News · WD-40 Company (WDFC) · Basic Materials

WD-40 falls 4.4% after quarterly EPS misses estimates because of weaker profit

Session of October 21, 2026 · Published October 22, 2026 · 4 min read

What happened

WD-40 (WDFC) fell 4.4% to $192.56 on October 21, 2026, after quarterly earnings per share of $1.06 missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.13, a 6.2% shortfall. The company reported fiscal 2026 net sales of $688.0 million, an 11.0% increase from a year earlier. Trading volume ran 2.3 times its 20-day average while the S&P 500 rose 0.6% on the day.

Closing price over the last 30 trading sessions. On October 21, 2026, WDFC closed at $192.56, down 4.4% on the day and 3.3% lower than 30 sessions earlier.

How big was the move

The session was a larger-than-typical decline for the stock, measuring 2.8 times a typical daily move. The drop left the stock down 5.7% over the last five sessions, versus a 0.5% five-session rise in the S&P 500. Relative to the Basic Materials sector median, where the sector rose 0.1% on the day, the stock’s performance was 4.5 percentage points worse.

Each bar is one day's price change; the outlined bar is October 21, 2026. A typical daily move over the past year was 2.0%, so the latest move equals 2.2 times that. Moves outside the dashed lines (about 3.9%) are unusual.

The technical picture

The stock closed 4.6% below its 20-day moving average, 6.6% below its 50-day moving average and 12.0% below its 200-day moving average. The 50-day average is below the 200-day average, a sign of a weak longer-term trend. The stock finished 35.6% below its 52-week high and the 14-day Relative Strength Index was 34, inside a neutral range between 30 and 70.

Closing price over the past year. WDFC ends the period 27.3% below its 52-week high, below its 50-day average ($206.21) and below its 200-day average ($218.76).

Over one month the stock fell 0.9% and over three months it fell 17.2%. Over one year the stock fell 0.3%, trailing the S&P 500 by 15.4 percentage points. Volatility was 25% annualized over 60 days, a reading lower than 74% of its own readings over five years, which signals relatively subdued recent price swings.

Similar sessions in the past five years show this level of decline is not unprecedented: in the past five years the stock had 19 sessions with a decline of at least 4.4%. Twenty trading days later the median result was a gain of 2.1%, and 11 of 19 were higher. That history is presented as past outcomes, not as a forecast.

Fundamentals and valuation

For the four quarters through August 31, 2026, WD-40 reported revenue of $688.0 million, a growth rate of 11.0% from a year earlier and an improvement from revenue growth of 10.2% one quarter earlier. Diluted earnings per share for the period were $6.08, a decline of 9.0% from a year earlier. Gross margin was 55.3%, essentially flat with a year earlier at 55.1%, while operating margin was 15.8%, down from 16.7% a year earlier.

Quarterly revenue by period end. The latest quarter brought $177M, 8.1% more than the same quarter a year earlier.

Free-cash-flow margin was 14.2% and return on invested capital was 22.6%. The balance sheet showed net cash of $58.7 million and the company reduced its share count by 0.8% over one year. On valuation the stock traded at 31.7 times trailing earnings and 29.7 times expected forward earnings, with a free-cash-flow yield of 3.6%.

Versus its own history, the price to trailing earnings was lower than 81% of its own readings over the past five years, where the five-year median was 40.9 times earnings. PromtFinance scores ranked WD-40’s Growth at 68 (Positive) and Quality at 90 (Exceptional), while Momentum and Revisions were weaker at 34 and 37 respectively. Stability scored 99 (Exceptional) and Value scored 50 (Neutral).

Earnings and analyst expectations

WD-40 reported quarterly EPS of $1.06 on October 21, 2026, against a Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.13, a shortfall of 6.2%. The company had zero consecutive quarters beating estimates, though its average surprise over the last four reports was 10.9% above estimates. Typical two-day reactions after recent reports had seen the stock fall 1.4%.

Diluted earnings per share by quarter. The latest quarter shows $1.06, against $1.56 in the same quarter a year earlier.

Analysts placed a consensus price target of $475.00, 146.7% above the closing price on October 21, 2026. Seven analysts provided ratings, with 14% recommending Buy or Strong Buy and the consensus rating at Hold. The next report is scheduled for January 14, 2027.

News accompanying the results noted that maintenance product sales rose 13% to $665.9 million, up 9% on a constant-currency basis and at the high end of the company’s 5%–9% long-term target. The company also disclosed a transition of its Japan operations to a direct market model as part of fiscal 2026 activities.

What to watch

Next earnings report on January 14, 2027
Consensus price target of $475.00, 146.7% above the October 21 close
Fiscal 2026 net sales of $688.0 million, up 11.0% year over year
Quarterly EPS of $1.06 missed estimates by 6.2% and consecutive beats at zero
Trading volume 2.3 times its 20-day average on October 21, 2026

Full WDFC analysis: scores, chart and financials →