WHR Whirlpool Corporation Common Stock

Whirlpool Corporation is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of home appliances headquartered in Benton Charter Township, Michigan, United States. In 2023, the Fortune 500 company had an annual revenue of approximately $19 billion in sales, around 59,000 employees, and more than 55 manufacturing and technology research centers globally.

The company's flagship brand, Whirlpool, is marketed alongside a range of other brands including Maytag, KitchenAid, JennAir, Amana, Gladiator GarageWorks, Inglis, Estate, Brastemp, Bauknecht, InSinkErator, and Consul.

In its domestic U.S. market, Whirlpool has eleven manufacturing facilities which employs about 15,000 workers.

History

Founding and first customers

On November 11, 1911, Louis Upton (1886–1952), who worked as an insurance salesman, and his uncle, Emory Upton, who owned a machine shop, founded the Upton Machine Company. Following a failed business venture, Lou acquired a patent to a manual clothes washer. He approached Emory to determine if he could add an electric motor to the design. With the aid of a $5,000 investment from retailing executive Lowell Bassford, they began producing electric motor-driven wringer washers. Soon after its founding, Lou's younger brother Fred joined the company.

Their first customer, the Federal Electric division of Commonwealth Edison, ordered 100 machines, but a fault in the gear transmission led the customer to threaten their return. After the machines were recalled and repaired, Federal Electric doubled the order. They remained a customer for three years, then they began producing their own washers. The loss of Federal Electric forced Upton to diversify until, in 1916, they landed Sears, Roebuck & Co. as a customer. Sears began selling two types of Upton wringer washers under the "Allen" brand, one for $54.75 and a deluxe model for $95. Sales grew quickly, and in 1921 Sears appointed Upton as their sole supplier of washers. To avoid becoming over-reliant on Sears, Upton began marketing a washer under their own brand name.

The increasing volume of sales led Upton to merge with the Nineteen Hundred Washer Company of Binghamton, New York in 1929, adopting the name Nineteen Hundred Corporation. The company was relatively unaffected by the Great Depression. During WWII, its factories were converted to armament production. In 1947, it introduced an automatic, spinner-type washer sold by Sears under the "Kenmore" brand. A year later it was sold by the company under the "Whirlpool" brand name. Lou retired as president in 1949 and was replaced by Elisha "Bud" Gray II.

In response to the post-war consumer demand for convenience products, the company launched a range of home laundry products including wringer and automatic washers, dryers, and irons. In 1949, The Nineteen Hundred Corporation was renamed as the Whirlpool Corporation. In 1951, the philanthropic Whirlpool Foundation was established.

1950s to 1980s: Early acquisitions

To better compete with more diversified manufacturers, in 1955 Whirlpool acquired Seeger Refrigerator Company and RCA's air conditioner and cooking range lines. The company changed its name to Whirlpool-Seeger Corporation and began using the RCA-Whirlpool brand name. Whirlpool acquired International Harvester Company's refrigeration plant in Evansville, Indiana, in 1955. In 1956, a 100-acre (0.40 km2) administrative center was opened in Benton Harbor, Michigan. In 1957, the RCA Whirlpool Miracle Kitchen was introduced with an estimated 15 million television viewers. The company changed its name back to Whirlpool Corporation and brought in Robert Elton Brooker as president. At the 1959 American National Exhibition at Sokolniki Park, Moscow, Brooker presided over the Whirlpool kitchen. The Whirlpool kitchen inspired the Kitchen Debate between then Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev.

In 1966, Whirlpool dropped the RCA name, with the brand then being known as Whirlpool. The following year, the company introduced a 24-hour helpline. Also in 1966, Whirlpool purchased Warwick Electronics, a major television producer for Sears. The purchase also included the division Thomas Organ Company. Whirlpool exited the television market in 1976 by selling the operations to Japan's Sanyo Electronic Co., but retained the organ business for the electronic technology. By 1978, annual revenues exceeded $2 billion.

In 1986, Whirlpool acquired KitchenAid, a division of the Hobart Corporation. It also announced that it would close most of its manufacturing facilities in the St. Joseph, Michigan area by the end of 1988.

1980s to 2000s: International Expansion

In 1987, Whirlpool began selling compact washers in India and acquired a majority interest in Inglis of Canada. In 1988, Whirlpool bought a 53% stake in the large-appliance division of Philips N.V., creating a joint venture called Whirlpool International. The purchase made Whirlpool the world's largest manufacturer of major appliances, with annual sales of approximately $6 billion. The remaining 47% stake was purchased from Philips in 1991, completing the acquisition. In 1989, Whirlpool acquired the Roper brand and Bauknecht of Germany.

Whirlpool entered the Indian market in the late 1980s as part of its global expansion strategy. It founded a joint venture with the TVS Group and established the first Whirlpool manufacturing facility in Puducherry, where it manufactured washing machines. In 1995, Whirlpool acquired Kelvinator India Limited, marking an entry into the refrigerator market as well. That same year, the company acquired major shares in TVS joint venture, and in 1996, the Kelvinator and TVS acquisitions were merged to create Whirlpool of India Limited. This expanded the company's portfolio on the Indian subcontinent to include washing machines, refrigerators, microwave ovens, and air conditioners. Whirlpool of India Limited is headquartered in Gurgaon, and it owns three manufacturing facilities at Faridabad, Puducherry and Pune. The Pune opened most recently, in 2022.

In 1997, the company acquired a majority stake in Embraco, a Brazilian maker of compressors for refrigeration. In 2000, it acquired Brazilian appliance maker Multibrás, owner of the brands Brastemp and Consul, including its stake in Embraco. In 2001, Inglis Ltd. changed its name to Whirlpool Canada. Whirlpool continues to market Inglis appliances to this day.

2000s to 2020s: Growth and closures

By 2004, annual revenues exceeded $13 billion. In 2005, Maytag Corporation shareholders voted to accept Whirlpool Corporation's stock purchase. After the U.S. Justice Department approved the merger in 2006, the company acquired Maytag, including the Maytag, Jenn-Air, Amana, Jade, Magic Chef, Admiral, Hoover, and Dixie-Narco brands. It sold Dixie-Narco to Crane Co., and Amana Commercial to AGA.

In 2007, Whirlpool sold Hoover to Techtronic Industries, TTI Floorcare, and Jade Appliances to Middleby Corporation. It also closed plants in Newton, Iowa, Searcy, Arkansas, and Herrin, Illinois, resulting in the loss of 4,500 jobs in the affected communities. In 2008, Whirlpool announced the closure of plants in La Vergne, Tennessee, Reynosa, Mexico, Oxford, Mississippi, and Jackson, Tennessee.

In 2009, Whirlpool acquired WC Woods from bankruptcy and closed the company's Evansville, Indiana plant.

In 2011, Whirlpool celebrated its 100th anniversary and unveiled its 100th anniversary logo and an updated corporate logo.

It also took over the former KarstadtQuelle brand Privileg from Otto GmbH.

In 2011, Whirlpool announced the closure of the Fort Smith Arkansas plant. The following year Whirlpool opened a manufacturing plant in Cleveland, Tennessee replacing a 123-year-old facility. The $200 million project added about 130 jobs to an established workforce of 1,500. The 1-million-square-foot (93,000 m2) facility manufactures premium cooking appliances for Whirlpool's portfolio of brands. The project includes a distribution center.

In August 2013, Whirlpool announced it would acquire a 51% majority stake in China's Hefei Royalstar Sanyo (a joint venture between Japan's Sanyo Electric Co, now a unit of Panasonic Corp, and Hefei State-Owned Assets Holding Company Ltd, the investment arm of the local state government) for $552 million and give the company leverage to expand in the Chinese appliance market.

In July 2014, Whirlpool announced it would pay €758 million ($1 billion) to buy a 60% stake in the

Italian rival Indesit. In December Whirlpool completed a successful mandatory tender offer for the remaining shares and de-listed Indesit from the Milan Stock Exchange, becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Whirlpool Italia Holdings S.r.l.

On May 18, 2015, Whirlpool announced that it will acquire American Dryer Corporation, a manufacturer of dryers based in Fall River, Massachusetts. The acquisition was completed on July 3rd of the year.

In January 2017, Whirlpool announced that it would cut about 500 jobs from its Europe, Middle East, and Africa dryer manufacturing units by 2018. This decision provides the closure of the plant in Amiens, France, which became an issue in the 2017 French presidential election, with both Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron visiting the workers on strike before the second round.

In October 2017, Whirlpool and Sears Holding Corp. ended their 101-year partnership, which had allowed Whirlpool-branded appliances to be sold at Sears and Kmart stores, due to unresolved pricing negotiations. Whirlpool continues to manufacture Kenmore appliances for Sears.

In March 2020, Whirlpool Corporation announced the official opening of a new Factory Distribution Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

In November 2022, Whirlpool acquired the Wisconsin-based garbage disposal manufacturer InSinkErator.

2020s to present: Restructuring and macroeconomic headwinds

In January 2023, Whirlpool and Arçelik A.Ş. agreed to start a new joint venture, Beko Europe B.V., which was to take over Whirlpool's appliance business in Europe, Middle East, and Africa. In August 2023, the Competition and Markets Authority started a merger inquiry, deciding in October 2023 that an in-depth investigation into this joint venture would be needed to ensure that it would not reduce competition in the UK market. This process concluded in March 2024, allowing the joint venture to go through. Arçelik owns 75% of Beko Europe while Whirlpool owns 25%, and the new joint venture now operates former Whirlpool brands such as Hotpoint and Indesit.

In February 2024, Whirlpool announced the sale of a 24% stake in its Indian subsidiary for $428 million, retaining a 51% ownership.

Supermicro will replace Whirlpool in the S&P 500 starting at market open March 18, 2024. It was possible after the sequential decline in Whirlpool's market cap, from 14.2B in the end of 2021 to less than 6B in March 2024.

In 2024, Whirlpool finalized major aspects of its portfolio transformation to reshape itself into a higher-growth, higher-margin business focused primarily on the Americas. As part of this geographic consolidation, the company successfully reduced its ownership stake in Whirlpool of India from a majority position to a minority holding of approximately 40%.

Throughout 2025, Whirlpool faced a challenging macroeconomic environment characterized by depressed U.S. housing market activity and weakened discretionary consumer demand due to home affordability issues. In response, the corporation aggressively executed a $200 million structural cost take-out program to mitigate rising supply chain costs and volatile tariff headwinds. Despite these efforts, annual net sales for fiscal 2025 fell to $15.52 billion, down from $16.60 billion in 2024. To stimulate demand, the company launched its largest pipeline of new product refreshes in over a decade, introducing more than 100 new appliances globally across its core brands, including KitchenAid, JennAir, and Maytag.

In February 2026, Whirlpool announced a strategic recapitalization plan, launching concurrent public offerings of common stock and depositary shares totaling approximately $800 million. The net proceeds were aimed at deleveraging its balance sheet by paying down outstanding balances under its revolving credit facility and accelerating strategic investments in manufacturing automation.

However, the company faced severe financial pressure in early 2026 due to rapid macroeconomic deterioration, shifting tariff landscapes, and high inventory reduction costs. In May 2026, Whirlpool reported a first-quarter GAAP net loss of $85 million, a steep reversal from the prior year's net earnings. To combat multi-year inflationary cost pressures, management announced a 10% domestic price increase in April 2026—its largest pricing action in a decade—with an additional 4% hike scheduled for July 2026. Concurrently, to prioritize over $900 million in debt reduction and preserve liquidity, the Board of Directors suspended Whirlpool's common stock dividend and slashed its full-year earnings guidance.

Manufacturing plants

United States

As of 2026, Whirlpool Corporation has 11 manufacturing plants throughout the United States, which employs about 15,000 workers. Approximately 80% of its U.S. product volume were manufactured domestically.

Since its 2006 merger with Maytag, Whirlpool has closed many of its plants including Maytag's main plant in Newton, Iowa, as well as its existing plants in Evansville, Indiana and Fort Smith, Arkansas.

Canada

In March 2002, Whirlpool announced it would close its last manufacturing facility in Canada, the Inglis plant in Montmagny, Quebec, by 2004, terminating 500 workers and shifting production to facilities in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Oxford Mississippi.

Mexico

In Mexico, Whirlpool has 5 manufacturing plants; three facilities in Apodaca, Nuevo León (including Supsa, Plastics Apodaca, and Horizon) producing refrigerators and washing machines, one facility in Celaya, Guanajuato producing stoves, compact refrigerators, and semi-automatic washing machines, and one facility in Ramos Arizpe, Coahuila producing duplex and French-door refrigerators.

On July 1, 2026, Whirlpool announced it will close its Supsa refrigerator manufacturing plant in Apodaca, Mexico, by the second quarter of 2027, shifting production to its facility in Ramos Arizpe and other regional sites.

Carbon footprint

Whirlpool Corporation reported Total CO2e emissions (Direct + Indirect) for the twelve months ending December 31, 2020 at 663 Kt (-21 /-3.1% y-o-y) and is committed to reaching net zero emissions by 2030.

NASA partnership

In 1962, the company's research laboratories won a contract from NASA to develop the food and waste management system for Project Gemini. The company later developed freeze-dried ice cream in 1968 under contract to NASA for the Apollo missions. Returning to work with NASA under the Johnson Space Center's Advanced Exploration Systems Logistics Reduction and Repurposing project in 2021, Whirlpool developed a zero-gravity refrigerator in partnership with Purdue University and Air Squared to investigate long term food storage for deep space exploration.

Dryer fire scandal

According to The Guardian newspaper, the Whirlpool Corporation was mired in controversy in the UK for its decision not to recall faulty items that have caused deadly fires. In October 2014, two died following a fire at a flat in Llanrwst, North Wales. Coroner ruled that the cause of the fire was “on the balance of probabilities” an electrical fault with the door switch on the dryer. He described the evidence presented at the inquest by Whirlpool as “defensive and dismissive” and stated the company's approach was an “obstacle” to finding steps to prevent future fires.

Safety warnings about tumble dryers published on the Indesit and Hotpoint websites in 2015 advised customers that “In some rare cases, excess fluff can come into contact with the heating element and present a risk of fire.” Condensers and vented tumble dryers sold under the brands Hotpoint, Indesit, Creda, Swan and Proline and manufactured over an 11-year period between April 2004 and September 2015 present a fire risk. An estimated 5.3 million tumble dryers were bought in the UK over the time period. Originally, and even after several fires were confirmed as being caused by faulty devices, Whirlpool advised customers that using such devices was safe provided they were not left unattended but would not issue a product recall. Whirlpool offered to fix faulty machines or replace tumble dryers at a cost of £99 - an offer met with derision with consumer groups and in the press. Parliament discussed widespread difficulties with getting faulty machines fixed or replaced, including long wait times and poor service.

On Friday 19 August 2016, a fire broke out on the seventh floor of an 18-storey Shepherds Court building in Shepherd's Bush Green resulting in hundreds of residents being evacuated. London Fire Brigade said 20 fire engines and 120 firefighters responded to the fire at 3.44pm, and that it was under control by 5.30pm. The occupants were at home when smoke started pouring out of the tumble dryer and they alerted fire crews, with the fire later confirmed as being caused by a faulty Indesit branded Whirlpool tumble dryer.

At the time Whirlpool advised customers that ”You may continue to use your tumble dryer while waiting for the modification, however, we require that you do not leave your dryer unattended during operation as an extra precaution (i.e. do not leave the house or leave the dryer on while asleep)” but would not issue a product recall.

On 26 August 2016, London Fire Brigade advised the public to stop all use of faulty tumble dryers immediately and through its Total Recall campaign, called on Whirlpool to change its advice to customers and promote a product recall, advice also issued by Which? and the "Expect It's Safe" campaign set up by lawyers representing victims of fires started by faulty appliances.

In September 2016, Andy Slaughter, the MP for Hammersmith whose constituency includes Shepherd's Bush said the government had failed to stand up to the “powerful industry lobby” representing white goods manufacturers. He was reported to have urged ministers to instruct Whirlpool and other companies to change their advice to customers, and insisted that faulty appliances that may cause fires be recalled and replaced. In a session of parliament on 13 September 2016, Slaughter revealed that he had "tracked down 750 fires caused by Whirlpool dryers and by dryers from brands owned by Whirlpool between 2004 and 2015. We know about 127 models, but Whirlpool will not publish the full list."

The same month, following the publication of the investigation results into the Shepherd's Bush blaze that concluded the faulty tumble dryer was to blame for starting the fire and other fires across the UK, pressure grew on Whirlpool and the government to do more to reassure the public. Dave Brown, London fire brigade's director of operations, said, “This fire has highlighted just how dangerous faulty white goods can be... disappointingly though, Whirlpool have still not changed their advice to consumers. We are now appealing once again for them to change their advice and bring it into line with our own. Thankfully there were no serious injuries in the Shepherd’s Bush fire but we may not be so lucky if it happens again.”

In October 2016, Margot James, the government's consumer minister, said: “Customer safety must be the number one priority for manufacturers. I acknowledge that Whirlpool are making great efforts to modify and replace at-risk machines, but I believe additional action is required to reassure customers and the public. I will be writing to the company to set out my concerns and expectations.”

In December 2016, the UK's largest customer advocacy group, Which?, who had previously produced a list of the 113 models of tumble dryer at risk, took the unusual step to seeking a judicial review of Peterborough Trading Standards - the agency named as responsible for handling of the faulty tumble dryers sold by Whirlpool - labelling the handling as a “fiasco” and claiming that it has failed millions of consumers across the UK by not enforcing product safety laws. Peterborough City Council had been dealing with Whirlpool because its UK head office is located in the city. The move was considered unusual as it was the first time Which? had made a formal legal move involving trading standards "in order to assess the lawfulness of its decision to allow householders to continue to use faulty machines, despite the risk of them bursting into flames".

Leon Livermore, Chief Executive of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute was critical of Whirlpool not recalling faulty tumble dryers, urging "Whirlpool to recall the millions of potentially faulty tumble dryers in people's homes", but came to the defence of Peterborough Trading Standards, saying, "The whole system has been overwhelmed by the size of this, and it’s a bit unfair on a local authority such as Peterborough to have to take responsibility for what is a national issue.”

In response to the criticism, a council spokesman said: “An independent review, which began earlier this month, is currently taking place and we would expect the company to fully comply with the outcome. We will strongly defend our position if Which? is granted a judicial review and bearing in mind the ongoing independent review we consider that this action is premature.”

On 22 February 2017, Whirlpool received two enforcement notices from Peterborough Trading Standards following the trading standards internal review. 15 months after Whirlpool advised customers that it was safe to continue using faulty tumble dryers providing they were not left unattended, it was required to update its advice to customers advising them to unplug the appliances and stop using them until they were repaired. Whirlpool was also required to publicise the changed advice to consumers through advertisements in national newspapers, through social media and in stores. The enforcement notices had been originally issued on 16 January 2017, and were rejected by Whirlpool, which filed for an appeal that was then rejected. Had the company not complied with the notices at this point, it would have been taken to court. According to The Guardian, the latest action followed “an escalation” in the number of incidents caused by affected machines.

On Wednesday 25 April 2018, BBC One television consumer show Watchdog broadcast further allegations regarding Whirlpool's safety recall of tumble dryers. The show explained how tumble dryers that had already been modified and supposedly made safe were still catching fire. Furthermore, newer models which were deemed “safe” by Whirlpool were actually being manufactured with the same flaws of previous unsafe models. BBC Watchdog attempted to speak to a spokesman from Whirlpool but the company did not provide anyone to answer these allegations on the show.

On 17 December 2019, Whirlpool issued a recall of over 500,000 Hotpoint- and Indesit-branded washing machines due to risk of fire. The machines were demonstrated to be prone to overheating and catching fire due to a fault with their heating apparatus.

Major brands

Specialty labels

Admiral-branded appliances are sold exclusively at Home Depot, the brand was also formerly sold at Montgomery Ward stores until the company's demise in 2001.

Crosley branded top-load washing machines are made for Crosley Appliances

Falabella branded appliances are made for Falabella (South America Only)

FSP (Factory Specification Parts)

IKEA branded appliances were made for IKEA

Kenmore branded appliances were made for Sears. Although other designations were used, 110, 665, 880 and 106 are common first 3 digits in the model number of a Kenmore product built by Whirlpool.

Former brands

Bauknecht and Privileg have been sold to "Beko Europe" of Arçelik.