Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.06 EPS

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.06, FiscalAI reports. Axalta Coating Systems had a net margin of 7.39% and a return on equity of 23.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Axalta Coating Systems updated its FY 2026 guidance to 2.550-2.70 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance to 0.650-0.65 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Axalta Coating Systems’ conference call:

• Reported strong Q1 results: Net sales of $1.25 billion, Adjusted EBITDA of $259 million and adjusted diluted EPS of $0.56 (12% above expectations), with Adjusted EBITDA margin holding above 20% for nine consecutive quarters.
• Set first-quarter cash records with $68 million of cash from operations and $21 million of free cash flow, repaid $54 million of gross debt and ended the quarter at a net leverage ratio of 2.3x with a plan to be below 2x by year-end.
• Mobility was a standout with record Q1 net sales of $452 million and a 17.5% Adjusted EBITDA margin, driven by new business wins and a strong Commercial Transportation Solutions performance.
• Management emphasized margin protection through procurement and pricing actions — ~60% of direct spend now under contract, planned mid-single-digit Refinish pricing, and >50% of Mobility revenue indexed to raw materials — supporting a ~22% adjusted EBITDA margin target for the year.
• Near-term risks include $22 million of transaction costs related to the pending Akzo Nobel merger, heightened geopolitical uncertainty (Middle East) and raw-material inflation that leave the company tracking toward the lower end of full-year EBITDA and EPS guidance.

Axalta Coating Systems Price Performance

AXTA stock traded down $0.54 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $27.90. The stock had a trading volume of 843,329 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,989,472. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.33. Axalta Coating Systems has a 52-week low of $24.94 and a 52-week high of $35.72.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Vertical Research cut shares of Axalta Coating Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Axalta Coating Systems in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Axalta Coating Systems in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Axalta Coating Systems from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.20.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Axalta Coating Systems

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 17,456,984 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $564,035,000 after purchasing an additional 1,815,715 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 36.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,941,250 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $224,282,000 after acquiring an additional 1,845,353 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 64.9% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,825,946 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $107,739,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506,083 shares during the period. Channing Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 672.6% during the 4th quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 3,037,990 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $98,157,000 after acquiring an additional 2,644,783 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,804,430 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $90,611,000 after acquiring an additional 315,767 shares during the period. 98.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Axalta Coating Systems News

Here are the key news stories impacting Axalta Coating Systems this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reported quarterly results that several outlets say beat expectations: multiple reports cite EPS of $0.56 and revenue of $1.25B, topping consensus and analyst estimates — a near-term positive on execution and margins. Axalta Releases First-Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability metrics remain solid (net margin ~7.4%, ROE ~23.6%), which supports valuation multiples and longer-term investor confidence. MarketBeat Earnings Snapshot
• Neutral Sentiment: Full‑year guidance (EPS 2.55–2.70) largely overlaps consensus, so FY outlook is roughly in line with expectations — limits upside surprise but reduces downside from a large miss. Zacks: Q1 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Q2 guidance (EPS 0.65) is slightly below Street consensus (~0.66), which may pressure near-term sentiment and expected forward earnings momentum. Axalta Q1 Slide Deck / Press Release
• Negative Sentiment: Conflicting call transcripts: some publications/transcripts report a miss (one cites $0.42 vs $0.50 expectation), creating confusion and increasing volatility as investors parse adjusted vs. GAAP figures. That uncertainty likely put selling pressure on the stock. InsiderMonkey Earnings Call Transcript Seeking Alpha Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue was slightly down year-over-year (~0.6%), signaling modest demand headwinds that could weigh on growth expectations. Zacks: How Key Metrics Compare

About Axalta Coating Systems

Axalta Coating Systems is a global leader in the development, manufacture and sale of liquid and powder coatings. The company’s product portfolio spans refinish coatings for the automotive collision repair market, original equipment manufacturer (OEM) coatings for new vehicle production, and industrial coatings including electrodeposition (E-coat) and powder coatings for a variety of sectors such as architecture, heavy equipment and general industrial applications.

Tracing its roots to the 19th century and rebranded as Axalta following its separation from DuPont Performance Coatings in 2013, the company has built a presence in more than 100 countries.