Just last week, things were looking up for Tupperware (NYSE:TUP). The possibility of a Ryan Cohen-led buyout effort got investors’ attention and saw them piling into Tupperware shares. However, that turned around in a big way, and much of those gains were lost as Tupperware sank over 11% in Monday’s trading. Trading volume for Tupperware was elevated today, and the main reason for the decline seems to be that the possibility of Ryan Cohen stepping in to help turn Tupperware around was limited at best.
A growing proliferation of less-expensive competitors isn’t helping matters much either; Clorox (NYSE:CLX) offers its GladWare line, and these both pale in comparison to offerings from restaurants. Back during the pandemic era, when to-go was pretty much the only way restaurants were allowed to operate by government mandate, restaurants improved their stock of to-go carriers. They then offered these as part of the food purchase, and that left Tupperware in the lurch.
Worse yet, there are some signs that the truly vintage Tupperware—anything made before 2010—could be a health hazard. A CNN Health report noted that those “…hard, shatter-resistant plastics that were made a decade ago, that were made with BPA (Bisphenol A)…” could pose some health risks, including multiple potential birth defects. With Tupperware not visibly swerving much from last week’s warning about its ability to remain a “going concern,” that’s just further trouble ahead. Though its recent move to hire Moelis & Co., as well as Alvarez & Marsal and Kirkland & Ellis LLP to help turn things around might prove helpful.
Despite these disasters, Tupperware is actually up 3.73% in the last five days of trading. The only downside to that is that it’s still basically coasting off its huge gains from Friday, when there was a possibility that Ryan Cohen would swing in and save the company. Now, that looks less likely, and investors are pulling out while they can.
