The Sherwin-Williams Company

Sherwin-Williams’ fourth quarter results were mixed as the company failed to meet the revenue expectations of Wall Street despite a high single-digit percentage sales growth. The company managed an earnings beat as a result of the significant year-over-year gross margin improvement. Sales grew by a high-teens proportion in the company’s professional architectural end markets. Sales in North and Latin America increased by double-digit percentages in the industrial sector, offsetting some of the weaker circumstances in Europe and Asia. Although there was significant year-over-year inflation in the quarter from a cost perspective, they are pleased by a slight sequential decline in raw material costs for the second consecutive quarter. Besides that, sales in the Performance Coatings Group increased. Furthermore, the company signed an agreement to acquire German player, Specialized Industrial Coatings Holding (SIC). It is worth highlighting that the management has a lot of confidence in their position in the packaging industry and anticipates performing well during any economic downturn. We give the stock a ‘Hold’ rating with a revised target price.