Newell Brands (NWL) can be described with the following analogies:

• Like a mini-Procter & Gamble, owning a diverse collection of well-known consumer household and commercial brands, from Sharpie pens to Coleman outdoor gear and Yankee Candle.
• Think of it as Unilever for home goods and lifestyle products, with a portfolio ranging from Crock-Pot appliances to Graco baby products and Paper Mate pens.

• Writing Instruments: A diverse range of pens, markers, highlighters, and art products from brands like Sharpie, Paper Mate, and Expo.
• Home Organization & Food Storage: Solutions for food preservation and home organization, including containers and vacuum sealing systems from Rubbermaid and FoodSaver.
• Home Fragrance: Scented candles and other home fragrance products, primarily under the Yankee Candle, WoodWick, and Chesapeake Bay Candle brands.
• Outdoor & Recreation Gear: Equipment for camping, outdoor activities, and cooling, notably through the Coleman brand.
• Baby Products: Essentials for infants and toddlers such as car seats, strollers, and feeding accessories from brands like Graco and NUK.
• Adhesives: A variety of glues and adhesive products for crafting, school, and household repairs, including Elmer's and Krazy Glue.
• Drinkware: Insulated water bottles, travel mugs, and hydration solutions from brands such as Contigo and bubba brands.

Newell Brands (NWL) primarily sells its products to other companies, specifically major retailers, who then sell to individual consumers. Based on the company's annual filings, its major customers include:

• Walmart Inc. (Symbol: WMT)
• Amazon.com, Inc. (Symbol: AMZN)

According to Newell Brands' 2023 annual report (10-K), Walmart Inc. and its affiliates accounted for approximately 11% of consolidated net sales, and Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates accounted for approximately 10% of consolidated net sales. No other customer accounted for 10% or more of Newell Brands' consolidated net sales in recent fiscal years.

Christopher H. Peterson President; Director; Chief Executive Officer

Christopher H. Peterson became President, CEO, and a member of Newell Brands' Board of Directors in May 2023. He initially joined Newell Brands in December 2018 as Chief Financial Officer. His roles at Newell Brands also included President of Business Operations from February 2020 to May 2022, and Interim Chief Executive Officer from June 2019 to October 2019. Before Newell, Peterson served as Chief Operating Officer of Operations at Revlon Inc. where he led Global Supply Chain, Finance, and IT functions, and was also CFO at Revlon. He spent four years at Ralph Lauren as President, Global Brands, and Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer. Peterson also has a 20-year tenure at Procter & Gamble, holding various positions including Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Global Household Care. He began his career in investment banking at Smith Barney Harris Upham & Co, Inc. Peterson currently serves as a Board Member of BJ's Wholesale Club and chairs its Audit Committee.

Mark J. Erceg Chief Financial Officer

Mark J. Erceg was appointed Chief Financial Officer of Newell Brands in January 2023. Prior to joining Newell, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Cerner Corporation from 2021 to 2022. Erceg has an extensive background as a CFO for other publicly traded companies, including Tiffany & Company (2016-2021), Canadian Pacific Railway (2015-2016), and Masonite International (2010-2015). He began his career at Procter & Gamble, where he spent over 18 years in various financial, strategic, and operational roles.

Karina Krulig Chief Strategy Officer

Karina Krulig is the Chief Strategy Officer at Newell Brands.

Bradford Turner Chief Legal & Administrative Officer

Bradford Turner is the Chief Legal & Administrative Officer of Newell Brands. He joined the company in 2004 and served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Newell Rubbermaid starting in April 2015. His roles have included Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, as well as Group General Counsel for the Office Products group. Before his tenure at Newell Rubbermaid, Turner was an associate at Troutman Sanders LLP, focusing on mergers & acquisitions and corporate securities.

Nick Hammitt Chief Marketing Officer

Nick Hammitt serves as the Chief Marketing Officer of Newell Brands. He brings over 20 years of experience in global consumer goods, with previous leadership positions at The Campbell's Company and PepsiCo. His prior roles include Vice President of Marketing for Campbell's Snacks and leading marketing and innovation for the Mountain Dew portfolio at PepsiCo. He also worked at Unilever earlier in his career.

Key Risks to Newell Brands (NWL)

1. High Financial Leverage and Debt Burden: Newell Brands faces significant financial risk due to its substantial debt load and elevated leverage ratios. As of the third quarter of 2025, the company's net leverage ratio was high at 5.5x, with total debt outstanding at approximately $4.8 billion. Its Debt-to-Equity (D/E) ratio has hovered between 1.93 and 2.09 in mid-2025, significantly higher than the household products industry average of approximately 0.90. This heavy debt burden results in a large portion of cash flow being consumed by interest expenses. S&P Global Ratings downgraded Newell Brands due to expectations of its leverage remaining above 5x for fiscal year 2024. The company's interest coverage ratio is also weak, ranging from 1.7 to 2.8 times, indicating potential challenges in meeting interest obligations.
2. Exposure to Tariffs and Supply Chain Concentration in China: Newell Brands is experiencing a significant external cost shock from trade policies, particularly an estimated $180 million in incremental cash tariff costs in fiscal year 2025 compared to 2024. This is largely attributed to a 125% tariff on Chinese imports, which heavily impacts product categories such as baby gear. To mitigate this risk, the company is actively shifting production and reducing its supply chain exposure to China, aiming to decrease its Chinese manufacturing from 15% to less than 10% by the end of 2025.
3. Weak Demand and Declining Sales/Profitability: Newell Brands is operating in a challenging retail environment, characterized by contracting revenue across all key segments. The company's trailing twelve months (TTM) revenue ending September 30, 2025, was approximately $7.26 billion, marking a year-over-year decline of -5.88%. Furthermore, full-year 2025 net sales are projected to decline by an additional 4.5% to 5.0%. Profitability is also a concern, with a negative net profit margin of -0.33% for the TTM ending October 2025, indicating the company is not currently profitable on a GAAP basis and lags behind its peers in key profitability metrics.

• Proliferation of Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) and Niche Brands: Agile competitors are leveraging digital marketing and e-commerce to gain traction, often focusing on specific segments, sustainability, or premiumization that challenge Newell's mass-market, multi-brand approach. These brands are increasingly eroding market share across categories such as home goods, baby products, and office supplies.
• Accelerating Growth of Retailer Private Labels: Major retailers (e.g., Amazon, Walmart, Target) are significantly expanding their own private label brands across various consumer goods categories where Newell operates. These private labels often offer comparable quality at lower prices, leveraging the retailer's direct customer access and supply chain, directly competing with Newell's established brands.
• Evolving Consumer Preferences for Sustainability and Durability: There is a clear and growing shift in consumer demand towards more sustainable, reusable, and durable products, alongside a general move away from single-use plastics and perceived disposable items. This trend puts pressure on Newell's portfolio, much of which has historically relied on mass production and disposability, requiring significant innovation and adaptation to remain relevant.

Newell Brands (symbol: NWL) operates in several key markets. The addressable market sizes for its main products and services are as follows:

• Writing Instruments: The global writing instruments market was valued at approximately USD 17.4 billion in 2024.
• Home Fragrance: The global home fragrance market size was valued at USD 24.89 billion in 2024.
• Food Storage Containers: The global food storage container market size was valued at USD 173.45 billion in 2024.
• Baby Products: The global baby care products market size was valued at USD 239.81 billion in 2024.
• Commercial Cleaning Products: The global commercial cleaning products market size was valued at USD 120.6 billion in 2024.
• Home Appliances/Cookware: null
• Outdoor & Recreation: null

Newell Brands (NWL) is expected to drive future revenue growth over the next 2-3 years through several key strategies:

1. Innovation and New Product Launches: The company is prioritizing the rebuilding of its innovation funnel and has over 20 tier-one or tier-two gross-margin accretive product launches planned for 2026. This focus on consumer-driven product innovation is expected to contribute to market share gains, with specific mentions of new Sharpie creative markers, Wet Erase markers, and continued innovation in its Baby business with programs like Graco.
2. Expanded Distribution and Enhanced Go-to-Market Execution: Newell Brands anticipates positive net distribution gains starting in the fourth quarter of 2025 and accelerating into 2026. This includes significant increases in points of distribution following major retailer shelf resets and a focus on expanding into the fastest-growing channels and with key retailers.
3. Strategic Investment in Core Brands and International Markets: Newell Brands is disproportionately investing in its largest and most profitable brands and focusing on its top ten international countries to drive growth. A significant initiative under this driver is the restage of the Yankee Candle brand, which is anticipated to drive a return to growth in the fourth quarter of 2025 and throughout the full year 2026. The company also expects its international business to return to growth in the fourth quarter of 2025.
4. Optimized Pricing Strategies and Increased Brand Building Investment: The company has implemented competitive pricing actions, particularly in international markets to offset inflation and currency movements, which have been a meaningful contributor to core sales performance. Management indicated that pricing actions for 2025 are largely complete, with potential for further actions if necessary. Concurrently, Newell Brands is significantly increasing its investment in advertising and promotion (A&P), reaching the highest rate as a percentage of sales in nearly a decade, to strengthen brand building and support innovation.

Share Repurchases

• In February 2022, Newell Brands authorized a $375 million share repurchase program.
• As part of this authorization, Newell Brands repurchased approximately $275 million of its common shares from Icahn Enterprises in February 2022.
• Quarterly data indicates that Newell Brands executed significant share repurchases of approximately $288.37 million in Q1 2022 and $50.21 million in Q2 2022.

Share Issuance

• Newell Brands' number of outstanding shares has remained relatively stable or slightly decreased over the last few years, indicating no significant share issuances.

Inbound Investments

• There is no information available for large direct inbound investments made in Newell Brands by third-parties like strategic partners or private equity firms within the specified timeframe. Institutional investors have traded existing shares, but these are not direct investments into the company.

Outbound Investments

• Newell Brands' most recent acquisitions, such as Luma (January 2018) and Sistema (December 2016), fall outside the 3-5 year timeframe.
• During the specified period, the company has primarily focused on portfolio streamlining and divestitures rather than significant outbound investments.

Capital Expenditures

• Newell Brands planned to invest approximately $300 million in capital expenditures during fiscal 2024.
• The primary focus of these capital expenditures for 2024 was on high-return cost-saving projects designed to improve the structural economics of the business and accelerate its turnaround.
• Operating cash flow guidance for fiscal 2025 was reduced to $250 million-$300 million, with expectations for capital expenditures to decline in 2026.