Why Honeywell Stock Tumbled on Thursday

By Eric Volkman – Apr 23, 2026 at 7:03PM ESTKey PointsIt missed on revenue, but beat on earnings.Management maintained its existing guidance.A bottom-line beat in Honeywell's (HON 2.53%) latest reported quarter wasn't enough to land the stock in positive territory on Thursday. The storied industrial company released first-quarter results that included a revenue miss and uninspiring guidance for the current year. With that, investors punished the company, pushing its shares down nearly 3% that trading session. A company in transition The quarter saw Honeywell earn $9.1 billion in sales, a figure that bettered the year-ago result by 2%. However, net income under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) fell steeply, declining to $795 million from first quarter 2025's nearly $1.47 billion. Image source: Getty Images. The company, which is two months away from spinning off its aerospace business, had a far different bottom-line dynamic under non-GAAP (adjusted) standards. On a per-share basis, adjusted net profit rose by 11% to $2.45. On average, analysts tracking Honeywell stock estimated the company would book nearly $9.3 billion in sales but net an adjusted profit of only $2.32 per share. Three of Honeywell's four reporting divisions delivered sales growth during the quarter. Aerospace, the largest for the moment, saw a nearly 4% year-over-year boost to over $4.3 billion. Building automation improved by 11% to almost $1.9 billion, and process automation and technology gained 5% to slightly over $1.5 billion. The outlier was industrial automation, which fell by 11% to $1.4 billion. ExpandNASDAQ: HONHoneywell InternationalToday's Change(-2.53%) $-5.56Current Price$214.41Key Data PointsMarket Cap$140BDay's Range$207.96 - $217.9252wk Range$184.89 - $248.18Volume450KAvg Vol4MGross Margin37.99%Dividend Yield2.05% Wary about the split Despite the imminent departure of aerospace, Honeywell maintained its existing guidance for the entirety of 2026. It's still counting on a sales figure of $38.8 billion to $39.8 billion, which would mean growth of at least 3%. Meanwhile, adjusted net income should range from $10.35 to $10.65, with the lower figure 6% above the 2025 result. The consensus analyst estimates -- $39.5 billion for sales, adjusted net profit of $10.52 per share -- fall within these ranges. It seems to me investors are somewhat uneasy about Honeywell's future after the aerospace business is hived off. That, combined with the good-but-not-great quarter drained interest in the stock. I think management will have to give the market more inspiring reasons to invest in one or both. Read NextApr 23, 2026 •By Motley Fool TranscribingHoneywell (HON) Q1 2026 Earnings TranscriptApr 22, 2026 •By Motley Fool TranscribingHoneywell (HON) Q4 2024 Earnings Call TranscriptApr 10, 2026 •By Courtney CarlsenBetter Industrial Stock: Honeywell vs. Emerson ElectricMar 30, 2026 •By Rachel Warren5 Best eVTOL Stocks to Buy in 2026Apr 23, 2026 •By Lee SamahaHow the Iran Conflict Is Squeezing GE Aerospace's OutlookApr 23, 2026 •By Daniel SparksTesla's Cybercab Pilot Production Is Underway. Is the Stock a Buy Ahead of a Potential Sales Surge?About the AuthorEric Volkman is a contributing Motley Fool finance and stock market analyst. Previously, Eric was an equities analyst at European investment bank Raiffeisen Capital and Investment. He’s also been a freelance finance writer since 1995. He studied at Susquehanna University.TMFVolkmanStocks MentionedHoneywell InternationalNASDAQ: HON$214.34(-2.56%)-$5.63*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.