Sherwin-Williams, PPG, and AkzoNobel 'Stagnant Growth'! Is the Coatings Industry Really Struggling in 2024?

Looking back on the past year, the global economic environment has been turbulent and markets persistently sluggish. Against this backdrop, the coatings industry has likewise faced multiple challenges—including fluctuating market demand and unstable raw material prices. To counteract profit erosion caused by adverse economic conditions, companies have sought to sustain operations and development by cutting operating costs. Yet in such an environment, few enterprises have managed to escape the predicament of 'zero growth'. On January 30, 2025, Sherwin-Williams, PPG, and AkzoNobel successively released their 2024 financial reports. For the full year of 2024, Sherwin-Williams achieved $23.1 billion in revenue, with net profit rising 12.26% to $2.682 billion. Its core growth drivers were residential repainting and industrial coatings—both significantly outperforming market expectations. Demand for packaging and coil coatings was especially robust, delivering double-digit percentage growth and low single-digit percentage growth respectively, thereby leading to a modest increase in net sales for the year. 'Although demand across most of our end markets remains volatile, our fourth-quarter performance remained strong,' said Heidi G. Petz, Chairman, President, and CEO of Sherwin-Williams, expressing satisfaction with the company’s results and affirming confidence in its differentiated strategy: 'We will continue delivering innovative and efficient solutions to our customers.' Yet compared to 2023, Sherwin-Williams’ record-setting $23.1 billion in net sales for 2024 represented only a 0.2% year-on-year increase—so marginal as to be virtually negligible. Based on performance data across Sherwin-Williams’ three business segments: its Paint Stores Group (PSG) posted Q4 net sales of $3.0449 billion, up 3.4%, driving a corresponding rise in segment profit. Meanwhile, the Consumer Brands Group (CBG) saw net sales decline 4.3% to $662.2 million, and the Performance Coatings Group (PCG) fell 1.6% to $1.589 billion. By divesting its silica products business and architectural coatings operations in the U.S. and Canada, PPG increased its net profit by 10% to $1.344 billion last year, while also strengthening its financial position—including raising its adjusted EBITDA margin to 18.1%—enabling sustainable organic growth. Additionally, emerging markets such as Mexico and India delivered better-than-expected contributions; aerospace coatings, protective & marine coatings, packaging coatings, and transportation solutions emerged as new growth engines for PPG, fueling a 6% increase in adjusted earnings per share. Nonetheless, PPG’s revenue declined 2% year-on-year to $15.845 billion, weighed down by slightly lower sales volumes, unfavorable currency exchange rates, and the impact of asset divestitures. PPG was the only one among the three industry giants to report a revenue decline last year. Moreover, its global architectural coatings segment recorded a 7% drop in Q4 net sales to $881 million, with segment profit falling 10% to $118 million.

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In contrast, the Indian market has demonstrated relatively strong growth resilience, with both volume and value expected to rise—though decorative coatings growth is slowing, industrial coatings are performing strongly. Japan’s market volume is projected to decline, yet its value is expected to grow due to price hikes; South Korea faces declines in both volume and value. Europe’s coatings markets—particularly in major producing countries like Germany and France—are anticipated to continue contracting amid economic uncertainty. The Middle East region, directly impacted by the U.S.–Iran conflict, is expected to see a sharp downturn in coatings demand. Latin America, however, is poised for modest volume growth. The first-quarter 2026 performance of major coatings companies further confirms this divergent landscape. Sherwin-Williams, leveraging its strategic acquisition of BASF’s Brazilian decorative coatings business Suvinil, achieved a 6.8% year-on-year increase in net sales to $5.667 billion and a 6.1% rise in net profit. PPG similarly benefited from robust organic growth in aerospace, protective, and marine coatings across Latin America, posting a 7.0% net sales increase. Nippon Paint achieved a 20.8% sales growth and a 44.3% surge in net income attributable to shareholders—driven by M&A activity, favorable currency effects, higher volumes, and product mix optimization. Jotun reported a 10% base sales growth over the first four months of 2026, with operating profit soaring 18.4%. Note: Jotun’s sales figure reflects data for the first four months of 2026. However, not all companies shared in this growth. AkzoNobel’s Q1 2026 sales declined 9.0% year-on-year, with net income attributable to shareholders falling 13.08%—a confluence of weak volumes, adverse currency impacts, and asset divestitures. Axalta’s net sales edged down 0.63%, while net profit dropped 8.08%. BASF’s coatings business saw sales fall 5.9%, and its EBITDA plunged sharply. These starkly divergent financial results reflect fundamental differences in corporate strategy, product portfolio structure, and regional deployment. Notably, the U.S.–Iran conflict has driven up international crude oil prices, accelerating raw material cost inflation—a common challenge confronting the entire industry. Major coatings giants are taking decisive action to respond. AkzoNobel explicitly stated that, compared to the previous raw material price surge cycle, its current pricing response is faster and more resolute: it announced price increases ranging from mid-single digits to low double digits to fully offset inflationary pressures, with implementation phased through Q2 and fully effective by Q3. Jotun, Kansai, PPG, Sherwin-Williams, Nippon Paint, and Asian Paints have likewise confirmed implementing a suite of mitigation measures—including price hikes. This collective pricing adjustment will largely determine the ultimate magnitude of value growth in the 2026 coatings market. Looking ahead, uncertainty remains the dominant theme. Jotun noted in its outlook that even if Middle Eastern tensions ease temporarily, supply chains can only gradually return to normal—and high raw material prices and supply shortages are expected to persist throughout 2026, exerting continued pressure on margins. Sherwin-Williams forecasts mid-single-digit percentage growth in consolidated net sales for Q2 2026, with full-year growth ranging from low- to mid-single digits. PPG expects organic sales and adjusted EPS for Q2 to remain flat or achieve low-single-digit growth.

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Sherwin-Williams will report September-quarter earnings on October 27, 2026, with analysts anticipating profit growth despite raw material inflation. Investors will monitor how cost pressures and demand softness affect margin improvements and long-term revenue targets.

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Sherwin-Williams Earnings Report Scheduled Amid Raw Material Inflation Concerns

Sherwin-Williams Earnings Report Scheduled Amid Raw Material Inflation Concerns

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