Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) Announces Earnings Results

Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.07, FiscalAI reports. Ecovyst had a positive return on equity of 8.93% and a negative net margin of 14.34%.The company had revenue of $199.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $184.85 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 33.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Ecovyst updated its FY 2026 guidance to 0.450-0.650 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Ecovyst’s conference call:

• Strong 2025 performance and balance sheet — Ecovyst delivered full‑year Adjusted EBITDA of $172 million, generated $78 million of free cash flow, and finished the year with net leverage of 1.2x and roughly $265 million of available liquidity.
• Transformative divestiture completed — The company sold the Advanced Materials & Catalysts segment for $556 million and used $465 million of proceeds to pay down the term loan, refocusing Ecovyst on its sulfur solutions business.
• Demand and growth positioning for 2026 — Management expects higher volumes for both virgin and regenerated sulfuric acid (mining-driven growth and less refinery downtime), and the May Waggaman acquisition (~10% incremental volume) plus a ~$20 million Gulf Coast storage/rail investment should improve supply flexibility and access to mining customers.
• Material cost and near-term margin pressures — Sulfur costs are expected to rise materially with an estimated pass‑through impact of ~$125 million in 2026, turnarounds are forecasted to increase costs by ~$80 million, and capex is being raised, which together compress near‑term free cash flow and margins despite pass‑through treatment.
• Active capital allocation strategy — With reduced leverage and cash generation, Ecovyst is pursuing a mix of organic investments, accretive bolt‑on M&A, and share repurchases (≈$50M repurchased in 2025, $25–$40M planned in Q1 2026, and ≈$183M remaining authorization), signaling continued shareholder returns.

Ecovyst Price Performance

Shares of ECVT stock traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $11.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,984,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,316,805. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $10.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.44. The company has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.33, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.20. Ecovyst has a 1-year low of $5.24 and a 1-year high of $12.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECVT. Rubric Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Ecovyst by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 10,500,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,165,000 after purchasing an additional 100,000 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Ecovyst by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,387,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,149,000 after buying an additional 130,206 shares during the last quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Ecovyst by 48.8% during the fourth quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 4,254,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,396,000 after buying an additional 1,395,481 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ecovyst by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,543,242 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,746,000 after acquiring an additional 17,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Ecovyst by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,271,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,106,000 after acquiring an additional 28,528 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Ecovyst in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Ecovyst from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Ecovyst from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 28th. BWS Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $12.00 price target on shares of Ecovyst in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ecovyst from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.00.

About Ecovyst

Ecovyst Inc is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and markets performance-enhancing products for industrial applications. The company’s core offerings include catalysts, phosphorus-based additives and barium carbonate materials, all designed to improve process efficiency, product quality and environmental performance. Ecovyst serves a diverse customer base in the energy, refining, chemical, polymer, food and consumer goods industries.

The company’s Catalysts segment supplies fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) and hydroprocessing catalysts that help petroleum refiners maximize fuel yield, reduce sulfur emissions and meet increasingly stringent environmental standards.