Atlanta, May 1, 2026, 15:06 EDT
- Newell Brands bumped up its 2026 targets for sales, core sales, and normalized EPS, following first-quarter numbers it said topped its plan.
- Shares of Newell Brands jumped roughly 9% to $4.445 Friday afternoon, trading hands on volume approaching 9.4 million shares.
- The update arrived just as consumer-goods rivals Colgate-Palmolive, Clorox, and Procter & Gamble flagged rising costs, tepid demand, or sometimes a combination.
Shares of Newell Brands Inc. jumped Friday after the Sharpie and Rubbermaid parent boosted its 2026 sales and adjusted earnings forecasts. Despite a drop in first-quarter underlying sales, the company pointed to stronger-than-anticipated demand and margins in all three segments.
This shift is significant for Newell, which has been working to stabilize after navigating a tough price-and-volume squeeze. Back in February, Reuters said the company rolled back prices on certain Graco and Rubbermaid goods, reversing some of the hikes triggered by tariffs. The move came as younger and lower-income consumers started cutting back on non-essential purchases.
This setup lets investors focus squarely on Newell’s turnaround. Its peers haven’t escaped the same headwinds: Colgate-Palmolive on Friday flagged about $300 million more in raw-material and logistics costs, Clorox trimmed its annual profit outlook Thursday, and Procter & Gamble last week pointed to an estimated $1 billion after-tax bite to fiscal 2027 profit from pricier oil.
Net sales slipped 1.1% to $1.549 billion for the quarter ended March 31. Core sales—Newell’s preferred metric that strips out the impact of acquisitions, divestitures, store openings and closings, market exits, and currency movements—were down 3.5%.
Gross margin climbed to 33.1%, up from 32.1% a year ago. Operating margin edged higher as well, reaching 2.2% versus last year’s 1.3%. Gains came on the back of pricing and productivity, but the drag from weaker volume, inflation, and tariff expenses persisted.
Chief Executive Chris Peterson called the quarter “ahead of plan,” adding that Newell is now eyeing a return to top-line growth in the second quarter. Chief Financial Officer Mark Erceg said the company felt “comfortable raising” its full-year guidance following the first-quarter beat. Business Wire
Newell has revised its 2026 outlook, projecting net sales to be flat or increase by as much as 2%, shifting from its earlier view of a possible 1% decline to a 1% gain. Core sales guidance bumps up as well, now estimated between a 1% drop and a 1% rise, compared to the previous outlook of down 2% to flat. The company also nudged its normalized EPS target to a range of 56 to 60 cents, versus the earlier 54 to 60 cents.
The company is projecting net sales and core sales for the second quarter to land flat or edge up by as much as 2%. Normalized EPS is pegged between 16 cents and 19 cents for the period. Its full-year operating cash flow guidance remains unchanged, sticking to the $350 million to $400 million range.
Results across segments told a mixed story. Core sales at Learning & Development—which covers writing and baby products—edged up 2.0%. Home & Commercial Solutions declined 6.9%, and Outdoor & Recreation was down 5.7%.
The risk here is plain: Newell’s like-for-like sales are still falling, and cash burn has grown. Operating cash outflow widened to $233 million from $213 million the year before, driven mostly by a rise in inventories. At the quarter’s close, debt totaled $5.0 billion while cash was $201 million.
Tariffs remain a wild card. Newell isn’t factoring in a refund on the $120 million it shelled out in 2025 for IEEPA tariffs—those are the duties tied to U.S. emergency-powers rules. A refund, if it happens, would be a bonus. But the list of headaches is long: soft consumer demand, tight inventory management from retailers, pricier transportation and raw materials, tariffs, plus the challenge of refinancing debt.
