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The Sherwin-Williams Company SHW logged earnings (as reported) of $1.15 per share in fourth-quarter 2021, down 22.8% from $1.49 in the year-ago quarter.
Barring one-time items, adjusted earnings in the reported quarter were $1.34 per share. The figure missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.35.
Sherwin-Williams posted revenues of $4,762.1 million, up 6.1% year over year. The figure was in-line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The top line increased mainly owing to higher selling price in all segments and increased product sales volume in the Performance Coatings Group unit that more than offset by reduced sales volumes in The Americas Group and the Consumer Brands Group units largely due to raw material availability issues.
The SherwinWilliams Company Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
The SherwinWilliams Company price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | The SherwinWilliams Company Quote
Segmental Review
The Americas Group segment registered net sales of $2,653.5 million in the fourth quarter, up 3% year over year. The upside was primarily due to selling price increases in all end markets, partly offset by reduced sales volume of paint products as a result of raw material availability challenges and pandemic-led labor headwinds.
Net sales in the Consumer Brands Group segment declined 7.8% year over year to $565.3 million. The downside was mainly caused by lower sales volume to all of the company’s retail consumers stemming from raw material availability issues and the Wattyl divestiture.
Net sales in the Performance Coatings Group increased 18.7% year over year to around $1,542.5 million in the reported quarter. The upside can be attributed to higher sales volumes in all end markets served and elevated selling prices.
Financials and Shareholder Returns
At the end of 2021, Sherwin-Williams had cash and cash equivalents of $165.7 million, down 26.9% year over year. The long-term debt increased 3.9% year over year to $8,590.9 million.
The company repurchased around 10.1 million shares of its common stock during the year. It had remaining authorization to repurchase roughly 48.6 million shares through open market purchases at the end of 2021.
Outlook
The company expects consolidated net sales to increase low-to-mid single-digit percentage in first-quarter 2022. For 2022, net sales are expected to increase high-single digits to low double digits. The company also expects adjusted earnings per share for 2022 between $9.25 and $9.65.
Price Performance
Shares of Sherwin-Williams have gained 23.3% in the past year compared with a 19.7% rise of the industry.