TEHRAN- Appliance giant Whirlpool says the Iran war has caused a “recession-level industry decline” in the US, driven by a collapse in consumer confidence in late February and March.

In its latest earnings report, the company slashed its full-year earnings guidance to $3–$3.50 per share, down from a prior $6 outlook. Shares tumbled as much as 18% before recovering slightly.

CFO Roxanne Warner told Yahoo Finance that demand for large home appliances across the US and Canada is now at its lowest level since the Great Financial Crisis. While severe winter weather also played a role, the war remains a central factor.

The conflict has disrupted global supply chains and raised shipping costs for gasoline and jet fuel, leading to higher prices for appliances from Whirlpool-owned brands like Maytag and KitchenAid.

As a bellwether of broader economic health, home appliance sales reflect consumers’ willingness to make big-ticket purchases. Whirlpool’s warning follows the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index falling to 49.8% in April — the lowest for that month since June 2022.

Meanwhile, Bank of America warns that the dual-engine setup by which the US economy is increasingly driven, namely, soaring AI investment and resilient consumer spending , is uniquely vulnerable to the ongoing Iran war.

Market strategists note that prolonged geopolitical instability typically depresses discretionary spending for 6–12 months. 

The cascading warnings from Whirlpool and Bank of America underscore a sobering reality: no corner of the US economy—from household appliance purchases to multi-billion-dollar AI investments—is immune to the ripple effects of the Iran war. 

While a swift ceasefire could help restore consumer confidence and ease logistics costs, prolonged instability threatens to turn what began as a demand slump in housing-related goods into a broader recessionary spiral. 

For now, with consumer sentiment already at historic lows and discretionary spending under pressure, businesses and policymakers alike face a high-stakes waiting game. The coming months will reveal whether diplomatic efforts can outpace economic damage, or whether the US economy is headed for a harder landing than anticipated.