Newell Brands Inc. reported third quarter 2026 financial results, showing net sales of $1.9 billion, an increase of 3.7% compared to the prior year period. The company stated that top-line growth accelerated sequentially, delivering its second consecutive quarter of year-over-year sales growth. This growth was described as broad-based, with both the U.S. and International segments delivering growth, along with four of six businesses and seven of the top 10 brands.
Gross margin for the quarter increased to 34.7% from 34.1% in the prior year, while normalized gross margin rose to 35.2% from 34.5%. However, the company reported a net loss of $81 million, compared to net income of $21 million in the prior year. Normalized net income was reported at $86 million, and normalized diluted earnings per share (EPS) came in at $0.20, compared to $0.17 in the prior year.
On the balance sheet, Newell Brands had debt outstanding of $4.8 billion and cash and cash equivalents of $249 million at the end of the third quarter. During the quarter, the company entered into a new $800 million asset-based revolving credit facility maturing in 2031 and issued $600 million of 6.250% senior notes due 2031 to redeem existing debt.
Regarding segment performance, the Home & Commercial Solutions segment generated net sales of $1.01 billion, reflecting core sales growth of 6.0%. The Learning & Development segment saw net sales of $692 million with core sales growth of 2.3%. Conversely, the Outdoor & Recreation segment reported net sales of $169 million with a core sales decline of 6.4%.
Newell Brands updated its full-year 2026 outlook. The company raised its net sales outlook to 2% to 3% from the previous range of 1% to 2%. It also raised its core sales outlook to 1% to 2% from flat to 1%. The company maintained the midpoints of its normalized operating margin and normalized EPS outlooks for the full year. For the fourth quarter, the company expects net sales to grow 1% to 3% and normalized EPS to be between $0.17 and $0.19.
The company revised its full-year 2026 operating cash flow outlook to approximately $150 million. This revision was attributed to two one-time non-operating items: the termination of non-qualified defined benefit plans and lower than anticipated proceeds from receivables factoring following a bond refinancing.
