While the third quarter brought lower sales and earnings for Hamilton Beach Brands Holding Co., the company reported gradual business improvements as it adjusted to the effects of tariffs on its operation.
Net income was $1.7 million, or 12 cents per diluted share, versus $1.9 million, or 14 cents per diluted share, in the year-previous quarter.
Total revenue decreased to $132.8 million from $156.7 million in the year-earlier quarter. The revenue decline resulted primarily from lower volumes in the company’s consumer business across the United States, including a delay in orders from one large retailer for most of the third quarter as it assessed inventory and pricing in response to U.S. tariffs implemented in April 2025, Hamilton Beach reported. Revenue growth in the commercial and health businesses partially offset the overall revenue decline.
Operating profit was $2.9 million versus $10.6 million in the year-prior quarter.
In a conference call, R. Scott Tidey, Hamilton Beach president and CEO, said higher tariffs imposed by the U.S. in April had been disruptive. However, as the third quarter progressed, “retailers started to resume more typical buying patterns,” Tidey added. As a result, Hamilton Beach enjoyed a “sequential improvement in our year-over-year sales trend compared with the second quarter,” he said.
A one-time $5 million in incremental tariff costs hit profits as did, to a lesser extent, a timing mismatch between tariff rate increases and the company’s pricing adjustments. The headwind was partially offset by a favorable mix shift arising from an increased penetration from Hamilton Beach’s commercial and health segment contributions. The company made pricing adjustments in June and August to align with tariff increases, Tidey noted, even as it has diversified sourcing to mitigate duty impacts. The company also implemented comprehensive cost management initiatives that generated $10 million in annualized savings.
In announcing the financial results, Tidey said, “We are pleased that our sales trend improved sequentially as retailer purchasing started to normalize during the third quarter following the significant disruption from new tariffs implemented in April. With trade relations between the U.S. and China improving and tariff rates on certain Chinese imports moderating significantly from the peaks reached in the second quarter, we now have greater clarity into our cost and pricing architecture which has led to the resumption of more normalized ordering patterns. Importantly, in the third quarter we fully absorbed the impact on gross margins from the peak tariff rate and moved forward with a more balanced inventory position. While uncertainty in the marketplace remains, our visibility is improving, and we expect that the strength of our brand portfolio, recent sourcing diversification efforts and pricing actions, will lead to further top-line and margin recovery in the fourth quarter.”
