Key Highlights

  • Fourth-quarter diluted EPS was USD 1.25 and adjusted EPS was USD 1.61, compared with USD 0.79 and USD 1.70.
  • Net sales rose 12% to USD 1,009 million, while Net Income attributable to Cabot was USD 66 million.
  • Battery Materials delivered USD 43 million of EBITDA for the fiscal year, a new high for the product line.
  • The company signed an agreement for a USD 50 million Department of Energy grant to expand conductive additive production.

Fourth-Quarter Results

Cabot Corporation (NYSE:CBT) reported fiscal fourth-quarter 2026 net sales and other operating revenues of USD 1,009 million, compared with USD 899 million, an increase of about 12%. Net income attributable to Cabot was USD 66 million, or USD 1.25 per diluted share, versus USD 43 million, or USD 0.79. After-tax certain items cut USD 0.36 per share, mainly restructuring charges, and adjusted EPS was USD 1.61 versus USD 1.70 a year earlier.

For the fiscal year, net sales were USD 3,744 million versus USD 3,713 million, net income attributable was USD 213 million versus USD 331 million, diluted EPS was USD 4.02 versus USD 6.02, and adjusted EPS was USD 6.42 versus USD 7.25.

Segment Detail

Reinforcement Materials EBIT was USD 87 million in the quarter, down USD 32 million from a year earlier, as lower Gross Profit per ton, reflecting the calendar 2026 customer agreements and less favorable regional product mix, outweighed higher volumes. Volumes rose 5%, with Asia Pacific up 10%, the Americas up 3% and Europe, the Middle East and Africa down 7%, supported by the Indonesia capacity addition and the Acquisition in Mexico. Fiscal-year segment EBIT was USD 379 million.

Performance Chemicals EBIT was USD 60 million, up USD 18 million, on higher gross profit per ton from favorable product mix and lower costs, with higher volumes in battery materials and specialty carbons. Fiscal-year segment EBIT was USD 235 million.

Cash, Capital and Growth Investment

Cash flows from operations for the fiscal year were USD 421 million, enabling capital investments of USD 207 million, dividends of USD 97 million and share repurchases of USD 146 million. The company ended the year with USD 254 million of cash and cash equivalents.

President and chief executive Erica McLaughlin described a difficult macroeconomic backdrop in many key end markets and said the Department of Energy grant supports expansion of domestic production of advanced conductive additives at facilities in Louisiana and Texas, serving battery energy storage systems, electric vehicles and other specialty batteries.

Metrics to Track Into Fiscal 2027

Fourth-quarter Cash Flow from operations was USD 143 million, after USD 55 million of capital expenditures, USD 25 million of dividends and USD 45 million of repurchases, and USD 10 million went to higher Working Capital on raw material costs. Liquidity was USD 1.5 billion and net Debt to EBITDA was 1.4 times. Tax expense was USD 38 million, an effective rate of 34%, and the fiscal-year operating tax rate was 29%. Ms. McLaughlin, who is taking on the chief executive role, projects fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS of USD 6.15 to USD 6.75, citing Volume growth in battery materials and electronics and strategic accounts, solid margins amid volatile energy input costs, and completion of restructuring and optimization actions. Items to track include Reinforcement Materials pricing under the 2026 agreements, battery materials growth, regional volume trends and the pace of repurchases.