Clorox Earnings Dragged Down by Trash and Charcoal

Last, week, Clorox (NYSE: CLX) reported its fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year results late last week. The market appeared to have a neutral reaction, with the stock declining on what was a down day for the overall market due to trade war news.

Clorox actually reported a 4% revenue decrease in the quarter, which missed expectations, but its $1.88 in earnings per share showed a 13% increase, beating expectations by $0.04. But don't get too excited; the EPS beat was entirely due to a tax rate of just 17.4%, vs. 29% in the year-ago quarter, due to the lag in the U.S. tax reform law. Operating income actually fell by 4.6%. The company expects its tax rate for fiscal 2020 to be in the intermediate range, between 22% and 23%.

In short, it was a somewhat disappointing report, especially given the strength of certain other household branded goods companies. So what was the problem?

Source Fool.com