Approved! Another paint and coatings giant is born—aiming for industry dominance!

Regarding the overwhelming shareholder approval, Greg Pux-Georgiou, CEO of the newly merged entity and current CEO of AkzoNobel, stated that this shareholder vote marks a pivotal step in the deep integration of two highly complementary companies—and provides solid support for the new enterprise’s forward-looking vision. Going forward, both parties will jointly build a more innovative and globally competitive coatings leader, consistently delivering long-term, stable, and high-quality value to customers, employees, and shareholders. Ben Notenboom, Chairman of AkzoNobel’s Supervisory Board and Deputy Chairman of the merged company, also expressed gratitude to the market and all stakeholders. He noted that the strong shareholder support affirms the strategic value of this merger, and the company will steadily advance subsequent integration efforts to fully unlock synergies and implement its long-term growth strategy. “We are deeply grateful for the strong support we have received for our equal merger with AkzoNobel, and we are excited about the opportunity to create tremendous value for our shareholders, customers, and employees,” said Chris Villavarayan, CEO of Axalta. “Following our record-breaking second-quarter performance, we are pleased to enter the next phase with strong business momentum. Our teams are actively advancing the integration plan and remain focused on combining these two highly complementary businesses to realize value from day one of the merger.” “Today’s approval marks an important milestone on our path toward building a world-leading coatings company,” said Rakesh Sachdev, Chairman of Axalta’s Board of Directors. “This broad-based support reaffirms our belief that the merger of Axalta and AkzoNobel will create a differentiated industry leader—endowed with broad capabilities, world-class innovation capacity, and a stronger platform for growth and value creation. I look forward to collaborating with the combined leadership team to deliver on the promise of this merger.” As the merger progresses steadily, a brand-new global coatings giant is poised to emerge. According to the authoritative industry report *Coatings World*’s 2026 Annual Industry Report, AkzoNobel’s coatings business achieved sales of $12 billion in 2025, while Axalta recorded $5.1 billion in同期 sales. Upon completion of the merger, the new group’s annual total sales will exceed $17 billion—surpassing PPG to secure the No. 2 position globally in the coatings industry, trailing only industry leader Sherwin-Williams, with a revenue gap of merely approximately $1 billion.

The world’s largest automotive refinish brand has changed hands: PPG overtakes Axalta for the first time.

On August 10, 2026, *TuJie*—a China-based professional financial media outlet specializing in the coatings industry—released the “2026 Global Top 10 Automotive Refinish Brands Ranking” (Note: Click here to view the full list). On this globally unique, authoritative ranking dedicated exclusively to the automotive refinish sector, a historic shift quietly occurred: U.S.-based PPG claimed the top spot for the first time, achieving $2.064 billion in sales and an 18.76% global market share; meanwhile, Axalta—long the undisputed leader in this segment—slipped to second place with $2.051 billion in sales and an 18.65% global market share. Though the gap between them is razor-thin—just $13 million and 0.11 percentage points—this marginal 0.11-point lead officially marks the transfer of the title of world’s largest automotive refinish brand. For several years, Axalta had been widely regarded as the uncontested leader in the automotive refinish market. With over 150 years of heritage in the coatings industry, Axalta serves more than 90,000 body shops across over 140 countries worldwide. Yet in fiscal year 2025, this century-old company encountered a growth plateau. Its financial report revealed that Axalta’s full-year net sales totaled $5.12 billion—a 3% decline year-on-year—with its automotive refinish business generating $2.051 billion in revenue, down sharply by 5.2% year-on-year. Although the company achieved a record-high adjusted EBITDA margin of 22% through product portfolio optimization and cost control, persistently declining volumes eroded its scale advantage in this core business segment. Meanwhile, Axalta is immersed in the broader wave of global coatings industry consolidation—the equal merger with AkzoNobel is underway, which may have partially diverted management’s attention and resources away from competitive positioning in the refinish market. In stark contrast to Axalta’s volume contraction, PPG demonstrated greater resilience in its refinish business. Although PPG Industries reported full-year 2025 net sales of $15.875 billion—essentially flat year-on-year—and its automotive refinish organic sales declined by a mid-single-digit percentage due to lower volumes, price increases partially offset this decline. It was precisely this “price-for-volume” strategy that enabled PPG to stabilize its revenue base amid fluctuating market demand. According to PPG’s disclosures in its investor relations materials, its automotive refinish business accounted for approximately 13% of the company’s total revenue in 2025—equating to $2.064 billion. Additionally, in early 2026, PPG acquired Dutch collision repair and spray equipment manufacturer EMM International—an initiative expected to further strengthen its integrated competitiveness across the automotive refinish value chain.

Axalta Releases Second Quarter 2026 Results

Jul 28, 2026

Axalta Coating Systems reported record Q2 2026 Adjusted EBITDA of $305 million, with net sales increasing 3% to $1.35 billion. The company forecasts low single-digit growth for the full year 2026.

GlobeNewswire

2026-04-02

Axalta Coating Systems Ltd (AXTA) Stock Price Down 3.63% on April 2

2026-04-04

Vanguard Strategic Equity Fund Axalta Coating Systems Holdings History

2026-04-04

Perpetual Ltd Purchases 268,552 Shares of Axalta Coating Systems Ltd.

2026-04-06

Axalta Coating Systems to Announce First Quarter 2026 Financial Results on April 30

2026-04-06

Axalta to Post Q1 Earnings Results at 6 a.m. ET with Executive Call