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Westlake Corporation
(NYSE:WLK)
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Rating:49Neutral
Price Target:
$67.00
â–¼(-10.43% Downside)
Action:Reiterated
Date:09/29/26
WLK scores below average primarily due to weakened financial performance (losses and negative free cash flow) and a bearish technical setup (below key moving averages with negative MACD). The score is partially supported by constructive earnings-call signals around operational improvement and cost-savings execution, plus an above-average dividend yield, but near-term guidance caution and cyclical end-market risks keep the overall rating restrained.
Positive Factors
Profitability program execution
The profitability program is producing measurable EBITDA gains and is reportedly tracking ahead of plan. If these savings persist, they can structurally lower the company’s cost base, improve resilience through the cycle, and support earnings recovery even when market pricing remains uneven.
Negative Factors
Current losses and negative free cash flow
The current earnings profile shows that Westlake’s revenue base has not translated into sustainable profitability, while negative free cash flow limits internally funded investment and debt reduction. Continued losses would make the company more sensitive to cyclical pricing and operating setbacks.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Profitability program execution
The profitability program is producing measurable EBITDA gains and is reportedly tracking ahead of plan. If these savings persist, they can structurally lower the company’s cost base, improve resilience through the cycle, and support earnings recovery even when market pricing remains uneven.
Read all positive factors
Westlake Corporation (WLK) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$7.96B
Dividend Yield3.41%
Average Volume (3M)808.44K
Price to Earnings (P/E)―
Beta (1Y)0.78
Revenue Growth-3.95%
EPS Growth-1725.20%
CountryUS
Employees14,600
SectorBasic Materials
Sector Strength58
IndustryChemicals - Specialty
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)-9.62
Shares Outstanding127,796,550
10 Day Avg. Volume1,178,650
30 Day Avg. Volume808,439
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio0.02
Price to Book (P/B)1.08
Price to Sales (P/S)0.85
P/FCF Ratio-17.98
Enterprise Value/Market Cap1.75
Enterprise Value/Revenue1.23
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit26.13
Enterprise Value/Ebitda-143.59
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$81.71Price Target Upside9.24% Upside
Rating ConsensusModerate Buy
Number of Analyst Covering14
EPS Forecast (FY)2.36
Revenue Forecast (FY)$11.61B
Westlake Corporation Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
Westlake Corporation operates as a global producer and supplier of petrochemicals, polymers, and a diverse range of building materials. Its business activities are structured into two main divisions: Performance and Essential Materials, and Housin...
How the Company Makes Money
Westlake primarily makes money by manufacturing and selling products across two main operating areas: chemicals and building products. In its chemicals operations, the company generates revenue from the sale of commodity and downstream chemical pr...
Westlake Corporation Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Aug 04, 2026
(Q2-2026)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Oct 29, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call emphasized meaningful operational and financial improvement driven by PEM's advantaged feedstock position, substantial contributions from the 3-pillar profitability program, strong HIP volume growth (notably in Pipe & Fittings), debt reduction and strategic acquisitions. Offsetting items include remaining reliability issues and margin pressure in HIP from lower average selling prices and higher logistics/raw material costs, plus some near-term market volatility and pull-forward demand risk. On balance, management presented sustainable cost savings, improving operations and a constructive outlook for pricing in key products, while acknowledging and addressing remaining operational and macro uncertainties.Positive Updates
Strong Overall Results
Net sales of $3.3 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $679 million in Q2 2026; net income of $260 million ($2.01 per share) vs. a net loss of $12 million in Q2 2025.
Negative Updates
Plant Reliability and Unplanned Outages
Management acknowledged residual unplanned outages in Q2 that prevented reliability from reaching targets; corrective actions completed by end of Q2 but reliability remains an ongoing focus to sustain improved monthly/quarterly runs.
Read all updates
Q2-2026 Updates
Positive
Negative
Strong Overall Results
Net sales of $3.3 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $679 million in Q2 2026; net income of $260 million ($2.01 per share) vs. a net loss of $12 million in Q2 2025.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
The company guided that HIP revenue for 2026 should land toward the lower end of its prior $4.4–$4.6 billion range with an EBITDA margin of about 19%–21% (excluding identified items); total company capital expenditures are still expected to be $900 million for 2026 and cash interest about $215 million; management reiterated the $600 million EBITDA target from its 3‑pillar profitability program for 2026 and expects H2 cash flow to benefit from a significant working‑capital release (especially in Q4). Management also said PEM pricing will remain sensitive to global oil moves (with polyethylene and PVC expected to be higher year‑over‑year by year‑end), caustic should average higher in H2 while chlorine is roughly flat, and the company will balance debt reduction and opportunistic buybacks — its Q2 liquidity and actions included $1.9 billion of cash and investments, $5.1 billion of total debt (weighted‑average maturity >17 years, average coupon ~4%), retirement of $500 million of 2026 notes, $30 million of share repurchases in Q2 and roughly $100 million returned to shareholders YTD, with Q2 net cash provided by operations of $318 million.Westlake Corporation Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
24
Negative
Balance Sheet
52
Neutral
Cash Flow
38
Negative
| Breakdown | TTM | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | ||||||
| Total Revenue | 11.29B | 11.17B | 12.14B | 12.55B | 15.79B | 11.78B |
| Gross Profit | 533.00M | 289.00M | 1.96B | 2.22B | 4.07B | 3.50B |
| EBITDA | -97.00M | -258.00M | 2.21B | 1.96B | 4.18B | 3.69B |
| Net Income | -1.24B | -1.51B | 602.00M | 479.00M | 2.25B | 2.02B |
Balance Sheet | ||||||
| Total Assets | 19.44B | 19.96B | 20.75B | 21.04B | 20.55B | 18.46B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 1.85B | 2.93B | 2.92B | 3.30B | 2.23B | 1.91B |
| Total Debt | 5.75B | 6.41B | 5.28B | 5.52B | 5.50B | 5.64B |
| Total Liabilities | 10.23B | 10.67B | 9.71B | 10.27B | 10.09B | 9.93B |
| Stockholders Equity | 8.71B | 8.79B | 10.53B | 10.24B | 9.93B | 7.96B |
Cash Flow | ||||||
| Free Cash Flow | -265.00M | -530.00M | 306.00M | 1.30B | 2.29B | 1.74B |
| Operating Cash Flow | 631.00M | 465.00M | 1.31B | 2.34B | 3.40B | 2.39B |
| Investing Cash Flow | -1.09B | -1.22B | -1.00B | -1.04B | -2.48B | -3.21B |
| Financing Cash Flow | 23.00M | 530.00M | -650.00M | -245.00M | -587.00M | 1.44B |
Westlake Corporation Technical Analysis
Negative
74.80
Price Trends
71.96
Negative
75.80
Negative
87.05
Negative
Market Momentum
-2.90
Positive
32.62
Neutral
38.57
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For WLK, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 74.8 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 66.07, above the 50-day MA of 71.96, and below the 200-day MA of 87.05, indicating a bearish trend. The MACD of -2.90 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 32.62 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 38.57 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for WLK.
Westlake Corporation Risk Analysis
Westlake Corporation disclosed 34 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Westlake Corporation reported the most risks in the "Production" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
Westlake Corporation Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (61)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
73 Outperform | $19.39B | -53.60 | -3.36% | 5.73% | -11.13% | -245.92% | |
70 Outperform | $7.17B | 16.20 | 7.42% | 5.36% | -4.30% | -46.24% | |
65 Neutral | $3.47B | 20.32 | 7.17% | 2.91% | 2.36% | 42.56% | |
61 Neutral | $10.43B | 7.12 | -0.05% | 2.87% | 2.86% | -36.73% | |
49 Neutral | $7.96B | -6.48 | -13.93% | 3.41% | -3.95% | -1725.20% | |
47 Neutral | $2.05B | -6.81 | -170.31% | 2.57% | -1.38% | 28.10% | |
47 Neutral | $438.50M | -24.61 | -2.20% | 3.94% | 2.96% | -122.83% |
* Basic Materials Sector Average
WLK
Westlake Corporation
61.85
-13.83
-18.27%
EMN
Eastman Chemical
62.10
4.90
8.57%
LYB
LyondellBasell
59.41
15.88
36.49%
AVNT
Avient
38.96
8.87
29.46%
CC
Chemours Company
13.39
0.24
1.79%
ASIX
AdvanSix
16.20
-3.66
-18.41%
Westlake Corporation Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyFinancial Disclosures
Westlake to Shut Cologne PVC Plant, Take Charges
Negative
Sep 29, 2026
On September 24, 2026, Westlake Corporation approved a plan to cease operations at its smaller, higher-cost PVC plant in Cologne, Germany, which has capacity of about 165,000 metric tons a year, with closure expected in the first quarter of 2027 a...
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board ChangesRegulatory Filings and Compliance
Westlake Corporation Appoints New Chief Accounting Officer
Positive
Aug 31, 2026
On August 31, 2026, Westlake Corporation appointed Tommy E. Darby as Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer of the company and of Westlake Chemical Partners GP LLC, succeeding Jeffrey A. Holy, who moved to Vice President, Finance and Investor Re...
Business Operations and StrategyFinancial Disclosures
Westlake Corporation Posts Strong Q2 2026 Turnaround
Positive
Aug 4, 2026
In the second quarter of 2026, Westlake reported net sales of $3.3 billion, net income of $260 million, or $2.01 per share, and EBITDA of $679 million, marking a significant turnaround from losses in both the prior quarter and the same period in 2...
Legal Proceedings
Westlake’s European Ethylene Lawsuits Partially Dismissed in Court
Positive
Jul 29, 2026
On July 29, 2026, the District Court of Amsterdam dismissed two major components of the Ethylene Antitrust Litigation brought against Westlake and other ethylene consumers, rejecting claims by Shell Chemical Europe B.V., which sought about €...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.