This Dividend King's Turnaround Is Working Out Just the Way It Was Planned

Stanley Black & Decker (NYSE: SWK) posted adjusted earnings of $4.52 per share in 2022, down from $10.18 in 2021. It came into 2023 expecting adjusted earnings to fall between breakeven and $2 per share, continuing the downtrend. Yet, the industrial company has been executing well on its turnaround plan. Here's what you need to know.

As the earnings numbers above highlight, 2022 and 2023 have not been particularly good years for the company. There have been a number of headwinds, including excess inventory (much of it higher-cost because of inflationary issues in the supply chain), a heavy debt load (left behind from a string of debt-funded acquisitions), and a bloated list of similar products (another remnant of the acquisition spree). The depth of the issues the company faced as it entered 2023 is highlighted by the projected decline in adjusted earnings from over $10 per share in 2021 to less than $2.