Kaiser Aluminum Earnings Strong Amid Shipment Slowdown

Key Moments

Volume Declines Across Most End Markets

In 2025, Kaiser Aluminum faced weaker shipment volumes, offset by higher aluminum prices. The US producer of semi-fabricated specialty aluminum products saw softer volumes across most segments. However, strong pricing helped drive better financial results.

In Q4 2025, shipments reached 274 million pounds (124,284 tonnes), down 6% from 292 million pounds (132,449 tonnes) in Q4 2024. On a full-year basis, shipments fell 5% to 1,108 million pounds (502,580 tonnes).

Quarterly Shipment Trends

Each 2025 quarter showed a year-over-year decline in volumes, reflecting continued demand softness. Q1 shipments were 276 million pounds, 5% lower than 2024. Q2 rose sequentially to 288 million pounds but stayed 3% below last year. Q3 fell to 270 million pounds, down both sequentially and year-over-year. Q4 rebounded 1% from Q3, aided by a planned outage ramp-up at Trentwood and stronger coated packaging volumes at Warrick.

Product Mix Performance

General Engineering (GE) was the only segment with shipment growth. Q4 GE volumes rose 5.6% to 58.6 million pounds (26,580 tonnes). Full-year shipments advanced from 228.7 million pounds (103,736 tonnes) to 247.5 million pounds (112,264 tonnes).

Other segments declined. Aerospace shipments fell 16.5% year-over-year to 204.8 million pounds (92,895 tonnes). Packaging volumes dropped to 145.1 million pounds (65,816 tonnes) in Q4 and 560 million pounds (254,011 tonnes) for the year. Automotive extrusion shipments fell to 23.5 million pounds (10,659 tonnes) in Q4 and 95.4 million pounds (43,272 tonnes) for the full year.

Revenue and Earnings Supported by Pricing

Strong aluminum prices benefited Kaiser Aluminum. By December 2025, LME aluminum prices reached USD 2,968 per tonne, up 13.6% from early September. This drove Q4 net sales to USD 929 million, up from USD 765 million a year earlier.

Net income also improved. Q4 net income rose from USD 20 million to USD 28 million. Full-year net income climbed to USD 113 million, up 71% from USD 66 million. Diluted EPS in Q4 increased from USD 1.21 to USD 1.68, and full-year EPS rose from USD 4.02 to USD 6.77.

Conversion revenue was stable. Q4 2025 conversion revenue reached USD 365 million versus USD 358 million in Q4 2024. Full-year conversion revenue totaled USD 1,453 million, slightly below USD 1,456 million in 2024.

EBITDA and Capital Structure

Profitability strengthened. Q4 EBITDA grew 31% to USD 88 million from USD 67 million. Sequentially, EBITDA rose 8.6% from USD 81 million. Full-year 2025 EBITDA reached USD 310 million versus USD 241 million in 2024.

EPS for Q4 was USD 1.53 and USD 6.03 for the full year. Net debt leverage improved to 3.4x from 4.3x. Total liquidity stood at USD 547 million, including USD 7 million cash and USD 540 million available under the Revolving Credit Facility.

Outlook for 2026

Kaiser Aluminum expects 5–10% growth in conversion revenue and 5–15% growth in Adjusted EBITDA in 2026.

CEO Keith A. Harvey said: “Our Q4 performance reflected consistent execution, marking five consecutive quarters ahead of internal expectations. Metal pricing remained favorable. Despite non-recurring costs from our new roll coat line and Phase VII outage, we delivered record full-year adjusted EBITDA of USD 310 million with a margin above 21%. We enter 2026 with solid foundations, visibility into end markets, and the capacity to capture benefits from recent investments. We remain focused on cost reductions, deleveraging, and delivering value to customers and shareholders.”