Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY) management emphasized portfolio optimization, expanding “climate solutions” offerings, and disciplined capital allocation as the company closed out 2025 amid what executives repeatedly described as extremely challenging lumber and OSB markets.
On the call, CEO Devin Stockfish said the company reported full-year GAAP earnings of $324 million, or $0.45 per diluted share, on net sales of $6.9 billion. Excluding special items, Weyerhaeuser posted full-year 2025 earnings of $143 million, or $0.20 per diluted share, and adjusted EBITDA of $1.0 billion. For the fourth quarter, the company reported GAAP earnings of $74 million, or $0.10 per diluted share, on net sales of $1.5 billion; excluding special items, Weyerhaeuser posted a loss of $67 million, or $0.09 per diluted share, with adjusted EBITDA of $140 million.
Capital returns, balance sheet, and pension actions
CFO David Wold said the company generated $562 million of cash from operations for the full year; excluding a $200 million pension contribution related to liability management, cash from operations would have been $762 million. Weyerhaeuser ended the year with just under $500 million of cash and total debt of $5.6 billion.
Wold also discussed pension liability management actions completed in the fourth quarter, including the purchase of a group annuity contract that transferred about $455 million of U.S. pension liabilities to an insurance carrier. The transaction was funded with $440 million from U.S. pension plan assets and resulted in a non-cash $111 million after-tax settlement charge recorded as a special item. Wold said the company made a $200 million voluntary cash contribution to the plan in connection with the transaction.
On leverage and capital allocation, management reiterated that its net leverage target is a mid-cycle metric and highlighted the importance of maintaining an investment-grade rating and supporting the base dividend. In response to a question on buybacks following a stock rally, Wold said the company views repurchases as an attractive lever at recent trading ranges, but will continue to weigh repurchases against balance sheet considerations and growth opportunities.
Timberlands: softer West, stable South, and export developments
Excluding special items, Timberlands contributed $50 million to fourth-quarter earnings, with adjusted EBITDA of $114 million, down $34 million from the third quarter. Stockfish attributed the sequential decline largely to lower sales volumes and realizations in the West.
In the western domestic market, Stockfish said log demand and pricing softened as supply remained ample, mills carried elevated inventories, and lumber markets were “very challenging.” The company expects stable domestic log pricing in the first quarter, with potential upside if lumber prices continue to improve.
In western exports, the company cited elevated inventories and consumption headwinds in Japan that pressured fourth-quarter demand and volumes, although realizations to Japan were moderately higher due to freight-related benefits. Management expects demand to improve over time as Japanese inventories normalize and as customers take share from European lumber imports.
On China, management said a ban on U.S. log imports was lifted in November. Stockfish said Weyerhaeuser is in the early stages of reestablishing its export program but expects limited near-term shipments given weakness in China’s real estate sector and seasonal slowing around the Lunar New Year. The company delivered one vessel in the fourth quarter and expects a second vessel in the first quarter. Later in the Q&A, Stockfish said he expects China volumes to ramp somewhat over the course of the year, but not return to prior levels without a rebound in Chinese real estate activity.
In the South, fourth-quarter adjusted EBITDA was $69 million, down $5 million sequentially. Stockfish said Southern sawlog markets remained muted as dry weather kept supply ample and mills aligned capacity with lower takeaway of finished goods, while fiber markets were relatively stable outside localized regions impacted by recent mill closures. Southern sales realizations increased slightly on mix (including export volumes to India), though the company expects a slightly lower realization mix in the first quarter due to more fiber logs and lower export volumes to India.
Management also provided a 2026 harvest outlook, calling for total company-wide fee harvest volumes of about 35.5 million tons, with the South slightly higher year over year, the West comparable, and the North slightly lower.
Strategic Land Solutions and Climate Solutions: strong pricing, expanded disclosure
Weyerhaeuser said Real Estate, Energy, and Natural Resources contributed $84 million to fourth-quarter earnings, with adjusted EBITDA of $95 million—slightly higher than the third quarter and about $19 million above the company’s fourth-quarter guidance. Stockfish attributed the outperformance largely to timing of transactions, including completion of a conservation easement in May.
Stockfish highlighted that average real estate sales pricing reached a record high in the fourth quarter at over $8,200 per acre, driven mostly by high-value development transactions in South Carolina. For the full year, the segment generated $411 million of adjusted EBITDA, which Stockfish said was moderately higher than revised full-year guidance and $61 million above the initial outlook, supported by strong demand and pricing for higher-and-better-use (HBU) properties and growing contributions from climate solutions.
Beginning in the first quarter of 2026, Weyerhaeuser will rename the segment Strategic Land Solutions and expand disclosure into three business lines: Real Estate, Natural Resources, and Climate Solutions. Wold said the company expects full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA for the segment of approximately $425 million. He also said first-quarter earnings and adjusted EBITDA are expected to be significantly higher than the fourth quarter, driven by the timing and mix of real estate sales and the completion of a large conservation easement transaction in Florida that closed in January.
Management said the Florida transaction involved about 61,000 acres and nearly $94 million of proceeds to convey the acreage into a permanent conservation easement, which Wold described as the largest of its kind in the state. The easement adds land to a larger wildlife corridor while allowing Weyerhaeuser to retain ownership for continued sustainable forest management.
On Climate Solutions, Stockfish said full-year adjusted EBITDA was $119 million, a 42% increase from 2024, driven by conservation, mitigation banking, and renewables. He said the company exceeded its multiyear target of $100 million of annual adjusted EBITDA by year-end 2025 and set a new goal to reach $250 million of annual EBITDA by 2030. Stockfish also cited approval of a fifth forest carbon project and a pipeline of four additional projects, with about 630,000 credits generated in 2025 and 120,000 sold in the voluntary market.
At its December Investor Day, Weyerhaeuser also announced a partnership with Aymium to produce and sell up to 1.5 million tons of biocarbon annually by 2030, with the first facility planned adjacent to its lumber mill in McComb, Mississippi.
Wood Products: losses in a trough pricing environment; early signs of improvement
Weyerhaeuser’s Wood Products segment recorded a fourth-quarter loss of $78 million, with adjusted EBITDA of a $20 million loss. Stockfish said results reflected “extremely challenging” lumber and OSB markets, with pricing near historically low levels on an inflation-adjusted basis.
- Lumber: Fourth-quarter adjusted EBITDA was a $57 million loss. Production volumes fell 14% from the third quarter as the company moderated production in response to demand, and due to the sale of the Princeton sawmill late in the third quarter. Sales realizations declined 3% sequentially. Management said it was encouraged by recent lumber pricing gains and expects better performance in the first quarter as demand improves into the spring building season.
- OSB: Fourth-quarter adjusted EBITDA was a $10 million loss, driven by weaker pricing amid seasonal slowing in construction. Management said composite pricing stabilized in December and moved slightly higher in recent weeks, and expects modest improvement in the first quarter.
- Engineered Wood Products (EWP): Fourth-quarter adjusted EBITDA was $49 million, down $7 million sequentially due to seasonal volume declines and slightly higher unit costs. Management said EWP realizations were comparable to the third quarter and noted both the third and fourth quarters included a small benefit from insurance proceeds related to an early-2025 fire at an MDF facility in Montana.
During Q&A, Stockfish said the early-2026 improvement in lumber and OSB pricing appeared largely supply-driven, citing curtailment activity and reduced Canadian volumes, though he also noted seasonal demand typically improves heading into spring. He said Weyerhaeuser operated at a mid-70% lumber operating rate in the fourth quarter and mid-90% in OSB.
Looking ahead, Wold said that, excluding changes in lumber and OSB realizations, the company expects first-quarter Wood Products earnings and adjusted EBITDA to be slightly higher than the fourth quarter. He added that a $10 change in commodity prices translates to about $50 million of annual EBITDA for lumber and about $30 million for OSB, based on company estimates shared on the call.
Management also reiterated longer-term targets discussed at Investor Day, including a goal to deliver $1.5 billion of incremental adjusted EBITDA by 2030 versus a 2024 baseline, while acknowledging the timing of contributions may be uneven as some initiatives ramp.
About Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY)
Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE: WY) is a leading integrated forest products company whose core businesses are timberland ownership and forest products manufacturing. The company owns and manages large tracts of timberland and harvests, processes and sells wood and wood-derived products used primarily in residential and industrial construction. Its manufacturing operations produce a range of building materials, including lumber, engineered wood products and wood panels, alongside fiber-based products that serve multiple commercial applications.
Founded in 1900 by Frederick Weyerhaeuser and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the company has a long history in the North American forest products industry.
