Ecovyst delivered a sharp turnaround in the first quarter of 2026, reporting a major jump in sales, a swing to profitability, and a raised full-year outlook as demand strengthened across its sulfuric acid businesses.
Revenue for the quarter ended March 31 rose to $215 million, up 50% year over year, driven by stronger pricing, higher volumes, and contributions from its Waggaman assets. The company posted net income of $5.7 million, reversing a $8.1 million loss in the prior-year quarter, while adjusted EBITDA surged 87% to $39.8 million.
Cash generation also improved, with operating cash flow climbing to $19.6 million, compared with $6.7 million a year earlier. The company ended the quarter with $162.6 million in cash and total liquidity of $236.9 million, even after repurchasing $35.7 million in stock.
CEO Kurt J. Bitting credited strong operational momentum and demand strength across key markets: “Ecovyst delivered an excellent start to 2026, reinforcing our positive outlook for the year ahead."
"Regeneration services sales grew at a double digit pace, driven by high refinery utilization, favorable alkylate economics and lower customer downtime as compared to last year, and favorable contractual pricing, while virgin sulfuric acid volumes rose more than thirty percent, reflecting continued solid demand and the contribution of our Waggaman assets.
"Even as the geopolitical and global macroeconomic landscape continues to evolve, our position as a leading U.S.-based supplier of critical sulfur products and services gives us confidence in our ability to continue building on this growth in 2026, and as such we are revising our full-year Adjusted EBITDA guidance."
On capital allocation, Bitting pointed to a stronger balance sheet following the divestiture of the company’s Advanced Materials & Catalysts business and continued shareholder returns: "The year-end divestiture of our Advanced Materials & Catalysts segment significantly strengthened our balance sheet and provides meaningful flexibility to accelerate growth through both organic investments and accretive inorganic opportunities."
"In 2026, we are investing approximately $20 million in two projects to better serve our growing virgin sulfuric acid customer base. We also returned approximately $36 million to stockholders through share repurchases in the first quarter, and we will continue to prioritize capital allocation options that maximize long-term value for our stockholders."
