Motor home maker Winnebago reported a deep fiscal fourth-quarter earnings miss and trimmed its full-year outlook by a third Wednesday morning. Winnebago shares veered 7% lower in premarket trade.
A leading outfitter of the 'vanlife' movement that hit the road as the pandemic shooed Americans of all stripes outdoors, Winnebago reported earnings of 28 cents per share for the quarter ended in August. That was an 82% drop vs. year-ago levels and the company's eighth straight period of double-digit losses.
Analysts had projected a 44% drop. Revenue dropped 6%, to $720.9 million, holding narrowly above the analyst target of $718.7 million.
"Winnebago Industries' fourth quarter performance fell short of our expectations, primarily reflecting the sluggish retail demand environment and operating inefficiencies within our Winnebago branded businesses," said Michael Happe, CEO in the company's quarterly statement.
Winnebago, Thor Agree On Outlook
Happe listed various factors affecting the Eden Prairie, Minn.-based company's results. Among those, uncertain retail conditions, higher inventory carrying costs and slightly elevated inventories in the motor home segment topped the list, leading to "continued dealer hesitancy and increased promotional efforts."
Winnebago stock has wandered through a long series of consolidations after declining from highs set early in 2021.
Shares of both Winnebago and larger peer Thor Industries gained ground since June, when fiscal third-quarter earnings indicated RV sales could be on the rise. Thor neatly topped expectations in its late September report. But it sharply pared its earnings outlook, also saying it projected "challenging" market conditions through the remainder of the July-ending fiscal year.
Thor's management did acknowledge "a positive inflection in the macroeconomic conditions could occur before the end of our FY25 that could favorably impact our financial performance." But the company said "we do not currently model such an inflection beyond the normal seasonal lift we anticipate in the spring."
Winnebago stock dropped nearly 9% early Wednesday. Shares of Thor fell less than 2%.
