James Hardie Industries plc

On August 19, 2025, James Hardie disclosed that sales in North America Fiber Cement had declined by 12% due to customer destocking, which the Company had become aware of in April. The Company further explained that the results reflected a “normalization of channel inventories” and would likely impact sales for at least the next two quarters.

On this news, James Hardie’s stock price fell $9.79, or 34.4%, to close at $18.64 per share on August 20, 2025, thereby injuring investors.

The complaint filed in this class action alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors that: (1) sales in James Hardie’s largest business segment were experiencing inventory loading by channel partners, with the hallmarks of fraudulent channel stuffing, and not sustainable customer demand as represented; and (2) as a result, Defendants’ positive statements about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.