EL7.AI
StocksMedium•22 October 2026•
4 min read

Kaiser Aluminum earnings per share of $1.89 miss estimates as metal pressures weigh

Key Facts

1Adjusted diluted earnings per share totaled $1.89 in the third quarter of 2026.
2Sales rose to $1.21 billion from $844 million in the corresponding period.
3Conversion revenue grew 25% to $439 million, driven by pricing and product mix.
4The company estimated the margin pressure from metal costs and inefficiencies at about 640 basis points.
5Kaiser maintained its annual adjusted EBITDA growth guidance of between 45% and 55%, with results expected at the low end.

Kaiser Aluminum reported adjusted diluted earnings per share of $1.89 for the third quarter of 2026, with results showing pressure on profitability despite higher sales than in the same period a year earlier. Earnings per share fell short of analysts' expectations of $2.37 by $0.48, according to Investing.com. Quarterly net sales totaled $1.21 billion, compared with $844 million in the third quarter of 2025, according to the company's earnings statement. Kaiser attributed the sales increase to higher realized prices and increased shipments during the period. Unlike earnings per share, which missed estimates, revenue met market expectations, according to Investing.com.

Kaiser reported third-quarter conversion revenue of $439 million, benefiting from pricing and product mix, according to its statement. That represented year-on-year growth of 25%, with an improvement in the revenue measure the company uses as the basis for calculating its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization margin. Adjusted EBITDA totaled $84 million during the period, while the margin stood at 19.1% of conversion revenue. The company had reported adjusted EBITDA of $166 million in the second quarter of 2026, in results it described at the time as record-breaking. The adjusted margin in that preceding quarter was 38.1%, while adjusted diluted earnings per share reached $5.53, according to its second-quarter earnings disclosure.

The company said the change in the impact of metal price lag created a headwind of about $29 million compared with the third quarter of the previous year. Alongside that effect, operations faced metal-related costs and inefficiencies, whose combined impact on the adjusted EBITDA margin Kaiser estimated at about 640 basis points. Factors cited by the company included lower scrap utilization in its operations during the quarter. They also included a partial outage at the Bellwood plant, among the operational challenges that affected performance. Kaiser also cited packaging coating startup costs, adding operating burdens to the impact of metal pricing timing on profitability for the period.

Against this backdrop, Kaiser maintained its guidance range for annual adjusted EBITDA growth. In its earnings statement, it said it expected growth of "45% to 55%" in 2026 compared with 2025, with the result likely to come in at the low end of the range. The company linked that outlook to operational outages and execution challenges, alongside customer inventory alignment. It also included metal pressures among the factors affecting its assessment of annual performance. The company's guidance thus continues to target earnings growth from the previous year, although management expects the low end of the range it retained.

Alongside the earnings announcement, Kaiser's board approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.77 per share, according to the company's dividend announcement. The decision covers the October 2026 dividend, among the updates announced to shareholders alongside quarterly financial performance. On management, Kaiser also announced an executive leadership transition as part of its succession plan. Under the plan, Fred Stephan will take over as president and chief executive officer from Keith Harvey. The announced change places both leadership roles with Stephan as Kaiser maintains its annual guidance while pointing to the low end.

The company scheduled its third-quarter earnings conference call for October 22, 2026, according to its earnings and call date announcement. The call is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss financial performance for the period. The record date for the cash dividend follows, with eligibility extending to shareholders of record at the close of business on October 23, 2026. The executive leadership transition then takes effect on November 1, 2026, according to the date given in the succession announcement. Payment of the cash dividend to eligible shareholders is scheduled for November 13, 2026, according to Kaiser's announced timetable.