Hexcel (HXL) AI Stock Analysis

Company Guidance

Hexcel reaffirmed unchanged 2026 financial guidance for revenues between $2.025 billion and $2.150 billion, diluted EPS of $2.30 to $2.40 per share, and free cash flow greater than $195 million; it expects at least 80 A350 ship sets in 2026 and around 100 A350 ship sets in 2027, with Airbus targeting 12 aircraft per month by 2028, while Q4 is still targeting at least mid range of our guidance and possibly slightly above that, with a normal 65/35 split between commercial and defense. The company expects about 13% operating margin for the full year, incrementals in the range of mid thirties to 30s, a path to approximately 18% adjusted operating margins before the end of the decade, and the opportunity to approach somewhere closer to 20%; it is targeting 6.5% to 7.0% SG&A as a percent of total sales at full production rates, leverage of 1.5x to 2.0x net debt to adjusted EBITDA during the fourth quarter of 2026 and less than 2.0x net debt to EBITDA, capital expenditures in the range of $100 million to $125 million over the next few years, and a fourth-quarter tax rate in the 17% to 18% range with the full-year rate maybe slightly north of 16%.