Solstice Advanced Materials on Wednesday provided a 2026 profit outlook that falls short of market expectations, overshadowing healthy fourth-quarter top-line momentum and continued strength in key demand streams.
The specialty materials company, spun off from Honeywell in October, projected adjusted earnings per share for 2026 of $2.45 to $2.75. That range sits below the analysts' average estimate of $2.93 per share, based on LSEG data.
On revenue, Solstice put full-year sales in a $3.9 billion to $4.1 billion band, against a consensus figure of $3.96 billion. The guidance implies only modest growth relative to 2025 and highlights ongoing pressure on profitability as the firm contends with higher operating costs and the industry-wide transition to low-global-warming-potential refrigerants.
Company management pointed to a number of factors compressing margins: the shift in product mix associated with refrigerant replacements, periods of plant downtime and other operational headwinds. Those costs have offset some of the benefit from demand strength in segments linked to nuclear energy, data centers and artificial intelligence, the company said.
Chief Executive David Sewell described the business as increasingly focused on secular growth trends now that it is standalone. He said rapid expansion in AI-driven data centers is lifting demand for the company's thermal management and refrigerant offerings, while growth in advanced computing is supporting sales of semiconductor electronic materials. Sewell also noted that rising power needs tied to AI and data center buildouts are contributing to demand in the nuclear energy business, and he cited double-digit fourth-quarter growth across those segments.
For the October-December quarter, net sales increased 8% to $987 million, helped by double-digit gains in Nuclear (Alternative Energy Services), Electronic Materials and refrigerant products. That top-line result beat the estimate of $923.3 million.
Despite the sales advance, Solstice's adjusted standalone EBITDA for the quarter fell nearly 20% to $189 million. The company's margin narrowed by 662 basis points to 19.1% in the period, reflecting the operational and cost pressures management highlighted.
Context and outlook
Solstice's outlook underscores a clear divergence between demand fundamentals across several high-growth end markets - including AI-related data centers, semiconductors and nuclear energy - and near-term margin dynamics driven by cost and operational transitions. The company expects to absorb those pressures while pursuing the secular opportunities it identified as a standalone firm.