CRS Earnings Beat Estimates in Q4 on Pricing, Shares Rise 7%

Carpenter Technology beats on Q4 earnings as Specialty Alloys Operations strength, pricing and higher shipments lift revenues, margins and operating income.

Zacks Equity Research

4 min read

Shares of Carpenter Technology Corporation CRS gained 7% since reporting adjusted earnings of $3.23 per share for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 on July 30, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.03 by 6.6%. Earnings rose 46.2% from $2.21 in the year-ago quarter.

Net revenues increased 12.6% year over year to $851 million and topped the consensus estimate of $848 million by 0.4%. The upside reflected 22% higher shipment volume, stronger product mix, pricing realization and improved operating efficiency.

Carpenter Technology Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Carpenter Technology Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Carpenter Technology Corporation Quote

Aerospace and Defense remained the largest end market. CRS witnessed a year-over-year revenue increase of 17% in the Aerospace and Defense end-use market. Revenues in the Industrial and Consumer market rose 22%, while Transportation revenues increased 3%. The Medical end-use market’s revenues declined 30% and Energy revenues fell 12%.

CRS’s Q4 Operational Results

The cost of goods sold in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 increased 7.5% year over year to $582 million. Gross profit rose 25.7% to $269 million. The gross margin came in at 31.6% compared with 28.3% in the prior-year quarter.

Adjusted operating income in the reported quarter was a record $207 million compared with $151.4 million in the year-ago quarter. The adjusted operating margin was 30.4% compared with 24.3% a year earlier.

Carpenter Technology’s Q4 Segmental Performance

The Specialty Alloys Operations segment reported sales of $770.5 million compared with $674.1 million in the prior-year quarter. We predicted the segment’s sales to be $751 million. The upside was driven by productivity gains, pricing across long-term and transactional business, and improved mix. The segment sold 57,454 thousand pounds compared with 46,872 thousand pounds a year ago. The reported figure surpassed our estimate of 50,123 pounds. The segment posted an operating profit of $229.7 million, up 37.5% from $167 million in the year-ago quarter. Our estimate for the segment’s operating profit was $167 million.

The Performance Engineered Products segment’s net sales increased 3.7% year over year to $108.5 million. The reported figure beat our estimate of $106 million. The segment sold 3,256 thousand pounds compared with 2,674 thousand pounds in the prior-year quarter. It was lower than our projection of 2,697 thousand pounds. It reported an operating profit of $7.1 million, down 39.3% from $11.7 million a year earlier, showing that higher volume did not translate into stronger segment profitability. Our estimate for the segment’s operating profit was $11.7 million.

CRS’s Cash Flow & Balance Sheet Updates

Carpenter Technology ended fiscal 2026 with cash and cash equivalents of $393 million compared with $315.5 million at the end of fiscal 2025. Long-term debt was $691 million at the end of fiscal 2026 compared with $695 million a year earlier.

Cash flow from operating activities was $240 million in the quarter under review compared with $258 million in the prior-year quarter.

Carpenter Technology’s FY26 Performance

The company reported adjusted earnings of $10.52 per share in fiscal 2026, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $10.58. The company posted adjusted earnings of $7.42 in fiscal 2025.

CRS revenues were $3.12 billion in fiscal 2026, down from $2.88 billion in the year-ago quarter. The top line came in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

CRS FY27 Outlook

For fiscal 2027, CRS expects operating income of $850-$880 million, indicating growth of 21-25% from that reported in fiscal 2026. The adjusted free cash flow is projected at $400-$430 million.

For the first quarter of fiscal 2027, the company anticipates operating income of $195-$200 million. CRS also set a fiscal 2029 operating income target of $1.2-$1.3 billion, supported by demand, productivity, mix, pricing and expected contributions from its brownfield expansion.

Carpenter Technology’s Zacks Rank

CRS currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

CRS’s Share Price Performance

Shares of the company have surged 121.7% in the past year compared with the industry’s growth of 96.8%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Carpenter Technology Peer Performance

Commercial Metals Company CMC reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.73 in third-quarter fiscal 2026 (ended May 31, 2026), beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.60 by 8.1%. The bottom line surged 147.1% from 70 cents in the year-ago quarter.

Commercial Metals’ revenues in the reported quarter were $2.48 billion compared with $2.02 billion in the year-ago quarter. The reported figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.37 billion.

Metallus Inc. MTUS delivered second-quarter 2026earnings of 26 cents per share, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Metallus posted earnings of 2 cents in the year-ago quarter.

Metallus posted revenues of $341 million for the quarter ended June 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $331 million. The company posted $305 million in the second quarter of 2025.

NWPX Infrastructure, Inc. NWPX came out with second quarter 2026 earnings of $1.62 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.33. The company posted earnings of 91 cents a year ago.

NWPX Infrastructure posted revenues of $159.5 million for the quarter ended June 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $155 million. The top line increased from the year-ago quarter’s $133 million.

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