Kenvue stock yo-yoed Monday after the down-and-out health care player — known for brands like Aveeno, Band-Aid and Tylenol — announced sweeping changes, including naming a new CEO. The company also said it expects to report weak second-quarter results.
Former Chief Executive Thibaut Mongon stepped down after the company's board announced a strategic review amid an ongoing battle with activist investor Starboard Value. Now, Kirk Perry will step into that role on an interim basis. Perry is a current Kenvue director and has more than 30 years of experience in consumer-packaged goods.
The strategic review will focus on potential alternatives, including optimizing the portfolio and improving execution, Kenvue said in a news release.
But the company also preliminarily reported lackluster preliminary second-quarter metrics. Kenvue stock rose 2.3%, closing at 21.82. Earlier on today's stock market, shares jumped nearly 6%. Shares hit a 2025 peak at 25.17 intraday on May 8. Since then, shares have fallen more than 15%, as of Friday's close.
Kenvue Stock: Earnings Continue Sliding
Kenvue got its start as a spinout from Johnson & Johnson in 2023. The major health care conglomerate and Dow Jones Industrial Average stock aimed to streamline its portfolio by spinning off its consumer-facing, over-the-counter brands into a new company. Today, J&J focuses just on its innovative drugs and medical technology products.
But Kenvue has struggled in recent quarters. On a year-over-year basis, earnings have fallen by 10% to 16% over the past three periods, while sales have grown or fallen by a single-digit percentage since late 2023.
And Kenvue stock has traded below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages since June.
Perry, the new CEO, says he sees Kenvue's "many strengths" and shares "the Board's confidence in the company's growth and value creation opportunities."
"As interim CEO, I am excited to leverage my decades of experience leading businesses across the consumer and technology industries and work with the Board and leadership team to put the business on the strongest footing to deliver on Kenvue's full potential and realize our goal of top-tier financial performance," he said in a written statement.
But Kenvue also unveiled lackluster results for the upcoming second-quarter report. Kenvue's sales slipped 4% on a strict, as-reported basis. Analysts expected just a 1.6% dip. Adjusted profit will be in line with forecasts at 28 to 29 cents per share, down 11% at the midpoint.
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