SAN DIEGO, July 9, 2026, 15:24 PDT
WD-40 Company NASDAQ:WDFC shares surged in late trading Thursday after the firm topped quarterly estimates, raised its full-year forecast, and put a $100 million buyback in place. The stock ended regular hours off 2.91% at $239.42, but in after-hours quotes jumped to $273.59, up 14.27% and above the 52-week high of $253.24.
The real story was in the figure below the headline. WD-40 got all of its third-quarter sales growth from its core maintenance products, with the homecare and cleaning lines pulling revenue the other way. That’s important since the stock trades on its focused, high-margin maintenance brand, not as a grab bag of household products.
The company posted adjusted EPS of $2.33, topping the $1.57 analyst view by 76 cents. Revenue came in at $195.1 million, beating the $170.17 million consensus, Investing.com reported. GAAP diluted EPS was $2.24, up from $1.54 last year. Net sales were up 24%, and operating income jumped 47%, the SEC filing said.
| Security | Latest price/action | Valuation or market context |
|---|---|---|
| WD-40 Company NASDAQ:WDFC | Closed at $239.42, jumped to $273.59 after hours | P/E 40.65; topped out at $253.24 during regular 52-week trading |
| Clorox Co NYSE:CLX | Ended at $93.07, off roughly 0.9% | P/E near 15.1 |
| Church & Dwight Co (NYSE:CHD) | Closed at $95.67, down about 0.6% | P/E around 31.5 |
| Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA:XLP) | Last traded at $83.20, down roughly 1.4% | U.S. staples sector benchmark |
Maintenance products brought in $39.3 million in sales, making up roughly 103% of the $38.2 million sales increase for the company. The WD-40 Multi-Use Product pulled in $31.8 million by itself. Homecare and cleaning product sales dropped $1.1 million, or 17%, and these made up just 3% of sales for the quarter.
| Third-quarter sales bridge | 2026 sales | 2025 sales | Change | Share of total sales increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WD-40 Multi-Use Product | $152.5 mln | $120.7 mln | +$31.8 mln | 83% |
| WD-40 Specialist | $28.0 mln | $22.0 mln | +$6.0 mln | 16% |
| Other maintenance products | $9.2 mln | $7.7 mln | +$1.5 mln | 4% |
| Homecare and cleaning products | $5.4 mln | $6.5 mln | -$1.1 mln | -3% |
| Total | $195.1 mln | $156.9 mln | +$38.2 mln | 100% |
Currency still gave the company a lift. Foreign exchange added about $7.3 million to net sales in the third quarter, according to the company. On a constant-currency basis, which leaves out currency swings, total sales would have been up 20% instead of the reported 24%. Maintenance-product sales would have grown 22% on that basis.
Americas sales did most of the heavy lifting, up $23.1 million and making up about 60% of the total gain, driven by stronger demand for WD-40 Multi-Use Product in the U.S. and Latin America. Management said in EIMEA (Europe, India, Middle East and Africa), distributor results and customers restocking ahead of potential supply or price moves helped. China got a boost from promotions, broader online and industrial reach, plus some forward buying before price hikes.
Chief Executive Steve Brass said the quarter proved the “operating leverage inherent” in the business, meaning sales rose quicker than costs. Brass also said the company stopped trying to sell its Americas homecare and cleaning brands and put them back in fiscal 2026 guidance. SEC
WD-40 is forecasting reported fiscal 2026 net sales between $675 million and $690 million, with non-GAAP diluted EPS ranging from $6.05 to $6.35. Non-GAAP here refers to numbers adjusted to leave out some items; specifically, this excludes a one-time $1.3 million amortization catch-up expense from the outlook. The board signed off on a new share buyback plan for up to $100 million, starting Sept. 1.
The buyback is notable given WD-40’s market cap is about $3.3 billion. Shares also change hands at a higher earnings multiple than bigger names like Clorox and Church & Dwight, so the stock has less room for error. Back in April, William Blair analyst Jon Andersen called out a “long-duration market penetration opportunity” for WD-40 and had a fiscal 2026 EPS estimate of $6.04. That number now sits below the midpoint of the company’s new outlook. William Blair
But parts of the quarter’s growth may not last. The company flagged customer inventory builds and early orders ahead of price hikes in EIMEA and Asia-Pacific. It also lowered its gross-margin forecast to 54.5% to 55.5%. That comes after a 40-basis-point impact from moving homecare into a new category and another 60 basis points tied to bigger-than-expected cost increases. One basis point equals one-hundredth of a percentage point. Most of the gain from pricing and cost control moves is now expected next fiscal year, not this one, management said.
Friday’s regular session will show if investors see the after-hours jump as just catching up to better core demand, or if they sell it off on valuation worries. The market’s reaction signaled traders wanted confirmation that WD-40 is still about growth in maintenance products. The filing gave that, though not without some strings.
