Sherwin-Williams Gains on Pandemic’s Do-It-Yourself Paint Boom

(Bloomberg) -- Sherwin-Williams Co. got a boost from customers sprucing up their homes during this year’s lockdowns.

“Unprecedented demand” from do-it-yourself painters in North America helped spur sequential sales gains in each months of the second quarter, Chief Executive Officer John Morikis said in a statement as the company reported earnings. Earnings topped Wall Street’s highest estimate.

The results show a silver lining for Sherwin-Williams even as total sales fall because of declines from commercial customers. With so many people forced to spend more time at home because of the coronavirus pandemic, many of them tackled projects such as paint jobs.

“My sincere thanks goes to our entire global team for their resilience and determination,” Morikis said.

The shares climbed 3.4% to $646.85 at 11:39 a.m. in New York after advancing as much as 5.5% for the biggest intraday gain in three months. Sherwin-Williams rose 7.2% this year through Monday and was poised to close at a record.

Earnings rose to $7.10 a share, well above the highest analyst estimate compiled by Bloomberg. Net sales slipped 5.6% to $4.6 billion. Analysts had predicted $4.53 billion.

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