Crown Holdings management said aluminum prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) have eased from recent highs, a development the beverage can maker described as positive for can affordability for its customers and for consumers. The comments came on the company's third-quarter 2026 earnings call, transcribed by Investing.com on October 20, 2026. Chief Executive Tim Donahue said LME levels had dropped “below 3,000 or very close to 3,000” from a high he placed at around 3,500 or 3,600.
He also said the LME had “come off almost 20%.” The transcript does not specify the unit of measure or the reference date for these price levels, and they were cited verbally by management rather than taken from an official LME closing quotation. Based on the levels Donahue cited, the decline would be roughly 14% to 17%, so the “almost 20%” figure should be read as management's own characterization rather than a calculation the transcript supports. Metal costs were a significant driver of Crown's reported results.
In the Americas Beverage segment, revenues rose 20% in the quarter, primarily reflecting $240 million in pass-through of higher metal costs and higher sales unit volumes, according to Donahue. At the group level, net sales rose to $3.7 billion from $3.2 billion a year earlier, mainly due to higher global beverage can shipments and the pass-through of higher material costs. Global beverage can shipments rose 6% in the quarter.
Management said inflationary pressures linked to the Middle East conflict reduced third-quarter segment income by approximately $17 million across the business. On the earnings line, adjusted diluted earnings per share were $2.39, compared with a consensus estimate of $2.26, and revenue of $3.71 billion topped a forecast of $3.45 billion, according to Investing.com's consensus comparison. Despite the beat, Crown shares fell 3.59% to $110.77, according to Investing.com, which attributed the move to investor concern about inflation, slower expected volume growth in the fourth quarter and lingering geopolitical costs.
On pricing, Donahue said North American can contracts reprice using the producer price index (PPI), which he said was running at about 9%, with most repricing taking place around April 1 of 2027. He said this mechanism would recapture much of the cost headwind experienced in 2026. He noted that the PPI does not include LME prices, but said declining LME is “a good sign with respect to the affordability of cans for our customers and the consumer.” Asia and the Middle East rely more on annual repricing, according to management.
Donahue also said lower aluminum prices could support demand for cans against PET bottles from a cost perspective, and he said the lower metal price could give beverage companies room to promote their products. He added that it would be “nice to see some easing on the Midwest premium,” but the transcript does not quantify the premium or its movement. Management maintained its full-year 2026 adjusted diluted EPS guidance in a range of $8.35 to $8.45 and guided fourth-quarter adjusted EPS to $1.63 to $1.73.
It expects full-year global beverage can volume growth of 4% to 5%. Source: Investing.com, “Earnings call transcript: Crown Holdings tops Q3 2026 estimates, shares fall,” published October 20, 2026. Metal price levels are as cited verbally by Crown management on the call and have not been verified against LME market data.
Source: investing.com