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By the numbers: Q4 and Full-Year 2025
Q4 net sales: $3.13B
Up 7.7% year over year
Q4 net income: $201M
Compared with $392M in Q4 2024
2025 net sales: $12.4B
Up 4.8% year over year
2025 net income: $883M
Compared with $560M in 2024
- Overview: Crown Holdings’ year-over-year sales increase in 2025 was boosted by higher shipments in its European beverage business as well as in North American tinplate, the company reported Thursday. In 2025, beverage can unit volumes were flat in North America, Crown CEO Tim Donahue said on an earnings call. In Q4 specifically, global beverage can unit volumes rose 3%. And in North America during the quarter, 5% growth in food can volumes helped offset softness in steel aerosols. Pet food has also been a catalyst.
- Beverage trends: In the Americas, beverage sales rose more than 7% year over year to $5.62 billion across 2025. Energy drinks are one strong market in the U.S. “We're not a big player in energy, but where we do participate in energy, our customers are doing well,” Donahue said. Sparkling water and “flavored alcohols” are also doing well, he said. “And at some point, beer is going to return to flat or growth,” he said. Beer is performing better in Europe than in North America, and conversions from glass and plastic are boosting cans. “When you look at all the other products,” including soft drinks, “we see the substrate shift continuing to accelerate can demand across Europe,” Donahue said.
- Aluminum costs: Donahue noted that while cans remain an affordable means to deliver products to consumers, tariffs are impacting costs. “You can't make heads or tails over what’s going to happen with tariffs long term,” he said, noting strain on key aluminum trading partners like Canada, and insufficient primary production in the U.S. Furthermore, “we’re forcing the cost of sustainability on the consumers,” he said. In the coming years, “we'll see how long consumers and retailers want to stay in line with their sustainability goals — or are they just checking the box and are they going to go back towards products that are less sustainable?”
- Capacity planning: Crown does not intend to invest to add capacity in North America in the next couple of years. “We have opportunities in other markets perhaps that generate better and quicker returns right now than North America,” Donahue explained. “We have a little bit of open capacity, not that much. We certainly couldn't take a sizable customer on.” That said, utilization is tight in the North American market. “It doesn't mean others won't put capacity in, but we don't need to chase it,” he said.
- Outlook: Executives expect volumes in North America to grow by 2% to 3% in 2026, supported by demand for food cans, but those gains will likely be offset by inflation and startup costs. Adjusted diluted earnings per share are expected to be between $7.90 and $8.30. Crown expects adjusted free cash flow in 2026 of approximately $900 million. The company anticipates approximately $550 million in capital spending to support capacity expansions and facility upgrades in Brazil, Greece and Spain.
