Dauch Corp.

Second-quarter 2026 sales were $2.96 billion versus $1.54 billion in Q2 2025. Adjusted EBITDA was $389.6 million, or 13.2% of sales, versus $202 million and 13.2% last year; adjusted EPS was $0.32 versus $0.34 last year. GAAP net income was $1 million, and adjusted free cash flow was $148.4 million versus $48.7 million in Q2 2025. For full-year 2026, Dauch now expects sales of $10.6 billion to $10.8 billion, adjusted EBITDA of $1.36 billion to $1.425 billion, and adjusted free cash flow of $260 million to $325 million. The company also expects its China JV share of income to be $70 million to $80 million, and capex is still expected at 4.5% to 5% of sales.

David Dauch said the quarter showed the “continued positive acceleration” of the combined company and emphasized that integration of Dowlais is progressing well. He focused on unlocking strategic value through size, scale, and synergies, saying the business is “built to perform.” He also pointed to a broad quoting pipeline of more than $2 billion, stronger customer relationships across legacy Dauch and Dowlais, and a portfolio increasingly aligned to ICE and hybrid programs.

Chris May highlighted the quarter’s $2.96 billion of sales, $389.6 million of adjusted EBITDA, and $148.4 million of adjusted free cash flow, while noting net debt of about $4.1 billion and net leverage of 2.6x. He said synergies drove $15 million of benefits in the quarter, run-rate savings have reached about $70 million, and restructuring cash costs should decline meaningfully in 2027. He also noted net interest expense rose to $82.6 million because of acquisition-related debt, the weighted average interest rate on long-term debt was about 7.1%, and the company redeemed $125 million of 6 7/8 notes due 2028 in the quarter and the remaining notes after quarter-end.

Analysts pressed management on the path to higher synergy savings, especially the mix between SG&A, procurement, and operations, and management said SG&A is the easiest early win while procurement and operational gains will take longer. Questions also focused on China JV income, labor inflation, USMCA risk, GM launch timing, energy costs, and CapEx, with management saying labor assumptions are already embedded, energy cost pressure was minor but could continue, and the GM truck launch should create some second-half downtime starting in September. Management also said it is too early to quantify USMCA impacts, but the company has flexibility to rebalance U.S. and Mexico production if needed.