Pentair Plc shares tumbled 19.6% in premarket trading after the company issued a negative preannouncement following the close on Tuesday, lowering its outlook for the year and disclosing a change in its finance leadership.
The company said that Nicholas Brazis left his role as chief financial officer on July 10, 2026, to pursue an opportunity at a private company. Effective immediately, Pentair named Bob Fishman, its former Executive Vice President and CFO, as Interim EVP and CFO.
Pentair also provided preliminary results for the second quarter. The company indicated that sales are expected to be approximately $930 million, a decline of 17% relative to its prior guidance that had projected sales to be up roughly 1%. Management attributed the shortfall primarily to destocking in the Pool channel.
On earnings, Pentair said adjusted EPS for the quarter is expected to be about $1.12, down from the prior guide of $1.47 to $1.50. The company quantified the Pool channel destocking as having a roughly $170 million negative impact on segment sales during the quarter.
Pentair reduced its full-year outlook as part of the preannouncement. Sales for the year are now projected to decline between 4% and 7%, versus the earlier guidance of a 2% to 4% increase. Adjusted EPS for the full year is now expected to be in the $4.60 to $4.80 range, down from the prior $5.30 to $5.40 target.
Following the release, RBC Capital Markets downgraded Pentair from Outperform to Sector Perform. Analyst Deane Dray cited what he described as a "~24% 2Q26 EPS miss" and called the CFO transition "an embarrassing development." RBC reduced its price target on the shares by $27, to $74, and said that Pool destocking "is clearly proving far worse than management signaled on the 1Q26 call."
RBC added that the weakness appears confined to the Pool channel, and that the Flow and Water Solutions segments are expected to perform roughly in line with prior guidance.
Contextual note - The company attributes the quarter's shortfall to inventory reductions in the Pool channel and has installed an interim finance chief while the company evaluates its near-term operational and financial position.