Highlights
First Quarter
Global beverage shipments increased 5%
Diluted earnings per share of $1.56 versus $1.65 in 2025
Adjusted diluted earnings per share increased 11% to $1.86
Returned $251 million to shareholders, including $39 million of dividends, reflecting a 35% dividend increase
Announced plans to construct a new greenfield two-line, high-speed beverage can plant in Northern India
"The Company got off to a solid start for the year, driven by strong results in our European and Asian beverage can businesses, beverage can equipment and our North American food can and closures businesses," said Timothy J. Donahue, Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer. "Global beverage can volumes advanced 5%, led by robust shipments throughout Europe and Asia-Pacific. North American shipments advanced 1% in the quarter as a strong March, up 8% over the prior year, helped overcome a slow start to the year, the result of widespread winter storms in January.
"The Company grew both segment income and adjusted diluted earnings per share during the quarter, despite the challenging operating environment. All Crown facilities remain operational, and, through our global sourcing initiatives and manufacturing flexibility, we have been able to procure necessary materials and meet customer requirements in all global regions. While we expect that continued headwinds from the effects of the Middle East conflict will persist through the second quarter, the Company anticipates another strong year in 2026. As such, we reiterate our previous full year earnings, cash flow and capital expenditure guidance.
"Earlier this month, the Company announced plans to establish a state-of-the-art beverage can manufacturing facility in Northern India, marking Crown's entry into one of the world's fastest growing beverage markets. The two-line facility is expected to commence operations in the second half of 2027 and will serve accelerating demand in both the alcoholic and non-alcoholic segments.
"As we look ahead, the Company will continue to use its robust free cash flow to make strategic investments in growth and return value to shareholders through dividends and disciplined repurchases of its common stock."
Net sales in the first quarter were $3,259 million compared to $2,887 million in the first quarter of 2025 reflecting higher global beverage can shipments, the pass-through of $234 million in higher material costs and favorable foreign currency of $74 million.
Income from operations was $365 million in the first quarter of 2026, in line with the prior year period. Segment income in the first quarter of 2026 was $405 million compared to $398 million in the prior year first quarter driven by higher beverage can shipments in Europe and Asia-Pacific offset by lower beverage can shipments in Brazil and lower input cost recovery in North America.
Net income attributable to Crown Holdings in the first quarter was $175 million compared to $193 million in the first quarter of 2025. Reported diluted earnings per share were $1.56 in the first quarter of 2026 compared to $1.65 in 2025. Adjusted net income was $209 million compared to $195 million in 2025 and adjusted diluted earnings per share were $1.86 compared to $1.67 in 2025.
Outlook"With demand remaining firm across our global beverage businesses and considering our first quarter performance, the Company reaffirms its full year 2026 guidance of adjusted diluted earnings per share between $7.90 and $8.30, while recognizing the impact that volatility across aluminum, energy and transportation markets may have on input costs and consumer spending. Second quarter adjusted diluted earnings per share are expected to be in the range of $2.10 to $2.20. The Company expects to generate approximately $900 million in adjusted free cash flow in 2026 after capital spending of approximately $550 million, which includes initial spending related to the recently announced beverage can plant in India," commented Kevin C. Clothier, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.
Non-GAAP MeasuresSegment income, adjusted free cash flow, net debt, adjusted net leverage ratio, adjusted net income, the adjusted effective tax rate, adjusted diluted earnings per share, net interest expense, EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA are not defined terms under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (non-GAAP measures). Non-GAAP measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for income from operations, cash flow, leverage ratio, net income, effective tax rates, diluted earnings per share or interest expense and interest income prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP and may not be comparable to calculations of similarly titled measures by other companies.
The Company views segment income as the principal measure of the performance of its operations and adjusted free cash flow and adjusted net leverage ratio as the principal measures of its liquidity. The Company considers all of these measures in the allocation of resources. Adjusted free cash flow has certain limitations, however, including that it does not represent the residual cash flow available for discretionary expenditures since other non-discretionary expenditures, such as mandatory debt service requirements, are not deducted from the measure. The amount of mandatory versus discretionary expenditures can vary significantly between periods. The Company believes that adjusted free cash flow and adjusted net leverage ratio provide meaningful measures of liquidity and a useful basis for assessing the Company's ability to fund its activities, including the financing of acquisitions, debt repayments, share repurchases or dividends. The Company believes that adjusted net income, segment income, the adjusted effective tax rate and adjusted diluted earnings per share are useful in evaluating the Company's operations as these measures are adjusted for items that affect comparability between periods. Segment income, adjusted free cash flow, net debt, adjusted net leverage ratio, adjusted net income, the adjusted effective tax rate, adjusted diluted earnings per share, net interest expense, EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA are derived from the Company's Consolidated Statements of Operations, Cash Flows and Consolidated Balance Sheets, as applicable, and reconciliations to segment income, adjusted free cash flow, net debt, adjusted net leverage ratio, adjusted net income, the adjusted effective tax rate, adjusted diluted earnings per share and adjusted EBITDA can be found within this release. Reconciliations of estimated adjusted diluted earnings per share, adjusted free cash flow, the adjusted effective tax rates and adjusted net leverage ratio for the second quarter and full year of 2026 to estimated diluted earnings per share, operating cash flow, the effective tax rate and income from operations on a GAAP basis are not provided in this release due to the unavailability of estimates of the following, the timing and magnitude of which the Company is unable to reliably forecast without unreasonable efforts, which are excluded from estimated adjusted diluted earnings per share, the adjusted effective tax rates and adjusted net leverage ratio, and could have a significant impact on earnings per share, the effective tax rate and income from operations on a GAAP basis: gains or losses on the sale of businesses or other assets, restructuring and other costs, asset impairment charges, asbestos-related charges, losses from early extinguishment of debt, pension settlement and curtailment charges, the tax and noncontrolling interest impact of the items above, and the impact of tax law changes or other tax matters.
Conference CallThe Company will hold a conference call tomorrow, April 28, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. (EDT) to discuss this news release. Forward-looking and other material information may be discussed on the conference call. The dial-in numbers for the conference call are 630-395-0194 or toll-free 888-324-8108 and the access password is "packaging." A live webcast of the call will be made available to the public on the internet at the Company's website, www.crowncork.com. A replay of the conference call will be available for a one-week period ending at midnight on May 5, 2026. The telephone numbers for the replay are 203-369-0896 or toll free 866-427-6407.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking StatementsExcept for historical information, all other information in this press release consists of forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors, including expected levels of capital expenditures, free cash flow and earnings; the Company's ability to continue to operate its plants, distribute its products, and maintain its supply chain, including any impact of the ongoing Middle East conflict; the Company's ability to complete the project in Northern India; the future impact of currency translation; the continuation of performance and market trends in 2026, including consumer preference for beverage cans and global beverage can demand; the future impact of inflation, including the potential for higher interest rates and energy and transportation prices and the Company's ability to recover raw material and other inflationary costs, including tariffs and retaliatory trade measures; future demand for food cans; the Company's ability to deliver continuous operational improvement and future demand in the Transit Packaging segment that may cause actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause the statements made in this press release or the actual results of operations or financial condition of the Company to differ are discussed under the caption "Forward Looking Statements" in the Company's Form 10-K Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 2025 and in subsequent filings made prior to or after the date hereof. The Company does not intend to review or revise any particular forward-looking statement in light of future events.
Crown Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, is a worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and sale of packaging products for consumer goods and industrial products. World headquarters are located in Tampa, Florida.
For more information, contact:Kevin C. Clothier, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, (215) 698-5281Thomas T. Fischer, Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Affairs, (215) 552-3720
Unaudited Consolidated Statements of Operations, Balance Sheets, Statements of Cash Flows, Segment Information and Supplemental Data follow.
Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited)
(in millions, except share and per share data)
Three Months Ended
March 31,
2026
2025
Net sales
$3,259
$2,887
Cost of products sold
2,615
2,262
Depreciation and amortization
118
110
Selling and administrative expense
159
152
Restructuring and other
2
(2)
Income from operations (1)
365
365
Loss on debt extinguishment
3
Other pension and postretirement
5
5
Foreign exchange
(3)
2
Earnings before interest and taxes
360
358
Interest expense
97
99
Interest income
(12)
(13)
Income from operations before income taxes
275
272
Provision for income taxes
70
46
Equity earnings
1
1
Net income
206
227
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests
31
34
Net income attributable to Crown Holdings
$ 175
$ 193
Earnings per share attributable to Crown Holdings
common shareholders:
Basic
$ 1.56
$ 1.65
Diluted
$ 1.56
$ 1.65
Weighted average common shares outstanding:
Basic
111,982,661
116,672,836
Diluted
112,533,102
117,039,580
Actual common shares outstanding at quarter end
111,756,236
116,393,894
(1) Reconciliation from income from operations to segment income follows.
Consolidated Supplemental Financial Data (Unaudited)(in millions)
Reconciliation from Income from Operations to Segment Income
The Company views segment income, as defined below, as a principal measure of performance of its operations and for the allocation of resources. Segment income is defined by the Company as income from operations adjusted to exclude intangibles amortization charges and provisions for restructuring and other.
Three Months Ended
March 31,
2026
2025
Income from operations
$
365
$
365
Intangibles amortization
38
35
Restructuring and other
2
(2)
Segment income
$
405
$
398
Segment Information
Net Sales
Three Months Ended
March 31,
2026
2025
Americas Beverage
$
1,530
