Amcor reported organic volume growth of 1% during the quarter ended Sept. 30, according to the global packaging giant’s earnings release late Wednesday. Volumes were flat in flexibles and up about 4% in rigids, excluding divestitures and non-core assets.
Like other packaging companies, Amcor called out recent impacts from higher costs for raw materials as well as energy.
Amcor passed through higher resin costs of $435 million during the quarter. The company also saw “an acceleration in non-raw material input costs, such as energy and distribution costs, particularly in September,” CEO Peter Konieczny said on the company’s earnings call.
The company is now “implementing productivity initiatives across the organization” and “taking price actions” to mitigate impacts going forward, said CFO Stephen Scherger. “Through these measures, we expect to address the current inflationary trend by the end of this calendar year.”
M&A prospects
Of Amcor’s approximately $6.1 billion in quarterly sales, it attributes $5.6 billion to its core portfolio. Amcor’s focus categories are health, beauty and wellness, protein, liquids, foodservice and pet care. Volumes in these categories were collectively up 3% during the quarter, the company reported.
Following the transformational acquisition of Berry Global in mid-2025, Amcor reevaluated its portfolio, including finding certain non-core businesses that it should divest. Konieczny said Amcor has entered into six transactions, five of which have already closed and the last one imminent. As of June 30, Amcor had noted $272 million in proceeds from divestitures from the prior year.
Yet more than a year after disclosing that Amcor was looking for a new home for its North American beverage business, those efforts are still at bay. “These conversations are still ongoing,” Konieczny said. “It’s taking a little longer than what we anticipated,” he said, acknowledging volatility geopolitically and in the overall market. “We remain committed,” he said.
Looking ahead, Amcor’s core end market segments are well-poised for sizable bolt-on acquisitions, he said.
Notable markets
Two particular growth areas that executives highlighted during the call were private label, particularly in North America and Europe, as well as the Chinese market.
Amcor has participated in the private label segment for a long time, but recently cost-strained consumers have caused the space to balloon. “Private label is one of the places where the market is winning or where customers are winning,” said Konieczny.
In the last few months, Amcor has stood up a new organization “dedicated to expanding our relationships with large retailers and co-packers in North America and Europe,” he said. They’re broadening Amcor’s exposure to participants in that field “building a pipeline that we’re pretty excited about,” he said.
About 20% of Amcor’s portfolio is in emerging markets, with China being the most notable geography. China is now a more than $1 billion business for Amcor. “We're adding to our manufacturing capacity, which will help us maintain proximity to demand and drive growth,” said Konieczny.
Amcor also called out some “new QSR wins” driven by polypropylene cups, lids and containers in its foodservice business.
Outlook for 2027
With the Berry deal, Amcor projected $650 million worth of synergies over the course of three years. That’s still on track, Amcor says. In the most recent quarter they totaled roughly $60 million, in line with Amcor’s expectations. The company expects $70 million in the present quarter ending Dec. 31 and $285 million for fiscal year 2026.
Amcor is currently in a six-month transition period with its financial reporting before adopting a new calendar in 2027. Amcor previously offered financial guidance for this period; while it previously expected $1.80 to $1.90 per share, it’s lowering that range by 10 cents, citing the timing of the passthrough of higher energy and distribution costs.
Amcor also said it expects to “recover cash flow impact” from the Middle East conflict totaling exceeding $500 million by end of calendar year 2027.
Amcor does not expect for inflation impacts to spill into next year. “We're actively addressing these higher costs over the coming months with price and cost actions and do not expect this incremental inflation will negatively impact our results in 2027,” Konieczny said.
