Consumer and education products manufacturer Acco Brands (NYSE: ACCO) beat fourth-quarter expectations, but the company's guidance for 2024 underwhelmed. Investors appear disappointed, sending Acco shares down 12% as of 2 p.m. ET Friday.

Acco is a supplier of branded academic, consumer, and business products, including Mead paper, Swingline staplers, Kensington locks, and At-A-Glance planners. The company earned $0.39 per share in the quarter on sales of $488.6 million, surpassing Wall Street's estimate of $0.33 per share in earnings on $476 million in revenue.

But the trends tell a more troubling story. Fourth-quarter sales fell by 2.2% year over year, and 5.9% for the year. Acco in its release said the declines "reflect the challenging macroeconomic environment" as well as "lower than anticipated return to office trends" and tight inventory management by retailers.

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Source Fool.com