Shares of RH sank over concerns about how new tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump would impact the luxury furniture maker.
The stock fell 40% at 9:50 a.m. Thursday in New York. That’s the lowest level in nearly five years. The shares had fallen 37% this year through Wednesday.
There is “significantly more uncertainty with new round of tariffs, adding risks to both sales and margin recovery,” Barclays analyst Seth Sigman said in a research note.
RH, which operates the Restoration Hardware chain, sources about 70% of its products from Asia, according to company filings. Vietnam and China account for more than half that total. On Wednesday, Trump announced tariffs, including 46% on Vietnam and raising China’s total levies to at least 54% on many goods.
The retailer conducted its earnings call shortly after Trump’s tariff event at the White House. Chief Executive Officer Gary Friedman was trying to convince investors that the company was “well-positioned” when he took a look at the company’s stock.
“I guess the stock went down based on some of the numbers we reported and then it got killed because of a — oh really, oh sh-t.”
Then Friedman realized what was happening.
“I just looked at the screen. I hadn’t looked at it. It got hit when I think the tariff came out and everybody can see in our 10-K where we’re sourcing from, so it’s not a secret. We’re not trying to disguise it by putting everything in an Asia bucket. So you can kind of figure it out and do the math.”
Stocks of other furniture and home retailers declined as well. That included Wayfair Inc. sinking 22%.
“Did we anticipate this?” Friedman said of the tariffs. “Not at this level.”
With assistance from Subrat Patnaik.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
