The maker of Crock-Pot is plunging as people freak out over a character's shocking death on 'This Is Us'

WeMo

• Newell Brands' stock is plunging after the company announced 2018 full-year guidance that disappointed analysts and investors.
• The company is already dealing with the PR fallout after its Crock-Pot product caused the death of a beloved character on NBC's "This Is Us."

Newell Brands is having a rough day.

The maker of the popular Crock-Pot product saw its stock price plunge as much as 24% on Thursday after the company announced disappointing guidance for 2018.

Meanwhile, it's also facing a disaster on the PR front as people freak out about a shocking moment on Tuesday night's episode of NBC's "This Is Us," which saw a beloved major character apparently meet his demise due to a faulty Crock-Pot.

The company, which acquired the Crock-Pot slow cooker brand in 2016 when it bought consumer products maker Jarden, has been in damage control mode since the episode aired.

"For nearly 50 years, with over 100 million Crock-Pots sold, we have never received any consumer complaints similar to the fictional events portrayed in last night's episode," Newell said in a statement. "In fact, the safety and design of our product renders this type of event nearly impossible."

The show's creator Dan Fogelman also sought to quell outrage, which extended to Twitter, where hordes of angry fans led a backlash against Crock-Pot.

The "This Is Us" bombshell is just the latest development for struggling Newell, whose stock had already dropped as much as 49% from a record high reached in June 2017, even before it released guidance on Thursday.

The fallout from the 2018 outlook came swiftly from analysts across Wall Street, as Wells Fargo and JPMorgan cut their price targets on the stock, while Barclays said "put simply, we've lost confidence" in Newell.

Markets Insider