Sleep Number lost money in the fourth quarter as consumer sentiment soured

Sleep Number recorded a fourth quarter loss as demand for the beds slid 18% during the last three months of the year.

Shelly Ibach, CEO of the Minneapolis-based company, told analysts price increases and working through order backlogs helped to offset the decrease in demand.

But the company still reported the quarterly loss of $5.4 million, or 24 cents a share, after the market closed Wednesday. In the same period the year before, Sleep Number made $11.1 million, or 47 cents a share.

Revenue increased 1% to $498 million.

The company has battled chip shortages since September 2021, as well as other supply-chain issues and inflation in 2022.

Earnings for the year were $36.6 million, or $1.63 a share, down from the $153.7 million, or $6.16 a share, in 2021. Sales for the year were down 3% to $2.1 billion.

Sales for the quarter and year slightly exceeded analysts' expectations, but earnings fell short. Analysts had expected the company to lose 22 cents a share in the quarter on revenue of $495.7 million.

The top-end Climate 360 smart bed introduced in the fall and next-generation smart beds being introduced in 2023 give the company more positives headed into the rest of the year.

"Consumer response to our best innovation to date — the new Climate360 smart bed — has been strong, and we are excited to introduce our next-generation smart beds beginning in the second quarter," Ibach said in a news release.

At the Super Bowl earlier this month Sleep Number announced a five-year extension to its marketing partnership with the National Football League.

But consumer confidence remains down and that is expected to be a drag on results for 2023. Company outlook for 2023 is net sales flat to down mid-single digits for the year and EPS in the range of $1.25 to $2.

Shares of Sleep Number closed Thursday at $39.40, up 12.9%.

The maker of equipment to clean industrial, commercial and outdoor spaces earned $23.8 million, or $1.27 a share, in the fourth quarter, a more than 200% increase over the same period in 2021. Revenue for the quarter increased 5.3% to $291 million.

Adjusted net income was $1.46 a share for the quarter up 106% from the fourth quarter of 2021 and better than $1.21 a share analysts were expecting.

Tennant's President and Chief Executive Dave Huml told analysts on the company's conference call the teams took actions on inflation, parts shortages and labor availability to report strong results.

For the year Tennant earnings increased more modestly to $66.3 million, or $3.55 a share. Revenue was flat at $1.1 billion. Adjusted earnings for the year were $4.10 a share, 25 cents a share better than consensus analyst expectations.

Huml also noted the record backlog of orders will help them weather the possibility of moderating demand in 2023 and set adjusted earnings expectation for full year 2023 at $3.70 to $4.50 a share.