Snap-On misses quarterly estimates as demand falls for auto repair tools

April 17 (Reuters) - Toolmaker Snap-On SNA.N missed estimates for first-quarter profit and revenue on Thursday, as vehicle service and repair technicians were reluctant to buy its products amid threats of price rise and recession.

Shares of the company fell 6% to $312 in premarket trading.

Fears of price hikes from U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and a cloudy macroeconomic environment have prompted repair technicians, customers of Snap-On's Tools segment, to refrain from big purchases.

The company's CEO, Nick Pinchuk, said earlier this year that it’s hard for their customers, many of them blue-collar mechanics, not to feel lingering "macro uncertainty" created by "ongoing wars, immigration disputes, and lingering inflation."

But the company said on Thursday it was encouraged by results at its repair systems segment, helped by larger orders from repair shop owners and managers.

For the quarter ended March 31, revenue in its repair systems and information group segment rose to $475.9 million from $463.8 million a year earlier.

The Kenosha, Wisconsin-based company said it expects a capex of $100 million in 2025, $22.9 million of which it has already incurred in the first three months of the year.

It posted total quarterly revenue of $1.14 billion, compared with analysts' estimate of $1.19 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

On an adjusted basis, it earned $4.51 per share in the first quarter, compared with estimates of $4.81 per share.