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Cemex SAB (CX) Q3 2026 Earnings Report
CX Q3 2026 EPS Results
- Actual EPS
- $0.28
- Consensus EPS
- $0.25
- Beat/Miss
- Beat by +$0.03
- One Year Ago EPS
- $0.16
CX Q3 2026 Revenue Results
- Actual Revenue
- $4.54B
- Expected Revenue
- $4.47B
- Beat/Miss
- Beat by +$69.92M
- YoY Revenue Growth
- +6.83%
Earnings Announcement Details
- Quarter
- Q3 2026
- Date
- 10/26/2026
- Time
- Before Open
- Conference Call
- Monday, October 26, 2026
Cemex SAB's next earnings date is estimated for February 18, 2027, based on past reporting schedules.
Q3 2026 Earnings Call Audio
Q3 2026 Earnings Slide Deck
Q3 2026 Earnings Call Summary
The call was strongly positive, with robust revenue, EBITDA, EBIT, free cash flow, cost savings, debt reduction, margin expansion, and transformation progress. Management reaffirmed full-year EBITDA guidance and highlighted structural opportunities from asset pruning, digitalization, and AI. The main challenges were inflation, higher 2027 energy costs, fourth-quarter maintenance and energy headwinds, uneven regional demand, U.S. residential weakness, and ongoing geopolitical and execution risks. Overall, the breadth and magnitude of the reported improvements significantly outweighed the stated challenges.
Management reaffirmed full year EBITDA guidance of 16% to 17% year-over-year growth, based on a peso FX rate of 25 to 68 for the fourth quarter, and expects to land very close to the 21% EBITDA margin target, which is the floor, announced for next year. Energy costs were within full year guidance of a low single digit increase, while 2027 energy inflation could be between mid to high single digit inflation; 2027 pricing is expected to include solid mid single digit price increases across all products. The company expects working capital investment between $50 million to $100 million, total CapEx of maximum of $1.15 billion to $1.2 billion by 2028 and beyond, at least $100 million of incremental free cash flow recurrently from asset pruning from 2027 onwards, and potential incremental recurring free cash flow of between $100 million to $150 million. It expects to exceed the $475 million cost savings commitment by end of next year, with incremental $80 million to finish this first part of the transformation, while 80% of the $475 million cost savings target has been achieved and the remaining $95 million is expected to primarily benefit 2027 results. Fourth-quarter headwinds include around $80 million in maintenance and around $17 million in energy, while about 80% of direct diesel consumption and about 75% to 80% of natural gas consumption are hedged for 2027.
- Strong Consolidated Revenue and Profitability GrowthNet sales grew approximately 8% year over year, while EBITDA increased 12% and EBIT increased 19%, supported by higher consolidated prices, improving cement volumes, Project Cutting Edge efficiencies, operational improvements, and favorable FX movements. This marked the fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit EBITDA and EBIT growth with margin expansion.
- Record Free Cash Flow GenerationFree cash flow from operations increased by more than $900 million year over year on a year-to-date basis. Trailing 12-month adjusted free cash flow from operations reached a record $2.2 billion, with an adjusted conversion rate of approximately 62%. Quarterly free cash flow from operations reached $723 million, up 34%, while year-to-date free cash flow from operations nearly tripled to $1.4 billion.
- Cost Savings Program Ahead of PlanCEMEX achieved $60 million in recurring savings during the quarter, including $20 million originally expected in the fourth quarter and beyond. The company has now achieved 80% of its $475 million cost savings target, with the remaining $95 million expected to primarily benefit 2027 results. Cost of sales and operating expenses as a percentage of sales declined 1.6 and 0.8 percentage points, respectively, year to date.
- Project Cutting Edge Delivered Incremental SavingsProject Cutting Edge contributed approximately $60 million in incremental savings during the quarter. Management said the company expects to deliver higher savings than the $475 million committed by the end of 2027 and expects an incremental $80 million to finish the first phase of the transformation.
- Progress Toward 2027 TargetsYear-to-date EBITDA and EBIT margins, as well as the free cash flow conversion rate, are ahead of the company's 2027 targets. Management said this progress is occurring faster than originally expected and described the 2026 margin improvement as structural, with a 21% EBITDA margin target described as a floor.
- Cement Volume Growth Across Most MarketsConsolidated cement volumes increased 3% year over year, supported by improving demand trends across most markets. Mexico benefited from residential demand, government-sponsored social programs, and competitor outages; the United States benefited from the Omega acquisition and specific projects; and South, Central America, and the Caribbean benefited from demand in Colombia and Jamaica.
- Mexico Delivered Double-Digit EBITDA GrowthMexico delivered another solid quarter, with EBITDA increasing at a double-digit rate and margin expanding by nearly 4 percentage points year over year. Cement demand was supported by a healthy residential sector, government-backed housing and rural-road programs, and competitor outages. Ready-mix contracted volumes tied to infrastructure increased materially, while ready-mix prices increased 2% sequentially.
- Mexico Housing and Infrastructure Backlog StrengthenedApproximately 35% of the Mexican government's 1.8 million housing-unit target has been contracted to developers. CEMEX reported that its ready-mix concrete backlog in Mexico had increased by approximately 95% to 98%, or almost doubled, by the third quarter. Management expects projects involving dams, highways, and railroads to come through in 2027 and estimated social housing consumption at approximately 6 to 7 tons of cement and 30 cubic meters of ready mix per unit.
- United States Industrial and Infrastructure Demand Remained SupportiveU.S. cement and aggregate volumes increased 4%, while aggregate volumes increased 9% sequentially. Infrastructure remained the primary demand driver, with approximately 40% of IIJA funds estimated to remain unspent after the program expired at the end of September. Demand related to AI infrastructure, including data centers, semiconductor facilities, and manufacturing, continued to grow; AI-related demand represented a high single-digit percentage of U.S. ready-mix volumes year to date, more than double the company's full-year 2025 volumes in this segment.
- EMEA EBITDA Increased Despite Energy CostsEMEA EBITDA increased 4%, supported by strong pricing and Project Cutting Edge efficiencies that offset rising energy costs. Both Europe and the Middle East and Africa contributed EBITDA growth in the mid- to high-single-digit range. In the Middle East and Africa, double-digit cement volume growth was driven by recovery of market share in Egypt, while operations in Israel and the UAE remained resilient.
- Pricing Actions Supported EBITDA GrowthPrices for the three core products increased by a low-single-digit percentage year over year, supported by pricing actions implemented in the first half of the year. Pricing was the main contributor to EBITDA growth and offset increased costs and expenses. Ready-mix pricing benefited from fuel surcharges in the United States and Europe and strong pricing traction in the Middle East and Africa. In Europe, prices were up low to mid single digits since the fourth quarter of 2025.
- Energy Strategy Reduced Cement Production CostsYear-to-date energy costs per ton of cement produced declined 2%, within full-year guidance of a low-single-digit increase. The decline was driven by a double-digit reduction in alternative-fuel costs, which more than offset single-digit increases in fossil fuels and electricity. Alternative fuels represented approximately 28% of the fuel mix, and the diesel hedging program generated $82 million of gains year to date.
- Debt Reduction and Leverage ImprovementSince December, CEMEX reduced total debt plus subordinated notes by $1.7 billion and net debt plus subordinated notes by approximately $535 million. Net financial leverage ended the quarter at 1.8x, nearly half a turn lower than in December and already within the company's medium-term target.
- Decarbonization ProgressCEMEX reduced year-to-date gross CO2 emissions by 1%, supported by a lower clinker factor. European operations reduced gross CO2 emissions by 2% year to date, reaching 497 kilograms of CO2 per ton of cement equivalent.
- Asset Pruning and Divestiture ProgressCEMEX completed the divestiture of ready-mix and recycled-concrete assets in Atlanta and initiated exclusive negotiations to sell certain ready-mix and aggregate assets in Southeast France. Completed and announced asset-pruning transactions represented more than $200 million of estimated cash proceeds and more than 140 facilities. Management estimated potential incremental recurring free cash flow from the initiative at $100 million to $150 million.
- Transformation Expanding Into Digitalization and AICEMEX is preparing the next phase of its transformation around digitalization and AI. Planned applications include back-office standardization and automation, supply-chain and freight optimization, and AI-enabled production and maintenance. The company is progressing with deployment at Balcones, followed by scaling in the United States and elsewhere through a three-year program.
- Share Repurchase Program and Capital AllocationCEMEX has completed $100 million of share repurchases and plans to repurchase up to $500 million of shares through 2028. Management said it is balancing free cash flow among share buybacks, deleveraging, and growth investments.
- Full-Year EBITDA Guidance ReaffirmedManagement expressed confidence in delivering full-year EBITDA growth of 16% to 17% year over year. The guidance is based on a fourth-quarter peso FX rate of 25 to 68.
CX Earnings History
| Report Date | Fiscal Quarter | Forecast / EPS | Last Year's EPS | EPS YoY Change | Press Release |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 18, 2027 | 2026 (Q4) | 0.18- | -0.25 | ― | ― |
| Oct 26, 2026 | 2026 (Q3) | 0.250.28 | 0.16 | 75.00% (+0.12) | |
| Jul 23, 2026 | 2026 (Q2) | 0.240.20 | 0.2 | 0.00% (+0.00) | |
| Apr 23, 2026 | 2026 (Q1) | 0.100.16 | 0.5 | -68.00% (-0.34) | |
| Feb 05, 2026 | 2025 (Q4) | 0.19-0.25 | 0.16 | -256.25% (-0.41) | |
| Oct 28, 2025 | 2025 (Q3) | 0.180.16 | 0.14 | 14.29% (+0.02) | |
| Jul 24, 2025 | 2025 (Q2) | 0.180.20 | 0.17 | 17.65% (+0.03) | |
| Apr 28, 2025 | 2025 (Q1) | 0.060.50 | 0.17 | 194.12% (+0.33) | |
| Feb 06, 2025 | 2024 (Q4) | 0.040.16 | -0.3 | 153.33% (+0.46) | |
| Oct 28, 2024 | 2024 (Q3) | 0.180.14 | 0.09 | 55.56% (+0.05) |
The table shows recent earnings report dates and whether the forecast was beat or missed. See the change in forecast and EPS from the previous year.
