Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.13 EPS

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The industrial products company reported $2.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.13, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $752.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $817.15 million. Century Aluminum had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 38.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 59.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from Century Aluminum’s conference call:

• Positive Sentiment: Century completed the Mount Holly expansion and restarted Grundartangi Line 2, bringing all major assets to full or near-full capacity. Mount Holly’s full production benefit will begin appearing in Q3, although post-restart instability is expected to weigh modestly on that quarter.
• Positive Sentiment: Q2 shipments rose 6% sequentially to approximately 131,000 tons, while adjusted EBITDA increased to $327 million on stronger aluminum prices, regional premiums, and higher volumes. Management expects Q3 adjusted EBITDA of $325 million–$345 million.
• Positive Sentiment: The balance sheet strengthened materially, with $388 million of quarter-end cash, $66 million of debt repayment, no revolver borrowings, and cash exceeding total debt by the end of July. Lower growth capital spending and expected working-capital recovery should support stronger second-half cash conversion.
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted a favorable aluminum market, citing an expected global deficit of roughly one million tons in 2026, continued deficits in 2027, and historically low inventories. The company also expects Jamalco’s new turbine to reduce energy costs by roughly $20 per ton and provide greater power reliability.
• Neutral Sentiment: Century continues targeting a final investment decision and groundbreaking for its Oklahoma smelter by year-end 2026, with first hot metal expected by late 2029. The project has potential support from a $500 million DOE grant, financing discussions, the Hawesville stake, and a new tariff incentive, but final energy contracts, engineering, financing, and community concerns remain execution milestones.

Century Aluminum Price Performance

Shares of CENX traded up $5.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $51.23. The stock had a trading volume of 3,739,269 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,841,968. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.30 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The company has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.85 and a beta of 1.96. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $49.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.89. Century Aluminum has a 52 week low of $20.91 and a 52 week high of $70.43.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CENX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Century Aluminum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Weiss Ratings lowered Century Aluminum from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Century Aluminum from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, B. Riley Financial lowered their target price on shares of Century Aluminum from $86.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CENX. Lido Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 12,911 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $506,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Century Aluminum by 48.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC increased its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 53,943 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,584,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 2.5% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 20,926 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $377,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 25,690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,007,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the period. 61.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Century Aluminum

Century Aluminum Company is a primary aluminum producer that develops and operates smelters designed to supply low-carbon, high-purity aluminum products to a range of industrial and commercial markets. Established in 1995, the company has grown to become a significant North American aluminum producer with an expanding international footprint. Century Aluminum is headquartered in the United States and is focused on energy-efficient operations and cost management.

The company’s core operations include three primary aluminum smelting facilities located in Hawesville, Kentucky; Mount Holly, South Carolina; and Grundartangi, Iceland.