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<h2>Key Points</h2><ul><li>The company had a mixed fourth quarter, beating revenue expectations but missing on profitability.</li><li>It subsequently declared a generous 40% dividend raise, but that couldn't turn investor sentiment positive over the month.</li><li>10 stocks we like better than Mueller Industries ›</li></ul>February wasn't a memorable month for many stocks on U.S. exchanges, and we can confidently assume Mueller Industries (NYSE: MLI) is happy it's now in the past. The company's shares lost more than 13% of their value over the period, on the back of a quarterly earnings miss. Even a monster dividend raise couldn't reverse the decline.<h2>A mixed final quarter of 2025</h2>Mueller, a veteran industrial company that manufactures and sells metal and plastic components for a range of segments including refrigeration and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), published its final earnings release for 2025 at the start of February. Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an &#34;Indispensable Monopoly&#34; providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue »<img alt="Warehouse robot with person in the background." src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://g.foolcdn.com/image//query-dXJsPWh0dHBzOi8vZy5mb29sY2RuLmNvbS9lZGl0b3JpYWwvaW1hZ2VzLzg1OTg3OC93YXJlaG91c2Utcm9ib3Qtd2l0aC1wZXJzb24taW4tdGhlLWJhY2tncm91bmQuanBnJnc9NzAw?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="700" height="466" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://g.foolcdn.com/image//query-dXJsPWh0dHBzOi8vZy5mb29sY2RuLmNvbS9lZGl0b3JpYWwvaW1hZ2VzLzg1OTg3OC93YXJlaG91c2Utcm9ib3Qtd2l0aC1wZXJzb24taW4tdGhlLWJhY2tncm91bmQuanBnJnc9NzAw"/>
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The good news is that both net sales and net income in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) rose year over year. The top line expanded by more than 4% to over $962 million, easily exceeding the $962 million consensus among the few analysts tracking Mueller stock. The less-good news is that, while GAAP profitability saw a steeper (11%) rise to nearly $154 million ($1.38 per share), it was well under the average pundit projection. Collectively, the prognosticators were modeling net income of $1.67 per share. Management said that tariffs imposed by the Trump administration negatively affected its performance. Another drag was a dip in unit volumes affecting the company's copper and brass products. Higher net selling prices helped to mitigate this, however.Zooming out, Mueller didn't hesitate to mention that its key fundamentals in every quarter last year rose from the corresponding periods of 2024. It ended up posting the highest annual operating and net income figures in its long history.But stocks trade on the future, not the recent past. On a somewhat pessimistic note, the company quoted CEO Greg Christopher as saying that &#34;although we do not expect market conditions to abruptly rebound in 2026, we nonetheless anticipate considerable improvements as the year progresses.&#34;As per its long-standing practice, Mueller did not provide specific financial guidance for the current quarter or for this year.<h2>A dandy of a dividend raise</h2>One of Mueller's actions following the earnings release was to announce that big dividend raise -- a bullish managerial move if ever there was one. The quarterly payout is getting a 40% lift, from $0.25 per share to $0.35. The enhanced dividend is to be paid on March 27 to investors of record as of March 13, and at the most recent closing share price, it would yield 1.2%. Mueller is always highly dependent on the prices of the materials in which it specializes (chiefly copper and brass), so its financials can be somewhat up-and-down, and hard to estimate. Regardless, it's a well-managed, consistently profitable company, and, what's more, it's active in segments (like HVAC) serving the white-hot data center market.<h2>Should you buy stock in Mueller Industries right now?</h2>
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*Stock Advisor returns as of March 8, 2026. Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Mueller Industries. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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Mueller Industries experienced a challenging February, with its stock dropping over 13% despite a strong revenue performance in its fourth quarter. The company reported a 4% increase in net sales to over $962 million but missed profitability expectations, reporting $1.38 per share against a forecast of $1.67. A significant 40% dividend increase to $0.35 per share was announced, but it failed to improve investor sentiment. CEO Greg Christopher noted that market conditions are not expected to improve abruptly in 2026, and the company did not provide specific financial guidance for the current quarter.

Why Mueller Industries Stock Flopped in February