Avient Raises 2026 EPS Outlook as Q3 Sales Grow 10.5%

Avient Corporation (NYSE: AVNT) raised its full-year 2026 adjusted earnings outlook after third-quarter sales increased across both business segments and adjusted EBITDA margin expanded. The specialty materials company now expects adjusted EPS of $3.22 to $3.32, compared with its previous range of $3.10 to $3.25.

For the quarter ended September 30, Avient reported sales of $891.2 million, up 10.5% from $806.5 million a year earlier. Excluding foreign-exchange effects, organic sales rose 10.6%, reflecting pricing, a more favorable mix from new business wins and demand in the company’s targeted growth markets.

Adjusted EBITDA increased 16.2% to $154.4 million, while adjusted EBITDA margin widened 80 basis points to 17.3%. Adjusted EPS rose 22.9% to $0.86, exceeding the company’s guidance of $0.80. On a GAAP basis, net income increased to $43.5 million from $32.8 million, and net income margin rose to 4.9% from 4.1%.

Growth Across Both Segments

Color, Additives and Inks generated third-quarter sales of $551.5 million, up from $509.9 million a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA increased to $111 million from $96 million, with margin expanding to 20.1% from 18.9%.

Avient said the segment recorded organic growth across all regions. Pricing and new wins from its key-account strategy supported packaging sales, while building and construction benefited from commercial infrastructure investment. Favorable end-market mix and productivity measures also contributed to the segment’s earnings and margin growth.

Specialty Engineered Materials posted sales of $340.6 million, compared with $297.7 million in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted EBITDA rose to about $73 million from $59 million, and margin increased to 21.3% from 19.9%.

The segment delivered double-digit organic sales growth across nearly every end market, according to the presentation. Electronics and high-performance computing remained areas of strength, alongside building and construction applications tied to commercial infrastructure investment. Higher demand, favorable mix and productivity supported the margin improvement.

Nine-Month Performance and Cash Generation

For the first nine months of 2026, Avient’s sales rose 6.2% as reported to $2.66 billion, including organic growth of 4.2% and a 2% benefit from foreign exchange. Adjusted EBITDA increased 10.8% to $472.4 million, while adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 70 basis points to 17.8%.

Adjusted EPS for the period advanced 17.3% to $2.65. Avient paid down $100 million of debt during the first nine months, including $50 million in the third quarter, which the company attributed to strong cash flow generation.

Updated 2026 Guidance

Avient now forecasts full-year adjusted EBITDA of $593 million to $603 million, representing year-over-year growth of 9% to 11%. Its prior range was $575 million to $603 million.

The company expects adjusted EPS of $3.22 to $3.32, implying growth of 14% to 18%, and free cash flow of $215 million to $230 million, representing growth of 10% to 18%. The previous free cash flow range was $210 million to $230 million.

Full-year reported revenue is expected to grow at a mid- to high-single-digit rate. Avient also projects approximately $120 million of capital expenditures to support investments in its growth markets and expects net leverage of 2.2 to 2.3 times, down from 2.6 times in 2025.

Management’s outlook assumes improvement in consumer and infrastructure spending related to government policies and continued acceleration in U.S. and European Union defense spending. At the same time, the company identified uncertainty in global demand stemming from inflation and higher interest rates.

Other risks outlined in the presentation include tariffs and changing trade rules, currency fluctuations, raw-material and energy costs, supply-chain disruptions, cybersecurity incidents, regulatory changes and the company’s debt obligations. Avient noted that its forward-looking non-GAAP guidance is not reconciled to comparable GAAP measures because certain items, including restructuring, environmental remediation and acquisition-related costs, cannot be reasonably forecast.