Quaker Houghton Q2 adjusted EPS beats estimates, announces $250 mln buyback
KWR•Drivers of the quarter
Quaker Houghton said 7% sales volume growth was primarily driven by new business wins across all segments.
The company said improvement in selling price and product mix reflected actions to offset higher raw material costs.
It also observed modest pre-buy activity by customers early in the quarter due to conflict in the Strait of Hormuz.
Q2 results beat estimates
Quaker Houghton, the U.S. industrial process fluids supplier, said second-quarter sales rose 10% and beat analyst expectations. Adjusted earnings per share for the quarter also beat consensus, rising 28% year over year.
| Metric | Beat/Miss | Actual | Consensus Estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q2 Sales | Beat | $532.55 mln | $503.88 mln (6 Analysts) |
| Q2 Adjusted EPS | Beat | $2.19 | $1.65 (7 Analysts) |
| Q2 Adjusted Net Income | Beat | $37.90 mln | $28.86 mln (5 Analysts) |
| Q2 Net Income | $26.84 mln | ||
| Q2 Adjusted EBITDA | Beat | $85.17 mln | $71.94 mln (7 Analysts) |
Outlook and analyst coverage
Quaker Houghton expects stable demand trends entering the third quarter, with flat to slightly positive end markets for 2026. It anticipates third-quarter gross margin percentage to stabilize at second-quarter levels and expects meaningful revenue and adjusted EBITDA growth in 2026.
The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy," with 7 "strong buy" or "buy" ratings, no "hold" ratings and no "sell" or "strong sell" ratings. The average consensus recommendation for the commodity chemicals peer group is "buy." Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Quaker Chemical Corp is $175.00, about 17.6% above its July 29 closing price of $148.79. The stock recently traded at 19 times the next 12-month earnings versus a P/E of 15 three months ago.
