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By the numbers: Fiscal Q1 2026
Net sales: $994.8M
Down 2.2% year over year
Net income: $182.9M
Compared with $11.3M in Fiscal Q1 2025
- Results: Greif saw sales fall in the three months ended Dec. 31. “Our end market performance reflects the reality of broader economic conditions remaining soft,” said CEO Ole Rosgaard during the company’s earnings call on Wednesday. But while overall sales were down, gross profit inched up 1.6% year over year to $202.6 million.
- Segment performance: Greif noted that softness in industrial demand, including among chemical customers, had impacts to each of its segments. Greif’s greatest sales in the quarter were in durable metals, nearly $355 million — about flat year over year. Sales were also roughly flat in its smallest segment, innovative closures, at about $39 million. Customized polymers sales ticked up to about $305 million. The biggest change was in the sustainable fibers segment, where sales fell from $344 million to approximately $312 million. The company’s mills took approximately 14,000 tons worth of downtime during the quarter, Greif reported.
- Cost optimization: Greif ended the quarter with $65 million of run-rate cost optimization towards an ultimate goal of $120 million, with a nearer target of reaching $80 million to $90 million by year’s end. “We are confident in the progress we’re making,” Rosgaard said. CFO Larry Hilsheimer said Greif has cut 10% of its headcount on the professional side, or 220 positions. Meanwhile, Greif is investing in its commercial teams as it emphasizes optimizing costs and growing organically in 2026.
- M&A strategy: “Our focus is organic growth, no doubt about it,” Rosgaard said. But the company may strategically approach deals that could be complementary. Hilsheimer said the company maintains a “robust pipeline of tuck-in deals.” Operating profit in Greif’s fiber business saw an approximately $216 million gain in the quarter thanks to its timberlands sale that closed in October.
- Outlook: Greif reaffirmed its low-end fiscal year 2026 guidance for adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $630 million, and adjusted free cash flow of $315 million. The company expects volumes in its customized polymers and innovative closures segments to be up slightly, while durable metals and sustainable fibers are expected to be flat or down slightly.
