Kurita's battleships were driven away from the engagement by torpedo attacks from American destroyers; they were unable to regroup in the chaos, while three cruisers were lost after attacks from U.S. destroyers and aircraft, with several other cruisers damaged.
Kuritas slagskibe blev drevet tilbage med torpedoangreb fra de amerikanske destroyere, og var ude af stand til at omgruppere sig i kaos, mens tre krydsere gik tabt efter angreb fra amerikanske fly og destroyere og adskillige andre krydsere blev beskadiget.