

trailing p/e

That is valuation → how much you pay for earnings → the stock is priced like growth already broke.

5.6%

dividend yield

That is cash paid to shareholders → income in your pocket → you get paid while waiting for a cycle turn.

9.5%

operating margin

That is operating margin → profit from the business before interest and taxes → decent for appliances, but not enough to make $5.6B of debt feel cozy.

Financial health

B+

strength

balance sheet grade B+ — solid but not elite
risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
price stability 45 / 100
long-term debt $5.6B (61% of capital)
net profit margin 4.1% — keeps 4 cents of every dollar in revenue
return on equity 16% — $0.16 profit for every $1 investors have put in

B+ — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.

Total return vs. market

You invested $10,000 in WHR 3 years ago → it's now worth $5,590.

The index would have given you $14,540.

same period. same starting point. WHR trailed the market by $8,950.

source: institutional data · total return

What just happened

beat estimates

The latest reported quarter showed $3.74 EPS, but the bigger story is how messy Whirlpool's earnings picture has become.

EDGAR lists the latest quarter at $11.4B revenue, $3.74 EPS, and 15.8% gross margin. Value Line's quarter series shows Q4 2025 EPS at $1.10, down 76%, and expects $0.90 next, so your real takeaway is volatility, not a clean rebound.

$11.4B

revenue

$3.74

eps

15.8%

gross margin

the number that mattered

The number that matters is the 76% Q4 EPS drop to $1.10 in, because cheap stocks with collapsing earnings usually stay cheap.

we look for the operating environment at whirlpool to remain challenging in early 2026.
results in the fourth quarter were especially weak at the company.
sales were down only slightly, but earnings per share slumped 76%, to $1.10.

margins were hurt by manufacturing inefficiencies, increased costs for new product development, and pricing pressure due to an aggressive promotional environment within the industry.
we expect these conditions to persist in the current quarter, and we estimate a nearly 50% decline in profits, to $0.90 a share. But as the year progresses and into 2027, we forecast improvement.

the company is spending heavily on new-product development and integrating new digital capabilities into many of its appliances.
a record number of new offerings were introduced in 2025, and over 30% of its product portfolio in north america is being replaced with new items.

the company is particularly emphasizing its small appliances category, such as mixers, coffee makers, and blenders, because it has strong brand recognition and higher margins in this sector. Results over the long term should be helped by a secular recovery in the housing market. the building of new housing units over the past decade has been well below the level of new household formations due to a variety of unusual factors. we believe that more normal conditions over the next several years will fuel an increase in home construction and narrow the imbalance that currently exists in the industry. our projection calls for share earnings to more than double by 2030 from our estimate for 2026. These shares continue to be in a persistent multi-year slide. the stock had seemed to be creating a base at around $80 a share, but it is now flirting with new lows.

source: EDGAR filings and, 2026

What could go wrong

the #1 risk is $300M+ of annual tariff costs on major appliances. that's a direct hit to a business that made only 2.9% net margin on $15.5B of sales.

!

high

$300M+ tariff costs

management is facing more than $300M of tariff cost in 2025. on a 2.9% net margin, that is not a footnote.

direct pressure on profit and cash generation

!

high

$5.6B debt load

long-term debt equals 61% of capital and exceeds the company's roughly $4B market cap. that limits how much bad news Whirlpool can absorb with comfort.

less flexibility if sales stay soft or rates stay high

∘

med

core demand still weak

North America generates $10.1B, or about 65% of revenue, and still declined 5%. total sales across the regional breakdown fell 6.5% from a year ago.

the core market is not bailing out the rest of the business

∘

med

leadership transition

executive vice president james peters resigned effective march 30, 2026. that matters more when the company is already balancing cost pressure and soft volume.

adds execution risk during an already messy stretch

$300M+ of tariff cost against a 2.9% net margin can burn through a lot of breathing room fast, especially with $5.6B of long-term debt still on the balance sheet.

source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis

Pay attention to

tariffs

whether management contains the $300M+ cost hit

if Whirlpool cannot offset those costs with price, sourcing, or mix, thin margins get thinner fast.

margins

net margin moving off the 1.8% quarterly level

last quarter's 1.8% net margin is the stress signal. improvement here matters more than a headline EPS beat.

demand

north america revenue stabilization

North America is about 65% of revenue at $10.1B. if that segment keeps falling, the entire recovery case stays theoretical.

calendar

next earnings report and management commentary

you want updates on tariff mitigation, retailer demand, and whether leadership changes alter the cost plan.

Analyst rankings

short-term outlook

below average

momentum score 4 — in human-speak, analysts think this is more likely to lag than lead over the next year.

risk profile

average

stability score 3 means middle-of-the-pack risk. not a bunker stock. not a biotech lottery ticket either.

chart momentum

average

technical score 3 says the chart is not sending a heroic signal. you're buying a thesis here, not momentum.

earnings predictability

70 / 100

better than chaos, worse than comfort. with margins this thin, small misses still have big stock consequences.

source: institutional data

Institutional activity

institutions have been net selling for 2 consecutive quarters — 161 buyers vs. 200 sellers in 4q2025. total institutional holdings: 55.1M shares. net selling for 2 quarters.

source: institutional data · 2q2025-4q2025

source: institutional data

Price targets

3-5 year target range

$45 $128

$64 current price

$87 target midpoint · +36% from current · 3-5yr high: $155 (+140% · 28% ann'l return)

source: institutional data · analyst targets

The deep dive

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bull / base / bear scenarios

competitive moat breakdown

quarterly earnings tracker

operating model projections

risk matrix with kill criteria

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