CCL Industries (CCL-B) Q4 2025 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Sales for 2025 reached $7.66 billion, up 5.8% year-over-year, with Q4 sales at $1.88 billion, a 3.5% increase; adjusted basic EPS rose 7.4% to $4.64 for the year and 1% to $1.03 in Q4.

• Operating income for 2025 increased 8.7% to $1,241.5 million, with Q4 operating income at $280.7 million, up 4.8%; net earnings declined in Q4 due to higher tax expense.

• Free cash flow from operations hit a record $891.3 million, up 47% year-over-year.

• $523.7 million was returned to shareholders via dividends and share buybacks, including a 12.5% dividend increase for 2026.

• Three acquisitions since January 2024 contributed 0.7% to annual sales growth.

Financial highlights

• Adjusted EBITDA for 2025 was $1,622.5 million, up from $1,497.1 million in 2024; Q4 EBITDA was $383.6 million, up 3%.

• Gross margin for 2025 was 30.0%, up from 29.5% in 2024.

• Net debt at year-end 2025 was $1.26 billion, with a leverage ratio of 0.78x Adjusted EBITDA.

• Free cash flow supported increased shareholder returns and reduced net debt.

• Basic and adjusted basic EPS for Q4 2025 were $0.99 and $1.03, respectively.

Outlook and guidance

• Expectation for low to mid-single-digit organic growth in CCL for 2026, with Q1 facing weather-related freight disruptions.

• RFID business at Checkpoint anticipated to return to double-digit growth in 2026, driven by normalization in apparel inventory and new applications.

• Capital expenditures for 2026 budgeted at $470 million for greenfield projects and capacity expansion.

• Corporate costs projected slightly above $25 million in 2026; tax rate estimated at 25%.

• Modest foreign currency tailwind expected to continue into Q1 2026.