Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) said it is positioning its business for growth through continued share gains, productivity initiatives and investments in its store network, supply chain, technology and enterprise-wide customer solutions, even as it expects recovery in its end markets to be gradual and uneven.
At the company’s 2026 Financial Community Presentation in Cleveland, Chair, President and CEO Heidi Petz said the coatings company is not waiting for a broader market recovery to drive results. “We are acting now, controlling what we can control, and catalyzing growth, importantly on both the top line and the bottom line,” Petz said.
Market Recovery Expected to Be Uneven
Jaye described a global coatings market estimated at nearly $200 billion, with the largest suppliers accounting for about half of industry sales and the remainder fragmented among hundreds of companies. Global coatings volumes grew less than 1% annually from 2019 through 2025, while North American and European volumes declined by low-single-digit percentages, he said.
Management cited long-term support for architectural coatings demand from household formation, homeowner equity, an aging housing stock and a multiyear housing shortage. Existing-home sales have been near historic lows for much of the past three years, Jaye said, but were modestly higher year to date through August. U.S. homeowner equity stood at roughly $36 trillion, more than double 2019 levels, according to the company.
Still, executives emphasized that near-term recovery will depend on mortgage rates, affordability, income growth and consumer confidence. Single-family new residential construction represents less than 10% of Sherwin-Williams’ consolidated sales, Jaye said.
Store Expansion and Industrial Growth Initiatives
Justin Binns, president of Global Architectural, said the Paint Stores Group plans to open 80 to 100 net new stores annually as it works toward a 6,000-location milestone. He said there are about 12,000 specialty paint distribution points in the U.S. and Canada, with more than 7,000 that do not currently sell Sherwin-Williams products.
Binns said the company is refining individual store missions and using data to target priority customer segments and markets. He added that sales per store, profit before tax per store and segment margins have all increased from pre-pandemic levels.
Todd Rea, president of Consumer Brands Group, said the company has introduced new products, added field representatives supporting retail partners, divested non-core businesses in China, Australia and U.S. specialty aerosols, and optimized its Latin American legacy store footprint. He said the Suvinil acquisition in Brazil was approaching its first anniversary and was adding products, talent and capabilities to the portfolio.
In industrial coatings, Global Industrial President Karl Jorgenrud said the Performance Coatings Group’s six businesses focus on premium markets rather than commodity applications. The group has more than 1,500 technical service representatives globally and over 300 auto-refinish branches and industrial blending facilities, he said. Jorgenrud said sales in the portfolio have grown at a mid-single-digit rate during extended soft demand, while adjusted segment margins have improved by several hundred basis points into the high teens. He said 20% margins are attainable for the portfolio.
Technology, Supply Chain and AI Investment
Management highlighted its new global headquarters and Global Technology Center as investments intended to support collaboration, innovation and customer service. Petz said the company is also expanding digital capabilities, including its Pro+ application for professional painters, the AI-enabled Color Expert app and an internal knowledge tool called Ask Henry.
Colin Davie, president of Global Supply Chain, said Sherwin-Williams is using AI tools in planning to respond more quickly to changes in customer demand. He also pointed to automated distribution centers, the company-owned fleet, enterprise procurement and shared technology platforms as sources of operational advantage.
Petz said the company’s Statesville, North Carolina, manufacturing and distribution center is fully operational and that Sherwin-Williams has developed a 10-year capacity-planning roadmap. Approximately 30% of company sales currently come from products with third-party sustainability-related certifications or declarations, she added.
Financial Model and Capital Allocation
Chief Financial Officer Ben Meisenzahl said the company was not updating the guidance issued on its July 28 earnings call and that its 2026 outlook remains unchanged. He also said Sherwin-Williams is reaffirming the midterm financial targets it established at its 2024 Investor Day.
Meisenzahl said that through a period marked by raw-material inflation, supply chain disruption, higher interest rates and geopolitical events, the company grew sales by more than 5% annually, adjusted EBITDA by more than 6% annually and adjusted earnings per share by an average of 7% per year. Operating cash flow reached approximately $3.5 billion last year, he said.
Over the past seven years, gross margin expanded from roughly 42% to nearly 49%, while adjusted operating margin has increased in each of the past four years, according to Meisenzahl. Return on net assets employed rose from 13% in 2018 to more than 20% in each of the past three years, and management said it is confident it can move that measure into the mid-20% range.
The company intends to reinvest in growth, innovation, service and productivity, while targeting capital expenditures below 2% of sales over time. It also plans to maintain a dividend target of about 30% of prior-year GAAP earnings per share, pursue disciplined acquisitions and use share repurchases when strategic M&A opportunities are absent.
Meisenzahl said Sherwin-Williams has returned roughly $17 billion to shareholders over the past eight years, including annual dividend increases for nearly five decades and repurchases of approximately 18% of outstanding shares since 2017.
About Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW)
The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE: SHW) develops, manufactures, distributes and sells paints, coatings, floorcoverings and related products. Its offerings serve professional contractors, industrial and commercial customers, retailers and do-it-yourself consumers, with products used in residential, commercial, industrial and infrastructure applications.
The company operates through three primary business segments: Paint Stores Group, which supplies professional painting contractors through company-operated stores; Consumer Brands Group, which markets products through home-improvement retailers and other channels; and Performance Coatings Group, which provides specialized coatings for industrial, automotive, aerospace, packaging and other markets.
