Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) Issues Earnings Results

Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.07, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $199.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $184.85 million. Ecovyst had a negative net margin of 14.34% and a positive return on equity of 8.93%. The company’s revenue was up 33.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. Ecovyst updated its FY 2026 guidance to 0.450-0.650 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Ecovyst’s conference call:

• Strong 2025 performance and balance sheet — Ecovyst delivered full‑year Adjusted EBITDA of $172 million, generated $78 million of free cash flow, and finished the year with net leverage of 1.2x and roughly $265 million of available liquidity.
• Transformative divestiture completed — The company sold the Advanced Materials & Catalysts segment for $556 million and used $465 million of proceeds to pay down the term loan, refocusing Ecovyst on its sulfur solutions business.
• Demand and growth positioning for 2026 — Management expects higher volumes for both virgin and regenerated sulfuric acid (mining-driven growth and less refinery downtime), and the May Waggaman acquisition (~10% incremental volume) plus a ~$20 million Gulf Coast storage/rail investment should improve supply flexibility and access to mining customers.
• Material cost and near-term margin pressures — Sulfur costs are expected to rise materially with an estimated pass‑through impact of ~$125 million in 2026, turnarounds are forecasted to increase costs by ~$80 million, and capex is being raised, which together compress near‑term free cash flow and margins despite pass‑through treatment.
• Active capital allocation strategy — With reduced leverage and cash generation, Ecovyst is pursuing a mix of organic investments, accretive bolt‑on M&A, and share repurchases (≈$50M repurchased in 2025, $25–$40M planned in Q1 2026, and ≈$183M remaining authorization), signaling continued shareholder returns.

Ecovyst Stock Performance

ECVT traded up $0.15 during trading on Thursday, hitting $11.47. The stock had a trading volume of 2,984,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,316,805. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.33, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.25. Ecovyst has a twelve month low of $5.24 and a twelve month high of $12.33. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $10.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.44.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECVT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ecovyst from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Citigroup upped their target price on Ecovyst from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Ecovyst in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Ecovyst from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Ecovyst from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ecovyst during the 4th quarter worth approximately $398,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecovyst in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,712,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecovyst by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 521,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,076,000 after buying an additional 98,448 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ecovyst in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $176,000. Finally, VARCOV Co. acquired a new position in Ecovyst during the fourth quarter worth $314,000. 86.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecovyst Company Profile

Ecovyst Inc is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and markets performance-enhancing products for industrial applications. The company’s core offerings include catalysts, phosphorus-based additives and barium carbonate materials, all designed to improve process efficiency, product quality and environmental performance. Ecovyst serves a diverse customer base in the energy, refining, chemical, polymer, food and consumer goods industries.

The company’s Catalysts segment supplies fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) and hydroprocessing catalysts that help petroleum refiners maximize fuel yield, reduce sulfur emissions and meet increasingly stringent environmental standards.