Roxanne Warner took over January 1 as Whirlpool Corporation Chief Financial Officer, succeeding retiring CFO Jim Peters. Warner has been rising through the financial ranks at Whirlpool for almost 20 years, serving in key positions in both North American and European divisions of the appliance giant.
Monday morning Warner will step into the spotlight at the 47th annual Raymond James Institutional Investors’ Conference in Orlando. She is expected to offer the company’s formal response to significant criticism of last week’s announcement of a new stock offering that Whirlpool labeled a ‘strategic recapitalization’ designed to pay down debt and position Whirlpool for brighter days ahead.
So far, Wall Street has not been impressed with the recapitalization move, with the WHR stock price falling almost $15 per share, from the low to mid 80’s to a Friday close of $68.43. During the past year WHR stock had been as high as $112. At its best in 2021, it flirted with $240.
The sharpest and loudest reaction this week came from billionaire hedge fund manager David Tepper in a CNBC interview. Tepper is one of the largest institutional investors in WHR stock and clearly is not happy with the company under Chairman and CEO Marc Bitzer.
Tepper’s hedge fund, Appaloosa Management, sent a very public, strongly worded letter to Whirlpool’s board, blasting leadership for its recent recapitalization plan — the announced large equity and preferred stock offering intended to raise roughly $800 million to $1 billion to reduce debt and fund operations.
Tepper accused Whirlpool management of “destroying shareholder value” over years and said this stock equity issuance was unnecessarily dilutive to shareholders, and carried out at a cost of capital above 10% despite cheaper available debt markets.
Tepper wrote he was “shocked” by how the recapitalization diluted existing shareholders and said that prior decisions by leadership have lost “hundreds of millions” in shareholder value.
Tepper also criticized Whirlpool for failing to use tariffs to its advantage, suggesting that management missed chances to pursue mergers or partnerships with foreign competitors hamstrung by U.S./Trump trade policy.
The letter goes beyond a simple critique — Tepper wants “sweeping changes” in strategy and direction. Some interpretations of his demands paint it as a call for Whirlpool to consider strategic alternatives including potential sale or merger if its leadership won’t change course. Alternatives that are likely unsavory to Bitzer and his management team.
Whirlpool leaders have been officially silent to the Tepper criticism. The company’s Investor Relations office offered only a carefully worded corporate response when contacted by MoodyOnTheMarket.com, with no attribution to any specific person:
“Whirlpool Corporation’s board of directors and management team value input from our shareholders. Our board of directors regularly evaluate opportunities to maximize value and are committed to acting in the best interests of our shareholders, customers, and employees. We look forward to continued engagement with our shareholders.”
CFO Warner’s presentation to the Raymond James conference is scheduled for 8:05 AM, Monday, March 2 at the JW Marriott Grande in Orlando, Florida. Her comments can be viewed live on Whirlpool’s investor website and will be archived there for playback on demand, according to the company;
The Company invites investors and the general public to view the webcast of the presentation, which will be available on the events & presentations page of the Company’s Investor Relations website, or via the following link.
The presentation and an archived recording of the event will also be available on the events & presentations section of the Company’s website at investors.whirlpoolcorp.com for at least 30 days.
MoodyOnTheMarket.com will be monitoring Warner’s comments on Monday and will continue to track this story for Whirlpool employees, investors and the SW Michigan community.
Headline photo: Whirlpool CFO Roxanne Warner
