Ball Q2 2026: EPS up 14.4%, but cash flow trails sales growth
Ball's second quarter looked strong on the surface: revenue rose 19.7% and comparable EPS of $1.03 beat the $1.0011 consensus estimate. Look underneath and the quality is mixed: most of the sales gain is aluminum price pass-through, North America's segment profit actually fell, and first-half free cash flow was negative $471 million against a full-year goal of more than $900 million. Verdict: Neutral.
1 · Expected vs. Actual
Free preview belowGAAP diluted EPS was $0.83 versus $0.76, and comparable EPS was $1.03 versus $0.90, an increase of 14.4%. That topped the $1.0011 consensus estimate by about 2.9 cents. Comparable net earnings rose 10.0% to $276 million, so part of the per-share gain came from a smaller share count — 267.1 million diluted shares versus 277.8 million a year ago.
Revenue was $3.997 billion, up 19.7% from $3.338 billion a year earlier. Management credits higher volume and favorable price/mix, mainly higher aluminum prices passed through to customers, which lifts the top line without adding much profit — gross margin was 17.4%, leaving $697 million of gross profit. All three can segments grew: North and Central America to $2.006 billion, EMEA to $1.242 billion and South America to $591 million.
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Figures on this page come from the company's original SEC filings. The analysis is generated automatically and checked against validation rules, but may still contain errors or omissions. Not investment advice. · Generated 2026-09-17
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