Thor Industries' stock posts double-digit loss after earnings miss amid 'challenging operating environment'

By Steve Gelsi

Recreational vehicle maker cuts 2024 guidance and missed earnings estimates.

Thor Industries Inc.'s stock fell sharply on Wednesday after the recreational vehicle maker missed quarterly profit expectations and cut its 2024 guidance in the face of a challenging environment.

Thor Industries (THO) stock moved lower by 14% in morning trades. Other RV stocks fell in sympathy, with Winnebago industries Inc. (WGO) down by about 5%, and RV seller Camping World (CWH) off 3%, while chassis maker LCI Industries Inc. (LCII) dropped 4.2%.

Elkhart, Ind.-based Thor Industries, which owns the Airstream RV brand, said the rapid increase in interest rates in the past year have impacted its dealers, who face "elevated floorplan financing costs."

The company lowered its fiscal 2024 earnings guidance to $5.00 to $5.50 a share, from its earlier projection of $6.25 to $7.25 a share. The latest FactSet consensus estimate is for fiscal 2024 earnings of $6.69 a share.

"Similar to last year, our fiscal second-quarter financial results were impacted by cautious wholesale ordering patterns by our North American independent dealers in response to challenging seasonal market conditions and the elevated interest rate environment," the company said.

Thor industries said its second-quarter profit fell to $7.22 million, or 13 cents a share, from $27.1 million, or 50 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter.

Analysts were looking for earnings of 67 cents a share for Thor Industries.

Second-quarter revenue dropped to $2.21 billion from $2.35 billion in the year-ago quarter, below the analyst estimate of $2.27 billion.

Prior to Wednesday's moves, Thor Industries stock was up 7% so far in 2024, compared with a 6.5% gain by the S&P 500 SPX.

-Steve Gelsi

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03-06-24 0952ET

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