O-I Glass, Inc. OI reported a fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted loss per share of 5 cents, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 11 cents. The company posted earnings of 12 cents in the year-ago quarter. The downside was led by significant production curtailment due to sluggish demand.

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Including one-time items, O-I Glass reported a loss of $1.00 for the quarter compared with the prior-year quarter’s loss of $3.05.

OI’s Q4 Revenues & Margins Dip Y/Y

Revenues were $1.53 billion for the quarter under review, down 6.8% from the year-ago quarter due to lower average selling prices and unfavorable foreign currency translation. The top line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.61 billion. Sales volume (in tons) was flat year over year.

O-I Glass, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

O-I Glass, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | O-I Glass, Inc. Quote

Cost of sales was down 6.3% year over year to $1.32 billion. Gross profit decreased 10% year over year to $208 million. The gross margin was 13.6% for the quarter under review compared with 14.1% in the prior-year quarter. Selling and administrative expenses were down 6% year over year to $109 million.

Segment operating profit amounted to $136 million for the reported quarter, down from the prior-year period’s $168 million. The segment operating margin was 8.9% compared with the prior-year quarter’s 10.2%.

O-I Glass Q4 Segmental Performance

Net sales in the Americas segment dipped 3.4% year over year to $891 million for the fourth quarter. We expected net sales of $899 million for the quarters. Operating profit rose 3.2% year over year to $96 million. Our estimate was $106 million.

Net sales in the Europe segment were $604 million for the reported quarter, down 12.3% year over year. Our estimate for the segment’s net sales was $802 million. The segment’s operating profit fell 46.7% year over year to $40 million. The downside was led by lower sales volume and unfavorable net price. We expected the segment's operating profit to be $127 million for the quarter.

OI’s Q4 Cash Flow & Balance Sheet Updates

O-I Glass had cash and cash equivalents of $734 million at the end of Dec 31, 2024, down from the $913 million at 2023-end. The company generated $318 million of cash in operating activities in the quarter under review compared with the prior-year quarter’s $381 million.

OI’s total debt was $4.97 billion as of Dec 31, 2024, up from $4.95 billion as of Dec 31, 2023.

O-I Glass’ 2024 Performance

For 2024, OI’s adjusted earnings were 81 cents, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 75 cents. The figure came slightly above the company’s latest guidance of 70-80 cents. In 2023, OI reported adjusted earnings of $3.09 per share. 

Including one-time items, the company reported a loss of 69 cents per share for 2024 compared with loss of 67 cents in 2023.

Total revenues fell 8.1% year over year to $6.53 billion, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.61 billion.

OI’s 2025 Outlook

O-I Glass expects adjusted earnings of $1.20-$1.50 per share. Sales volume growth (in tons) is projected to be flat with that reported in 2024. OI expects the 2025 free cash flow to be $150-$200 million.

O-I Glass Stock’s Price Performance

Shares of the company have lost 19.1% over the past year compared with the industry’s fall of 15%.

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OI’s Zacks Rank

O-I Glass currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Performances of Other Packaging Stocks

Packaging Corporation of America PKG reported an adjusted EPS of $2.47 in the fourth quarter of 2024, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.51 by a margin of 2%. The bottom line matched PKG’s guidance and grew 16% year over year. The upside was driven by higher prices and mix, improved volume in both segments, and lower freight and logistics expenses. However, these gains were somewhat offset by an increase in operating costs, scheduled maintenance outage expenses, depreciation expenses and other expenses.

Sales in the fourth quarter rose 10.7% year over year to $2.15 billion due to higher volumes and price/mix in both segments. The top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.13 billion.

Graphic Packaging Holding Company GPK posted an adjusted EPS of 59 cents in the fourth quarter of 2024, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 63 cents. The bottom line marked a 21% decline from the year-ago quarter. Sales in the fourth quarter were down 7% year over year to $2.1 billion. The top line fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.18 billion. 

The decline in GPK’s sales was attributed to a $103-million negative impact of the divestiture of the Augusta, GA, bleached paperboard manufacturing facility, and bleached paperboard price and volume declines. The company also witnessed a $22-million net decline in sales from packaging operations, wherein price declines were partially offset by volume growth. Other acquisitions and divestitures (excluding Augusta) had a $14-million unfavorable impact on sales in the quarter, while foreign exchange had a $15-million unfavorable impact.

Silgan Holdings SLGN reported a record fourth-quarter adjusted EPS of 85 cents, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 82 cents. This marked a 35% increase from earnings of 63 cents per share a year ago.

Silgan’s fourth-quarter revenues rose 5% year over year to $1.41 billion, surpassing the Zacks Consensus of $1.39 billion. The improvement was attributed to the contribution from the acquisition of Weener Packaging in the Dispensing and Specialty Closures segment, partially offset by a less favorable mix in the Metal Containers segment.

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