Amrize AG (SIX:AMRZ) shares gained 5% on Wednesday after the building materials company issued above-consensus 2026 EBITDA guidance and announced a $1 billion share buyback, its first major capital return plan since spinning off from Holcim.
The company reported fourth-quarter adjusted diluted EPS of $0.62, missing the Street consensus of $0.65. Revenue fell short at $2.84 billion versus estimates of $2.93 billion. Adjusted EBITDA contracted 1.5% year-on-year to $779 million, with margins down 30 basis points to 27.4%.
For 2026, Amrize guided adjusted EBITDA of $3.25 billion-$3.34 billion against a Street consensus of $3.24 billion, implying 8-11% growth. Revenue is guided to $12.29 billion-$12.52 billion, implying 4-6% growth.
Chairman and Chief Executive Jan Jenisch said the company had "increased revenues to $11.8 billion and delivered $3 billion of Adjusted EBITDA driven by infrastructure demand and an improving commercial market."
Alongside the results, Amrize announced an annual dividend of $0.44 per share, a $0.44 special one-time dividend and the $1 billion buyback representing approximately 3% of market capitalisation, giving a total cash return yield of 4.6%.
The Building Materials segment, 73% of sales, posted fourth-quarter revenue up 3.9% to $2.16 billion with EBITDA rising 5.9% to $705 million. Cement volumes rose 3.6% while prices fell 0.2%. Aggregates volumes rose 3% with freight-adjusted pricing up 3.9%.
The Building Envelope segment posted fourth-quarter revenue down 11.8% to $678 million, with EBITDA falling 23.5% to $130 million. The company attributed the decline to weaker residential roofing volumes, destocking and an $8 million increase in warranty provisions, partially offset by stronger commercial roofing repair and refurbishment margins.
Net leverage fell to 1.1 times at year-end from 1.7 times at the end of the third quarter, below the company’s own target of less than 1.5 times. Free cash flow post-capex was $1.46 billion, representing 49% of EBITDA. Capital expenditure is guided to $900 million in 2026, up from $788 million in 2025, with capacity additions planned at three cement plants.
The company’s Aspire cost savings programme is guiding 70 basis points of margin contribution in 2026, raised from a prior 50 basis points, and remains on track to deliver $250 million in cumulative synergies by 2028.
The pending acquisition of PB Materials, an aggregates business in West Texas announced in January, is expected to close in the first quarter and contribute approximately 1% to EBITDA growth.
Truist Securities maintained a "buy" rating and $60 price target. J.P. Morgan maintained "overweight" at $60, noting the stock trades at 11.4 times 2026 EV/EBITDA and is up 6% year-to-date. Morgan Stanley maintained "overweight" at $64.
Source: www.uk.investing.com
Aleksei Andrievskii is the founder of the ANDRIEVSKII SEA WEALTH family office in Cyprus, a member of the advisory board at Bendura Bank AG, Liechtenstein