New York, May 21, 2026, 11:01 EDT
- WDFC dropped $2.71 to $205.30 late Thursday morning, down around 1.3% from Wednesday’s close.
- U.S. stocks slipped with gains in oil and Treasury yields. Consumer staples was the weakest sector in the S&P 500.
- WD-40’s most recent quarter saw an uptick in sales and the company kept its full-year outlook unchanged, though cost pressures and oil risk were still on the table.
WD-40 Company shares traded lower Thursday morning, pulling back after gains the previous day. Consumer-staples stocks slipped and investors eyed renewed oil-related inflation concerns moving through markets.
The stock traded at $205.30, down from $208.01 at the prior close, putting its market cap around $2.77 billion. The price/earnings ratio hovered near 35, a level that makes it tougher for investors to overlook cost pressure.
The stock wasn’t reacting to new earnings. Instead, trading looked tied to the broader market: Reuters said the S&P 500 slipped 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.46% just before 10 a.m. ET. Brent crude added 2.2%, and the 10-year Treasury yield moved up to 4.609%. CFRA’s Sam Stovall pointed to weak retail guidance as a source of “some pressure on stocks today.” Reuters
WDFC finished Wednesday’s session up 1.88% at $208.01. That followed two rough days with closes at $204.18 and $204.17 on Tuesday and Monday. Despite dropping Thursday, shares stayed roughly 2% higher than last Friday’s $201.37 finish.
WD-40’s main update is still the April report. The company posted an 11% rise in fiscal Q2 net sales to $161.7 million. Maintenance product sales jumped 13%. On a constant-currency basis, total sales gained 4%. CEO Steve Brass called maintenance products the “core strategic focus” and said management has “clear visibility into the second half.” Business Wire
WD-40’s latest quarterly filing breaks down where its products are sold, listing hardware stores, automotive parts shops, industrial distributors, mass retail, home centers, value retailers, groceries, and online. The company also said in the filing that certain homecare and cleaning assets are still held for sale, so focus stays on the core maintenance business.
RPM International, which makes coatings and sealants, dropped 0.4%. Shares in Church & Dwight, a household-products company, ended down 1.1%. The group move didn’t make a sector call for WD-40, but did show the name wasn’t the only product stock trading weaker where retail and input costs matter.
WD-40 stuck to its fiscal 2026 outlook, keeping net sales guidance at $630 million to $655 million and diluted EPS at $5.75 to $6.15. Gross margin should reach 55.5% to 56.5% for the year. The April numbers didn’t come in weak.
But risk is pretty direct. WD-40’s 10-Q flagged Mideast conflict for pushing up costs on petroleum-based chemicals used in its maintenance goods, warning the effect on cost of products sold should show up later in fiscal 2026. The company also pointed to supply-chain problems in some parts of its Middle East distribution. If oil stays expensive or if shipping routes don’t ease, margin pressure could come faster than price hikes or supply efforts can respond.
Nasdaq will close on Monday, May 25, for U.S. Memorial Day, according to its official calendar, trimming trading time for investors already facing a shortened week. That holiday break leaves one less day for traders to gauge if Thursday’s WDFC slide was simply part of the tape or signals a bigger valuation move.
