NewMarket Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

NewMarket’s second-quarter earnings increased significantly: Net income rose to $134 million, or $14.54 per share, from $111 million, or $11.84 per share, a year earlier, while sales also grew.

Petroleum Additives delivered stronger results, with sales rising to $676 million and operating profit reaching $149 million, helped by surcharges offsetting costs tied to Middle East supply-chain disruptions.

Specialty Materials benefited from the Calca acquisition: Second-quarter sales climbed to $67 million and operating profit doubled to $22 million; NewMarket is also expanding capacity for aerospace and defense chemicals while returning $182 million to shareholders in the first half.

NewMarket reported higher second-quarter earnings and sales, with Chief Financial Officer Tim Fitzgerald citing Petroleum Additives surcharges related to supply-chain disruptions in the Middle East and continued growth in the company’s Specialty Materials business.

Net income for the second quarter of 2026 totaled $134 million, or $14.54 per share, compared with $111 million, or $11.84 per share, in the prior-year quarter. For the first six months of 2026, net income rose to $252 million, or $27.14 per share, from $237 million, or $25.11 per share, a year earlier.

Second-quarter Petroleum Additives sales increased to $676 million from $654 million in the second quarter of 2025. Operating profit in the segment rose to $149 million from $140 million.

Fitzgerald said the increase in Petroleum Additives operating profit was primarily driven by surcharges implemented in response to higher costs recorded in the company’s profit-and-loss statement stemming from supply-chain disruptions in the Middle East.

For the first half of 2026, Petroleum Additives sales were approximately $1.3 billion, essentially unchanged from the same period in 2025. Segment operating profit was $284 million, compared with $282 million in the prior-year period.

“We are very pleased with the performance of our Petroleum Additives business during the first half of 2026 and the work done by our team to operate within a rapidly changing environment due to the conflict in the Middle East,” Fitzgerald said. He added that the company remains focused on improving efficiency, managing operating costs, and investing in technology and its supply network to meet customer needs.

Specialty Materials sales reached $67 million in the second quarter, up from $42 million a year earlier, while operating profit increased to $22 million from $11 million.

Fitzgerald noted that the 2025 comparison excludes results from Calca, which NewMarket acquired on Oct. 1, 2025. He also said the company expects substantial variation in quarterly results for the Specialty Materials segment because of the nature of the business.

For the first half of 2026, Specialty Materials sales were $125 million, compared with $96 million in the year-earlier period. Operating profit for the segment was $35 million, essentially flat with the first half of 2025.

The company said it was particularly pleased with Specialty Materials’ performance and is expanding production capacity for ammonium perchlorate and high-purity hydrazine. The investments are intended to support domestic production of critical aerospace and defense chemicals, with additional capacity expected to come online toward the end of 2026.

NewMarket said it generated solid cash flow during the first half of the year, enabling it to return $182 million to shareholders. That amount included $56 million in dividends and $126 million in share repurchases. Its ne