Tu Jie Cai Jing | PPG Posts 'Zero Growth' in 2025, Stock Price Dips! Emergency 'Cost Scalpel' Initiated—Can It Turn Things Around This Year?

On January 27, PPG—a global leader in coatings—released its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2025. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) slightly missed market expectations, causing its after-hours stock price to decline modestly by 2.4%. For the full year 2025, PPG achieved net sales of $15.9 billion—flat year-on-year; organic sales grew 2%, with volume and pricing each contributing one percentage point. On the profitability front, reported EPS stood at $6.92, while adjusted EPS reached $7.58. Net income from continuing operations rose 17% year-on-year to $1.57 billion; segment profit margin held steady at 17%, and segment EBITDA margin remained at 19%—indicating stable profitability. PPG generated $1.9 billion in operating cash flow for the year—an increase of over $500 million year-on-year. The company returned $1.4 billion to shareholders through $790 million in share repurchases (approximately 3% of outstanding shares) and $630 million in dividends. As of year-end, $2.0 billion remained under its authorized share repurchase program. Cost control efforts delivered significant results: structural cost-reduction initiatives generated $75 million in benefits for the year, providing solid support for profit growth. In the fourth quarter, PPG’s growth momentum accelerated, achieving net sales of $3.9 billion—exceeding analysts’ consensus estimate of $3.77 billion. Organic sales rose 3% year-on-year—the highest quarterly growth rate of the year—driven by higher selling prices and increased volumes across all regions. Profitability-wise, the company reported diluted EPS of $1.34 and adjusted EPS of $1.51—slightly below the market’s consensus expectation of $1.58. However, net income surged dramatically—from $2 million ($0.01 per share) a year earlier to $302 million. During the quarter, PPG continued returning value to shareholders, completing approximately $100 million in share repurchases. In Q4, PPG’s three core business segments posted differentiated growth—with standout performance in key areas. Specifically, its Global Architectural Coatings segment posted net sales of $951 million—a 8% increase year-on-year. Higher selling prices and favorable currency effects offset the impact of divesting its architectural coatings business in Russia. EBITDA rose 14% year-on-year to $164 million, lifting segment EBITDA margin to 17.2%. Regionally, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific posted high single-digit organic sales growth. Retail sales in Mexico remained robust, and project-related sales continued recovering—though declining volumes in Europe partially offset overall growth momentum.

The World’s Largest Automotive Refinish Brand Changes Hands: PPG Surpasses Axalta for the First Time

On August 10, 2026, Tu Jie—the China-based professional financial media outlet dedicated to the coatings industry—released the '2026 Top 10 Global Automotive Refinish Brands Ranking' (Note: Click here to view the full list). On this globally unique, authoritative ranking specific to the automotive refinish sector, a historic shift quietly occurred: U.S.-based PPG claimed the top spot for the first time, with $2.064 billion in sales revenue and an 18.76% global market share. Meanwhile, Axalta—long the undisputed leader in this category—slipped to second place with $2.051 billion in sales revenue and an 18.65% global market share. Though the gap between them is razor-thin—just $13 million in revenue and 0.11 percentage points in market share—this narrow 0.11-percentage-point lead marks the official handover of the title of world’s largest automotive refinish brand. For several years, Axalta had been widely regarded as the unchallenged leader in the automotive refinish segment. With over 150 years of history 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 enterprise encountered a growth bottleneck. Its financial report showed full-year net sales of $5.12 billion—a 3% decline year-on-year—while its automotive refinish business generated $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, persistent volume declines eroded its scale advantage in this core business segment. Meanwhile, Axalta finds itself amid large-scale consolidation within the global coatings industry—the proposed equal-merger with AkzoNobel is underway, which may have diverted management attention and resources away from competitive efforts in the refinish market. In stark contrast to Axalta’s volume contraction, PPG demonstrated greater resilience in its refinish business. Although PPG Industries posted 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 volatile market demand. According to PPG’s publicly disclosed financial community materials, its automotive refinish business accounted for approximately 13% of group revenue in 2025—equivalent to $2.064 billion. Additionally, in early 2026, PPG acquired Dutch collision repair spray equipment manufacturer EMM International—a move expected to further strengthen its integrated competitiveness across the automotive refinish value chain.

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PPG Industries shares dropped 6.8% after Q2 earnings missed Wall Street estimates, though revenue exceeded forecasts. The company reported strong demand in aerospace and packaging sectors, projecting low to mid-single-digit organic sales growth for the next quarter.

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