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FY2026 Q2
Raised
The Sherwin-Williams Company earnings call
Buzzberg read
Company raises full-year sales and EPS guidance on strong first half.
Sherwin-Williams reported strong Q2 results with sales and EPS beating guidance, driven by strong execution and share gains across all segments. The company raised its full-year guidance, signaling confidence in its ability to navigate a challenging demand environment through pricing power and cost discipline. Consolidated sales grew by a high single-digit percentage, with strong growth in all segments, particularly Protective & Marine and Commercial.
Buzzberg read Company raises full-year sales and EPS guidance on strong first half. Sherwin-Williams reported strong Q2 results with sales and EPS beating guidance, driven by strong execution and share gains across all segments. The company raised its full-year guidance, signaling confidence in its ability to navigate a challenging demand environment through pricing power and cost discipline. Consolidated sales grew by a high single-digit percentage, with strong growth in all segments, particularly Protective & Marine and Commercial. Read full analysisCollapse analysis
Sherwin-Williams reported strong Q2 results with sales and EPS beating guidance, driven by strong execution and share gains across all segments. The company raised its full-year guidance, signaling confidence in its ability to navigate a challenging demand environment through pricing power and cost discipline. Consolidated sales grew by a high single-digit percentage, with strong growth in all segments, particularly Protective & Marine and Commercial.
- Company raised full-year sales and EPS guidance, driven by strong first-half performance and momentum.
- Management announced an 8% price increase effective September 1st to offset raw material inflation, which is expected to be a headwind in H2.
- The company walked away from a joint bid with Nippon Paint for Akzo Nobel's decorative coatings business due to lack of engagement and value discipline.
Revenue$6.7893B+20% QoQ
EPS$3.70+57% QoQ
Gross margin49.17%Reported
Operating margin18.13%Reported
6 grounded callouts
What matters now
The highest-signal changes from the call.
Pricing
8% price increase effective September 1st to offset inflation.
Restructuring
Store closures total 57 year-to-date, net adds about 30.
Show 3 more callouts
Demand
Protective and Marine sales up mid-teens, eighth straight quarter of high single-digit growth.
Costs
Raw material inflation expected high single digit in second half.
M&A
M&A pipeline disciplined, passed on most assets.
Reported period
Actuals
| Metric | Reported | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $6.7893B | +20% QoQ |
| EPS | $3.70 | +57% QoQ |
| Gross margin | 49.17% | Reported |
| Operating margin | 18.13% | Reported |
| Free cash flow | $1.2391B | Reported |
| Capex | $0.1084B | Reported |
Forward-looking
Forward guidance
| Metric | Period | Range | Midpoint | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPS | FY2026 | $11.80–$12.20 | $12.00 | Raised |
| Revenue | FY2026 | 5%–7% | 6% | Raised |
AI, capex & demand read
Management read
Confident
Management repeatedly emphasized execution and share gains despite a soft demand environment, raising guidance and describing a clear strategy for growth.
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Companiesreturns since call
Partners
Partners
Heidi Petz
Sherwin-Williams sees continued share gains in the Pro segment through its strategic partnerships with Lowe's and Menards, supporting these retailers' pro-focused growth strategies.
Evidence
“We've got, obviously, our very strategic partnerships, Lowe's and Menards and others. But this is a growing segment, still a small base, but the fundamentals are intact there.”
Competitors
Competitors
Heidi Petz
Sherwin-Williams walked away from its bid for Akzo Nobel's decorative coatings business due to lack of engagement and pricing discipline, indicating a potential for future asset sales by Akzo Nobel at lower valuations.
Evidence
“there was an opportunity at the right price, at the right time, at the right value that would have been something that would absolutely have been complementary to our strategy. Having said that, I think timing is everything, value is”
Competitors
Heidi Petz
Sherwin-Williams partnered with Nippon Paint on a joint bid for Akzo Nobel assets but both walked away, highlighting the difficulty of executing large-scale M&A in the coatings sector.
Evidence
“mid-quarter you and Nippon made a bid for AXO and then, you know, relatively quickly thereafter pulled that bid.”
Supply chain
Supply chain
Heidi Petz
The raw material inflation outlook has been revised upward for H2 to high single digits, and the September price increase is designed to offset this, signaling a pricing power dynamic that could affect competitors. — Sherwin's ability to delay price increases and pass through costs indicates strong pricing power in architectural paints, but this could pressure smaller competitors and value-segment players who may not be able to fully offset input cost inflation.
Evidence
“Inflation remains a variable we are actively managing. Our supplier relationships are strong and continue to be a competitive advantage, and we do not expect raw material availability to be an issue for us. At the same time, we are not”
Supply chain
Heidi Petz
Sherwin-Williams' protective and marine business is growing at a mid-teens rate for the eighth consecutive quarter, driven by data center construction, semiconductor fabs, and manufacturing onshoring, highlighting strong demand in these specific industrial verticals. — This signals sustained, secular growth in the construction and maintenance of large-scale industrial facilities, which benefits companies providing HVAC, electrical, and other infrastructure for these buildouts.
Evidence
“Protective and Marine continued its momentum as sales increased by a mid-teens percentage versus a high single-digit comparison. It was the eighth straight quarter of at least high single-digit growth in this business. Data centers,”
External signals
Supply-chain alpha · 3returns since call
Sherwin-Williams is actively pruning its store portfolio (57 closures) to improve profitability and enable faster growth in the future, indicating a focus on operational efficiency over top-line store count.
Evidence
“As we have done for decades, we continually assess and optimize our store portfolio to drive profitability, strengthen operational flexibility, drive improvement in return on net assets employed, and ensure that we maintain the highest lev…”
The raw material inflation outlook has been revised upward for H2 to high single digits, and the September price increase is designed to offset this, signaling a pricing power dynamic that could affect competitors.
Evidence
“Inflation remains a variable we are actively managing. Our supplier relationships are strong and continue to be a competitive advantage, and we do not expect raw material availability to be an issue for us. At the same time, we are not imm…”
Sherwin-Williams' protective and marine business is growing at a mid-teens rate for the eighth consecutive quarter, driven by data center construction, semiconductor fabs, and manufacturing onshoring, highlighting strong demand in these specific industrial verticals.
Methodology & coverage
Management-only analysis. All 8 validated company mentions are shown. Reported actuals and forward guidance are kept separate. Public evidence is limited to eight short attributed quotes. AI-generated analysis can be incomplete or wrong; verify important claims against the original source.