Pentair (NYSE:PNR) shares plunged nearly 20% in premarket trading after the company lowered its full-year financial guidance, released weaker-than-expected preliminary second-quarter results and announced the unexpected departure of its Chief Financial Officer.
CFO exits as company names interim replacement
Pentair said Chief Financial Officer Nicholas Brazis left the company on 10 July 2026 to pursue an opportunity with a private business.
The company has appointed former Executive Vice President and CFO Bob Fishman as Interim Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer with immediate effect.
Preliminary results disappoint
The company expects second-quarter sales of approximately 930 million dollars, significantly below its previous guidance, which had called for revenue growth of around 1%.
Adjusted earnings per share are now expected to be approximately 1.12 dollars, well below the company’s earlier forecast of between 1.47 and 1.50 dollars.
Pentair attributed the weaker performance to continued inventory reductions across its Pool distribution channel, which reduced segment sales by an estimated 170 million dollars during the quarter.
Full-year outlook reduced
Management also lowered its outlook for the full year.
Sales are now expected to decline between 4% and 7%, compared with previous guidance for growth of between 2% and 4%.
Adjusted earnings per share are forecast in the range of 4.60 to 4.80 dollars, down from the prior estimate of between 5.30 and 5.40 dollars.
Analyst downgrades stock
Following the announcement, RBC Capital downgraded Pentair to Sector Perform from Outperform.
Analyst Deane Dray cited an approximately 24% second-quarter earnings miss and described the CFO transition as “an embarrassing development.”
RBC also reduced its price target by 27 dollars to 74 dollars, noting that inventory reductions in the Pool business were proving much more severe than management had indicated during its first-quarter earnings call.
The brokerage added that the weakness appears to be concentrated within the Pool segment, while the Flow and Water Solutions businesses are still expected to perform broadly in line with previous expectations.
Pentair stock price
