When Whirlpool CEO Marc Bitzer said on a Thursday earnings call that his company was hampered by an "almost perfect storm" of headwinds in the first quarter, he might as well have been talking about the last half-decade. With shares down 81% over the past five years, Whirlpool is an example of an old-economy manufacturer that's struggled in the AI age. The company's latest hiccup came in the form of dismal earnings. It more than halved its profit outlook for the year, missed net sales forecasts