Leggett Nets $250M From Aerospace Sale, Aims to Deleverage

Leggett & Platt, Incorporated LEG has taken another decisive step in reshaping its business portfolio. On Friday, the company announced the successful completion of the sale of its Aerospace Products Group to Tinicum Incorporated, generating after-tax proceeds of about $250 million.

Management emphasized that the sale will streamline operations, reduce exposure to volatile end markets and reinforce LEG’s strategic priorities. This move demonstrates the company's focus on keeping a well-balanced portfolio in line with changing market conditions.

Shares of LEG declined 1.2% on Friday.

Leggett’s Focus on Shedding a Non-Core Asset

The Aerospace Products business is a supplier of engineered tube and duct assemblies, generating $190 million in net trade sales in 2024. Although the divested Aerospace Products Group was profitable, the business was peripheral to Leggett’s core bedding, furniture, flooring and textiles segments. Shedding this non-core unit enables sharper strategic focus, allowing the company to concentrate resources where it maintains market leadership.

This move enabled Leggett to reallocate resources toward higher-growth opportunities within its Bedding, Furniture, Flooring & Textile, and Specialized Products segments.

This move builds on earlier restructuring efforts. In March, Houston-based ABM International acquired part of Leggett’s Global Systems Group, including its longstanding bedding machinery brands. Separately, LEG has been consolidating its bedding and furniture footprint, planning to shrink its plant count to 30-35 from 50 and reduce workforce levels by as much as 1,100. These actions, though painful, reflect a broader effort to right-size operations, control costs, and align production with demand trends.

Leggett is expected to use the proceeds from the latest sale to pay down debt and strengthen its balance sheet and leverage ratio. This fits into the company’s broader plan to enhance financial flexibility, improve margins and complete its restructuring program by year-end 2025.

As a result of the divestiture of the Aerospace Products Group, Leggett has updated its full-year 2025 guidance. Sales are now projected at $3.9 billion to $4.2 billion (down from $4.0 billion to $4.3 billion), while adjusted EPS guidance is lowered to $0.95-$1.15 (from $1.00-$1.20). The implied adjusted EBIT margin is expected to be between 6.3% and 6.7%, a decline from the previous range of 6.5% to 6.9%.

LEG’s Share Price Performance

Shares of Leggett have gained 10.2% in the past three months, underperforming the Zacks Furniture industry’s 13.2% rise. Although ongoing challenges in residential end markets and trade-related uncertainties are hitting Leggett hard, the company has demonstrated resilience through disciplined cost control, restructuring benefits and improved margins.
 

In the second quarter of 2025, Leggett reported revenues of $1.06 billion, down 6.3% year over year, as weakness in Bedding and Automotive offset gains in Trade Wire, Rod, Textiles and Aerospace. Adjusted EBIT rose $4 million versus the prior year to $76 million, and adjusted EPS grew 3% to $0.30, supported by restructuring benefits and margin expansion.

The company reaffirmed its commitment to reducing leverage, with the after-tax profits from the Aerospace divestment anticipated to significantly reduce commercial paper balances. Long-term shareholder returns, portfolio optimization and operational execution remain top priorities for management.

LEG’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Currently, Leggett carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

Some better-ranked stocks from the Consumer Discretionary sector are Hasbro, Inc. HAS, Interface Inc. TILE and Boyd Gaming Corporation BYD.

Hasbro presently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The company delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 43.7%, on average. Hasbro stock has jumped 45% year to date. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Hasbro’s 2025 sales and earnings per share (EPS) indicates growth of 6.6% and 21.4%, respectively, from the year-ago period’s levels.

Interface sports a Zacks Rank of 1 at present. The company delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 33.5%, on average. Interface stock has jumped 9.9% year to date.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Interface’s 2025 sales and EPS indicates growth of 4.9% and 16.4%, respectively, from the prior-year levels.

Boyd Gaming flaunts a Zacks Rank of 1 at present. The company delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 9.1%, on average. Boyd Gaming stock has gained 18.4% year to date.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Boyd Gaming’s 2025 sales indicates a decline of 4.2%, while EPS indicates growth of 5.2% from the prior-year levels.

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