Silgan (NYSE:SLGN) executives used the company’s fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call to emphasize resilience through shifting consumer trends, progress on integration and cost initiatives, and an outlook that assumes continued growth in key end markets—particularly dispensing products and wet pet food.
Leadership updates and 2025 highlights
CEO Adam Greenlee opened the call by welcoming newly promoted CFO Sean Fabry, who assumed the role in November, and noting that EVP Bob Lewis plans to retire at the end of March. Greenlee said Lewis has been with the company since 2004 and credited his leadership in finance and corporate development with contributing meaningfully to growth and value creation.
Management also said it:
- Successfully integrated Weener and achieved full run-rate synergies.
- Completed a multi-year cost savings program as expected.
- Continued to outpace peers in targeted organic growth products and end markets.
Fourth-quarter financial results
Fabry said fourth-quarter 2025 net sales were approximately $1.5 billion, up 4% year over year, driven primarily by contractual pass-through of higher raw materials—mostly in Metal Containers—and favorable foreign currency translation. Total adjusted EBIT was $150.6 million, “relatively flat” versus the prior year, as higher adjusted EBIT in Metal Containers was offset primarily by higher corporate expense.
Adjusted EPS was $0.67, down $0.18 from the prior-year period, which Fabry attributed to higher interest expense and a higher tax rate. He said the fourth-quarter tax rate was negatively affected by certain non-recurring, non-cash tax items that impacted the tax rate in the quarter by about 3% and the year by roughly 0.5%.
Segment performance: closures strength, pet food growth, and destocking dynamics
Dispensing and Specialty Closures (DSC): Fourth-quarter sales increased 1% year over year, with Fabry citing 4% foreign currency translation as a primary driver. Higher volumes for “high-value fragrance and beauty products” were offset by an anticipated destocking impact in personal and home care. Adjusted EBIT was comparable to the prior year’s record level; management said the benefit of double-digit fragrance and beauty growth and currency was largely offset by lower personal and home care volumes and under-absorbed costs related to production and inventory reductions.
In the Q&A, Greenlee and Fabry said DSC destocking in personal and home care occurred in the fourth quarter in line with expectations and, importantly, management believes that destocking is complete for DSC and should not impact first-quarter 2026 volumes.
Metal Containers: Fourth-quarter sales increased 11% year over year, driven by raw material pass-through (steel and aluminum) and 4% volume growth. Fabry said volumes rose 7% in pet food, which the company described as continuing to experience strong growth. The segment also saw “a limited amount of pre-buy volume” as some customers pulled forward volume ahead of anticipated raw material inflation in 2026. Adjusted EBIT increased about 5% year over year, aided by operational cost management; Fabry estimated pre-buy volumes contributed about $2 million to 2025 adjusted EBIT.
Greenlee also addressed a challenging customer situation in Metal Containers during 2025, saying teams worked to nearly fully offset the secondary impact of the customer exiting certain markets. With “recently announced developments” regarding the customer, management said it believes Silgan is uniquely positioned to continue supplying the business and does not anticipate further impact.
Custom Containers: Fourth-quarter sales fell 8% year over year due to lower-margin business exited through a planned footprint optimization. Excluding those volumes, Fabry said volume increased 1%. Adjusted EBIT was comparable to the prior year. Greenlee said the segment delivered a record year of profitability despite significant destocking in personal and home care products in the fourth quarter, supported by cost reduction programs and commercial successes. However, management expects some limited destocking carryover in Custom Containers into January and the first quarter of 2026, which it attributed in part to the segment’s distribution component.
2026 guidance: EPS range, free cash flow target, and volume expectations
For full-year 2026, Fabry guided to EPS of $3.70 to $3.90, compared with $3.72 in 2025. He said higher operating income is expected to be partially offset by higher interest and tax expense. The outlook assumes approximately $205 million of interest expense, a 25% to 26% tax rate, about $45 million of corporate expense, and a weighted average share count of roughly 106 million.
Interest expense is expected to rise versus 2025 due primarily to the maturity of Silgan’s 1.4% senior secured notes coming due in April.
On volumes, management reiterated expectations discussed earlier in the call:
- DSC: low- to mid-single-digit volume growth in 2026, driven by a mid-single-digit increase in dispensing products and improved mix.
- Metal Containers: low single-digit volume growth, driven primarily by mid-single-digit pet food growth; management said pet food now represents more than half of segment volume.
- Custom Containers: volumes expected to be comparable to 2025 levels, with first-quarter softness due to limited destocking carryover expected to be offset in later quarters.
Silgan also provided a free cash flow estimate of approximately $450 million for 2026. Fabry said operating earnings growth is expected to be offset by higher cash interest and tax, along with slightly higher capital spending. CapEx is projected at about $310 million, which management said will support investments tied to dispensing and pet food growth.
First-quarter 2026 outlook and key watch items
For the first quarter of 2026, Silgan guided to adjusted EPS of $0.70 to $0.80, compared with $0.82 in the prior-year period, with first-quarter interest expense expected to be about $45 million and a tax rate of 25% to 26%.
By segment, Fabry said:
- DSC adjusted EBIT is expected to be below the prior year, reflecting year-over-year inventory dynamics—specifically, the benefit of selling through prior-year inventory in an inflationary environment in 2025 versus a headwind from selling through prior-year inventory in 2026 for certain products in Europe.
- Metal Containers adjusted EBIT is expected to be comparable to slightly below the prior year, due to volume pulled forward into the fourth quarter from pre-buy activity.
- Custom Containers adjusted EBIT is expected to be modestly below the prior year due to destocking carryover into January.
Executives said they have incorporated a broader view of “unknown risks” into guidance, citing factors such as affordability discussions and other macro influences affecting customers. Still, Greenlee maintained that much of Silgan’s portfolio is tied to consumer staples, and he argued that the food can remains a low-cost way to deliver nutrition even after tariff-related raw material cost increases that are contractually passed through.
Silgan said it expects to report first-quarter results near the end of April.
About Silgan (NYSE:SLGN)
Silgan Holdings Inc (NYSE: SLGN) is a leading supplier of rigid packaging solutions for consumer goods manufacturers. The company’s core business activities center on the design, production and distribution of metal and plastic containers, closures and dispense systems. Silgan serves a broad array of end markets, including food and beverage, home and personal care, health care and industrial products, providing both standard and custom packaging formats.
Founded in 1987 and headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, Silgan has grown organically and through strategic acquisitions to establish a global manufacturing footprint.
