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By the numbers: Q1 2026
Net sales: $1.54B
Down 1.7% year over year
Net loss: $71M
Compared with a $12M net loss in Q1 2025
- Results: “The year got off to a challenging start,” but trends improved in March, O-I Glass CEO Gordon Hardie said on a first quarter earnings call Wednesday. “Operationally, it was a story of two hemispheres,” Hardie said: While performance in the Americas was relatively stable, headwinds in Europe caused O-I to fall short of Q1 expectations. Food is emerging as O-I’s second-largest market behind beer. Non-alcoholic beverages have also been a point of strength, while alcohol, including wine, has been softest.
- Trajectory improving: Q1 sales volumes were down approximately 8% year over year. O-I attributed this in part to inflated results in Q1 2025 when some customers engaged in pre-buying ahead of tariffs. But trends appeared to improve by the end of the quarter: March volumes were down by just 2%. Looking ahead, O-I anticipates sales volumes will be flat in the second quarter and will see low growth in the second half of 2026.
- Restructuring progress: O-I’s ongoing “Fit to Win” organizational effectiveness program yielded $50 million in gross benefits in Q1 — or $35 million after accounting for extreme weather, civil unrest in Mexico and other disruptions during the quarter. There were some temporary transition costs as O-I works to complete the closure of three plants in Europe by mid-2026. O-I expects to achieve $275 million in restructuring benefits in 2026, toward a three-year target of $750 million.
- Benefits in the Americas: Hardie said those restructuring efforts are accelerating in Europe, which trails the Americas by roughly six to nine months. In the Americas, O-I is pleased with benefits so far. “Our capacity and demand are tightly aligned, and across much of the region we are effectively sold out,” Hardie said. He reported the company is “actively evaluating opportunities to bring dormant capacity back online.”
- Financial outlook: O-I lowered its earnings outlook for 2026. It now expects between $1.125 billion and $1.225 billion in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, down from an earlier range of $1.25 billion to 1.3 billion. On free cash flow, O-I now projects a range of $50 million to $150 million, down from a previous target of $200 million. O-I said that inflated energy costs stemming from the conflict in the Middle East — impacting natural gas, electricity, logistics and certain raw materials — are the big swing factor in its updated guidance. The company considers many of the 2026 pressures to be temporary.
