PPG Industries, Inc.

Second-quarter 2026 net sales were $4.5 billion, up 7% year over year. Organic sales increased 4%, with equal contributions from volume and pricing. Adjusted EPS was $2.23, slightly higher year over year, and total company adjusted EBITDA margin was over 17%. Global Architectural Coatings net sales rose 8% to $1.1 billion, with segment EBITDA margin of 19.4%, up 100 basis points. Performance Coatings net sales grew 7% to $1.6 billion, but segment EBITDA margin was 22.7%, down 300 basis points. Industrial Coatings net sales grew 7% to $1.8 billion, with EBITDA margin of 15.9%, down 70 basis points. PPG said it covered about 90% of cost of goods sold inflation with pricing in Q2 and expects 100% coverage by Q4. For Q3, company organic sales are expected to grow in the low-single-digit to mid-single-digit percentage range, and company adjusted EBITDA margin is expected to be flat to down 100 basis points year over year. Full-year adjusted EPS guidance was reaffirmed at $7.70 to $8.10.

Tim Knavish emphasized that PPG is seeing momentum from commercial, innovation, and operational excellence, and said the company outpaced the industry by 300 basis points. He highlighted strong growth in aerospace, protective and marine, packaging, and industrial, while framing Automotive Refinish weakness as a temporary comparison issue tied to destocking that he said is now behind the business. His tone was confident and upbeat, with repeated comments that the company is outperforming the market and has clear visibility to stronger second-half growth.

Jamie Beggs focused on balance sheet strength and cash generation. She said cash and short-term investments were $1.6 billion, net debt fell by more than $400 million from Q2 2025 to 1.9x adjusted EBITDA, and year-to-date operating cash flow was about $600 million, more than $220 million higher year over year, mainly from working capital improvement. She also noted $235 million returned to shareholders in the quarter through dividends and share repurchases, and that the company issued CHF320 million of long-term bonds due in 2030 and 2034 at a weighted average rate of about 1.4%.

Analysts pressed on why Performance Coatings margin and sequential sales looked weaker, and management said the main issue was Automotive Refinish year-over-year comps, not broader weakness. They also asked about the pace of price-cost recovery, and Tim said PPG moved faster this cycle because of lessons from prior inflationary periods and the abrupt impact from the Iran conflict, which allowed pricing to cover 90% of COGS inflation in one quarter. Other questions focused on Refinish volume, share gains in auto OEM and industrial, working-capital-driven cash flow improvement, and whether any parts of the portfolio should be exited; management said there is nothing material for sale and reiterated confidence in ongoing share gains.