EarningsQ3 2026 Earnings Report
DE:CWN Q3 2026 EPS Results
Actual EPS€2.14
Consensus EPS€2.02
Beat/MissBeat by +€0.12
One Year Ago EPS€2.01
DE:CWN Q3 2026 Revenue Results
Actual Revenue€3.32B
Expected Revenue€3.09B
Beat/MissBeat by +€226.41M
YoY Revenue Growth+15.54%
Earnings Announcement Details
QuarterQ3 2026
Date10/19/2026
TimeAfter Close
Conference CallMonday, October 19, 2026
DE:CWN Upcoming Earnings
Crown Holdings's next earnings date is estimated for February 9, 2027, based on past reporting schedules.
Q3 2026 Earnings Call Audio
DE:CWN Q3 2026 Earnings Call
0:00 / 0:00
Q3 2026 Earnings Slide Deck
No slide deck is available for this earnings event.
Q3 2026 Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Sentiment|Positive
The call was broadly positive. Strong global beverage can demand, 7% adjusted EPS growth, 6% volume growth, robust free cash flow, maintained earnings guidance, substantial shareholder returns, and a strong equipment order book significantly outweighed challenges from inflation, the Middle East conflict, transit packaging weakness, regional volume declines, and capacity constraints.Company Guidance
Adjusted Earnings and Revenue Growth
Third-quarter diluted earnings per share increased to $2.08 from $1.85 in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted diluted earnings per share rose 7% to $2.39 from $2.24, while net sales increased to $3.7 billion from $3.2 billion, primarily reflecting higher global beverage can shipments and the pass-through of higher material costs.
Strong Global Beverage Can Volume Growth
Global beverage can volumes increased more than 6% in the third quarter, including double-digit growth in Asia, 6% growth in North America, and 4% growth in Europe. Year-to-date global beverage can volume growth was close to 6%, and the company maintained a full-year global growth target of 4% to 5%.
Americas Beverage Segment Growth
Americas Beverage revenue advanced 20%, primarily due to $240 million of higher metal-cost pass-through and higher sales unit volumes. North American volumes grew 6%, Brazil increased 4%, and segment income improved against a strong prior-year comparison. Adjusted for higher material-cost pass-through, segment income margin was 17.7% of sales.
Resilient North American Can Demand
The company said North American can demand remains strong and expects full-year shipments to increase 3% to 4%. Energy drinks, carbonated soft drinks, and sparkling water were strong, while beer appeared to be stabilizing; over the last 52 weeks, management said every category was up or only slightly down, with beer potentially down 1% to 2%.
European Volume Growth and Capacity Expansion
European volumes increased 4% in the third quarter, with 7% growth across the continent partially offset by a 4% reduction in the Gulf States. Capacity expansion projects in Greece and Spain remained on plan, and the company is installing a third line at its Peterborough, UK plant to serve customers' growing needs.
Asia-Pacific Growth and Commercial Momentum
Asia-Pacific income advanced on mid-double-digit Southeast Asian volume gains, which helped offset higher energy and transport costs. Management said Asia should continue growing next year in the low to mid single-digit range after the company reset its Southeast Asian cost base and resumed a renewed commercial strategy.
Robust Cash Flow and Shareholder Returns
Adjusted free cash flow was $771 million through the first nine months, with $310 million of capital spending. The company repurchased $81 million of shares in the third quarter, bringing year-to-date repurchases to $598 million. Including $115 million of dividends, Crown returned more than $700 million to shareholders while maintaining net leverage at approximately 2.5x.
Raised Free Cash Flow Outlook
The company increased its full-year adjusted free cash flow expectation to at least $950 million from at least $900 million, citing working capital running better than originally expected. Full-year capital spending is expected to be approximately $550 million.
Maintained 2026 Earnings Guidance
Based on year-to-date performance, Crown expects full-year 2026 adjusted diluted earnings per share of $8.35 to $8.45 and fourth-quarter adjusted diluted earnings per share of $1.63 to $1.73. Management said the midpoint of the full-year guidance remained unchanged from the end of the second quarter, with the range narrowed.
Organic Growth Investments and Equipment Demand
The company continues to invest in growth projects in Brazil, Spain, Northern India, Greece, and the UK. Its beverage can equipment business has a strong order book, with management describing quoting activity and demand as a global growth spurt and saying the order book is as full as anticipated.
India Facility Substantially Contracted
Crown's first Indian beverage can facility is a two-line plant, with more than 90% of its capacity already under contract. Approximately 60% of the contracted volume is beer and at least 40% is soft drinks. Management said the expected payback should be in line with or better than other large projects completed over the last six years.
Improving Aluminum Cost Environment
Management said LME aluminum prices had declined to below or near $3,000 from a high of approximately $3,500 to $3,600, representing an almost 20% decline. The company said lower LME levels improve can affordability for customers and consumers and make cans more competitive against PET bottles.
Expected 2027 Contractual Cost Recovery
In North America, PPI was described as running at approximately 9%, supporting a sizable repricing primarily around April 1, 2027. Management expects the contractual mechanism to recapture much of the 2026 headwind, although the full amount will not be recovered because not all regions have a contractual look-back mechanism.
Ongoing Share Repurchase Capacity
Management said the company expects to generate approximately $900 million to $1 billion of free cash flow annually and will continue repurchasing shares absent a more attractive use of capital. The company indicated that $700 million to $800 million of annual share repurchases could be possible and discussed the possibility of reducing the share count from approximately 108 million to 100 million by mid-next year.
Strong Food Can Demand
Strong vegetable and pet food demand contributed to high single-digit volume gains in North American food cans, offsetting softer aerosol can sales. Management described the food can business as having had another strong campaign and said it continues to invest selectively to support customers.
Structural Can Adoption Trends
Management said cans are benefiting from new beverage introductions, growing beverage consumption, sustainability benefits, and infinite aluminum recyclability. It also said the movement from glass to cans is real, particularly because cans are easier for international retailers and storefronts to handle.
DE:CWN Earnings History
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.
Beat
Missed