On July 29, PPG announced its operating results for the second quarter of 2025. In the first half of this year, the company achieved net sales of $7.879 billion (approximately 57.2 billion RMB), a year-on-year decrease of 2.54%; operating profit was $838 million, down 8.52% year-on-year; net profit attributable to the parent company was $823 million (about 6 billion RMB), down 11.31% year-on-year. As of the end of Q2, total cash and short-term investments reached $1.6 billion, net debt totaled $5.7 billion, an increase of about $480 million compared to the same period last year. Operating cash flow for the first six months of 2025 was $369 million, improving by $64 million year-on-year.
According to the financial report, PPG’s Q2 net sales were $4.195 billion, down 1% year-on-year. Due to increases in volume and selling prices, organic sales grew 2% year-on-year, while asset divestitures reduced sales by 3% this quarter. The high-performance coatings segment delivered strong results with 2% organic sales growth. Structural price increases were partially offset by some index-based customer contract price reductions, resulting in a 1% year-on-year rise in overall selling prices. Overall volume grew 1% compared to the same quarter last year.
The company stated that the strong growth momentum was driven by double-digit organic growth in protective and marine coatings businesses, and high single-digit percentage growth in aerospace and packaging coatings. The high-performance coatings segment achieved record quarterly sales and earnings, with organic sales growing 6%, supported by increasing demand for technology-advantaged products and services. This was partially offset by weak demand for architectural coatings, as consumer confidence in Europe remained lukewarm, with project-related expenditures slightly improving on a sequential basis but down year-on-year in Mexico. In industrial coatings, volume was flat, outperforming industry demand due to initial benefits from share gains.
Organic sales in the U.S. and Canada grew by a mid-single-digit percentage, marking the second consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth; Latin America also saw organic sales growth, while Asia-Pacific and Europe experienced slight declines. Additionally, PPG’s consolidated operating EBITDA margin was 20.3%, down 120 basis points from Q2 last year. Reported diluted earnings per share (EPS) were $1.98, with adjusted EPS at $2.22.
PPG Chairman and CEO Tim Knavish commented, “I am pleased with our growth momentum as we achieved 2% organic sales growth, equally contributed by volume and selling price. This organic growth reflects the strength of PPG’s product portfolio and the benefits of our commercial execution across global operations in an increasingly dynamic macro environment. The high-performance coatings segment delivered record quarterly sales and earnings with 6% organic sales growth driven by strong demand for our technology-advantaged products. In industrial coatings, after several quarters of contraction, sales were flat due to initial benefits from share gains.”
Global net sales in the architectural coatings segment were $1.018 billion, down 5% year-on-year. The divestiture of the Russian architectural coatings business negatively impacted results by 4%. Selling prices rose 1%, offset by a 2% volume decline. Operating profit was $160 million, down 24% year-on-year due to adverse currency translation, business divestitures, and volume decline (partially offset by pricing and cost control). Segment EBITDA declined 21% to $187 million.
Organic sales in the EMEA architectural coatings segment declined by a single-digit percentage, with higher prices offset by lower volume. Overall demand was weak in Europe, mainly due to declines in Eastern Europe partially offset by organic growth in Northern Europe and the UK. The company expects a similar trend in Q3 2025, with slight organic sales declines year-on-year in European architectural coatings.
Organic sales declined by a single-digit percentage due to strong momentum in Mexico offset by declines in Australia. Retail sales in Mexico were stable this quarter, although project-related spending remained below last year due to economic uncertainty despite sequential improvement. The company expects continued sequential improvement in project-related spending to support positive organic sales in Latin America and Asia-Pacific architectural coatings in Q3 2025.
Net sales reached a record $1.512 billion, up 7% year-on-year. Selling prices rose 3%, and volume grew 3%, driven by aerospace coatings, transportation solutions, protective and marine coatings. Currency translation also contributed positively. EBITDA set a quarterly record, growing 8% to $389 million. Operating profit was $356 million, up 9%, partially offset by growth-related investments. EBITDA margin rose 30 basis points to 25.7%.
Quarterly sales hit a record high, with organic sales up high single digits year-on-year due to price and volume increases. Demand remains strong with a backlog of $300 million. Global air travel continues to improve year-on-year and is now consistent with pre-pandemic levels. The company is focused on removing bottlenecks and expanding capacity to support additional volume and earnings growth. Q3 2025 demand and organic sales growth are expected to continue at similar rates.
Organic sales declined by a single-digit percentage year-on-year. In the U.S., organic sales were flat as benefits from stock price increases and customer order patterns partially offset declines in collision claims. PPG increased subscriptions to PPG LINQ? and installations of PPG Moonwalk?, totaling nearly 3,000 units, supporting customer productivity and market share gains. Outside North America, organic sales declined high single digits. The company expects Q3 2025 organic sales declines due to customer order patterns and insurance claim decreases, partially offset by price increases.
Organic sales grew double digits, driven by volume growth. This marked the ninth consecutive quarter of year-on-year volume growth, mainly reflecting market share gains due to demand for PPG’s sustainable advantage products. The company expects Q3 2025 organic sales to outperform the market on share gains and industry growth.
Organic sales grew single digits on strong demand and market share gains, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of year-on-year volume growth. Seasonally, Q2 and Q3 sales are typically about twice those of Q1 and Q4 due to colder temperatures affecting application. Q3 organic sales are expected to grow year-on-year.
Net sales were $1.665 billion, down 5% year-on-year, including a 1% benefit from currency translation and a 5% impact from the divestiture of the silica products business. Organic sales declined 1%, reflecting pricing impacts from index-based customer contracts. Volume was flat, outperforming industry demand due to strong growth in packaging and specialty products offsetting declines in automotive production. Operating profit was $227 million, down 12%, and EBITDA fell 12% to $276 million, with a margin decline of 130 basis points to 16.6%, due to divestitures and pricing declines partially offset by cost controls.
Organic sales declined single digits year-on-year due to volume and index-based price decreases. Volume gains in Asia-Pacific and Latin America, including share growth in Brazil, were offset by declines in the U.S. and Europe. In China, automotive retail sales rose 15% year-on-year and exports by 10%. Global automotive production for Q3 is expected to increase slightly, with declines in Europe and Latin America and growth in North America and Asia-Pacific. The company expects market share gains to drive volume growth above the industry, resulting in positive organic sales in Q3.
Organic sales declined single digits due to index price declines. Despite a challenging macro industrial environment, volume was flat due to initial benefits from share gains. Sales in categories like general finishes and coils grew, while extrusion and consumer electronics weakened due to tariff uncertainty. Q3 demand is expected to remain moderate. PPG expects to benefit from previously announced price increases.
Organic sales reached a record high with high single-digit percentage growth, driven by volume gains in all regions partially offset by lower index pricing. Performance benefited from prior price increases, supported by expanded regional regulations and strong demand for beverage, food, and personal care packaging globally. The company expects Q3 organic sales to follow similar trends.
Global industrial production has leveled off; the macro environment in Q3 is expected to be similar to Q2. Market share gains in automotive OEM, packaging, and industrial coatings are beginning to show results, with automotive OEM expected to outperform the market starting in Q3. Overall organic sales in these segments are expected to be flat or show low single-digit growth year-on-year in Q3 2025.
Guidance for Q3 2025 operating results:
Full-year 2025 assumptions include:
Knavish said, “Looking ahead, our volume growth momentum is expected to accelerate in the second half, with strong year-over-year profit growth driven by share gains in our industrial coatings segment during Q3 and Q4, including automotive OEM, packaging, and industrial coatings expected to outperform the market. In high-performance coatings, most businesses are expected to achieve solid organic growth, partially offset by patch paint sales declines due to reduced industry activity and customer order patterns. Additionally, as project-related demand is expected to improve in the second half, we anticipate benefits for Mexico’s architectural coatings. The accelerating volume growth momentum and execution of self-help actions are expected to drive high single-digit EPS growth year-over-year in H2.”
Knavish added, “PPG’s diversified global portfolio, execution of self-help actions, strong cash generation, and robust balance sheet give me confidence in delivering our full-year commitments. We reiterate our full-year EPS guidance range of $7.75 to $8.05.”
