What You Should Make of Clorox Stock's 11% Drop Today

Shares of Clorox (NYSE: CLX) tanked on Tuesday, and were down 11.4% as of 11:40 a.m. EDT. After some quarters of stupendous growth in sales of its cleaning products driven by the coronavirus pandemic, the market feared whether the company would be able to sustain its growth momentum as vaccinations roll out and economies reopen. Clorox confirmed investors' worst fears this morning with its fourth-quarter numbers and outlook for fiscal 2022. They're disappointing, to say the least.

Clorox's sales declined 9% year over year during its fourth quarter, which runs through June 30. Management cited two reasons for the sales decline: lower shipments from peak pandemic levels and a rapid decline in its health and wellness segment sales. The second bit is what investors feared the most.

Clorox's health and wellness segment, also its largest, sells cleaning and home products as well as supplements, among other things. Demand for disinfecting wipes and bleach products sold mainly under its namesake brand shot up as COVID-19 struck, helping Clorox deliver some stellar quarters.

Source Fool.com