Mortgage rates edged higher last week, making home financing more expensive, crimping demand and piling more downward pressure on the shares of Charlotte-based window and door maker Jeld-Wen Holdings.
The stock is a casualty of the lingering U.S. homebuilding slump, sinking 6% to $1.10 today. It’s lost 55% of its value so far this year, compounding a collapse of more than 95% over the past five years.
The stock was trading at more than $28 in the spring of 2021, fueled by robust housing demand amid historically low mortgage rates during the pandemic. Since 2022, climbing interest rates have contributed to declining annual sales of existing U.S. homes. Sales of newly built single-family homes were down in January from a year earlier, hurting demand for building materials.
As of today, the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage increased to 6.46% from 6.38% a week earlier, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. It was slightly higher a year ago.
“Market conditions remain soft, and we are not counting on a near-term recovery,” CEO Bill Christensen told analysts on Jeld-Wen’s year-end conference call Feb. 18.
A day earlier, the company reported a loss of $619 million in 2025, up from $189 million a year earlier, while revenue declined nearly 15% to $3.2 billion. That’s down from a peak of $4.5 billion in 2022.
At the end of 2025, the CEO said, “the macro environment remained very soft,” consistent with the company’s expectations. “End markets did not improve meaningfully and demand across both new construction and repair and remodel continued to be under pressure.”
After moving its headquarters from Oregon to Charlotte more than a decade ago, Jeld-Wen has downsized the business in recent years to align with sinking sales. Operational improvements are aimed at restoring profitability, while cuts such as last year’s elimination of about 2,300 full-time jobs, or 14% of the workforce, are intended to reduce costs, according to Christensen. Last year’s financial results reflected those steps. The loss included about $550 million in goodwill impairment charges, a one-time tax expense and costs related to the company’s “transformation journey,’’ according to the earnings release in February.
“These actions were structural and reflected our view that demand is unlikely to improve meaningfully in the near term,” said Christensen. He added that full-year sales and adjusted profit came in higher than the company had forecast earlier but “well below where we expected to finish the year when we began.”
The stock has lost nearly half of its value since the reporting of full-year results as “Jeld-Wen burned through $140.8 million of cash over the last year, and its $1.17 billion of debt exceeds the $136.1 million of cash on its balance sheet,” StockStory posted in an online report last week. “This is a deal breaker for us because indebted loss-making companies spell trouble.
“Unless Jeld-Wen’s fundamentals change quickly, it might find itself in a position where it must raise capital from investors to continue operating,’’ StockStory said. “Whether that would be favorable is unclear because dilution is a headwind for shareholder returns.’’
At year’s end, Jeld-Wen had about $136 million of cash and about $350 million of availability on its credit revolver, according to the CEO. None of the company’s debt matures until December 2027. “While those maturities are not imminent, we expect to address them before they become current,’’ he said.
The company’s “only relevant’’ debt covenant requires a minimum of about $40 million in total liquidity, less than its current position, he said.
“Over the past year, we have increasingly focused the business on execution and decisions within our control,’’ Christensen said. “We have taken meaningful steps to improve service, simplify operations, align costs with demand, and secure our financial position.’’
In the fourth quarter, the company completed the sale-leaseback of its Coral Springs, Florida, facility, generating net proceeds of roughly $38 million. The company is conducting a strategic review of its European door business, hurt by lower demand.
“While the process is ongoing and we have nothing to announce at this time, we believe this review or other potential actions could provide meaningful liquidity and help further strengthen the balance sheet,’’ Christensen said. Other transactions may include “smaller, non-core assets and selective sale lease back opportunities’’ such as with the Coral Springs transaction.
StockStory said it remains cautious until Jeld-Wen “generates consistent free cash flow or any of its announced financing plans materialize on its balance sheet.’’