What Happened?

Shares of battery and lighting company Energizer (NYSE: ENR) fell 5.8% in the afternoon session after the stock's negative momentum continued as the company's fourth-quarter profits fell short of investor expectations and it issued a cautious outlook for the next fiscal year. Energizer's adjusted earnings per share dropped by 14% to $1.05, which was significantly below Wall Street's estimates of $1.16. While revenue increased slightly, net income declined by 26.7%. Looking ahead, the company projected adjusted earnings per share for fiscal 2026 to be between $3.30 and $3.60. Management also warned of a difficult first quarter, forecasting a high-single-digit decline in organic net sales. The company cited several challenges, including tariff headwinds, soft consumer demand, and pressure on its profit margins, which contributed to the weaker-than-expected results and guidance.

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What Is The Market Telling Us

Energizer’s shares are somewhat volatile and have had 10 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was about 24 hours ago when the stock dropped 17.7% on the news that the company reported third-quarter 2025 results that missed profit expectations and provided a bleak outlook for future sales and earnings. Despite revenue of $832.8 million slightly beating analyst estimates with 3.4% year-over-year growth, the positives ended there. The company's adjusted earnings per share of $1.05 fell short of expectations by nearly 10%. More concerning for investors was the forward-looking guidance. Energizer projected its next quarter's revenue would be almost 9% below consensus estimates. The company also forecast that earnings for the upcoming 2026 fiscal year would miss expectations, signaling persistent challenges ahead. The results were further weakened by a 2.2% decline in organic sales, indicating softer consumer demand and overshadowing the top-line beat.

Energizer is down 47.3% since the beginning of the year, and at $18.24 per share, it is trading 53.7% below its 52-week high of $39.39 from December 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Energizer’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $440.26.

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