Pittsburgh-based coatings provider PPG Industries Inc. [NYSE: PPG] said revenue trends seen throughout 2025 in automotive refinishing (collision repair) and OEM coatings (fresh paint for new vehicles) continued apace in the fourth quarter and full year 2025.
The first category was down and the second category up, according to a PPG earnings press release after markets closed Tuesday afternoon, and a conference call with analysts as markets opened Wednesday morning.
Quarterly organic sales for performance coatings grew 3%, while net sales rose 5%. Automotive refinishing falls within this segment but, as was the case throughout 2025, growth came from other areas — specifically aerospace and marine coatings. Organic sales in those two categories saw double-digit percentage growth, while automotive refinish coatings decreased by a high-single-digit percentage, according to the press release.
“Segment EBITDA decreased by 4% versus the prior year, and segment EBITDA margin declined 200 basis points year over year to 21.1%, driven by lower automotive refinish coatings sales volumes,” the company said, alongside more investment in aerospace and marine.
Meanwhile, industrial coatings, which includes OEM products, grew organic sales 4% overall and the OEM portion of the segment “outpaced industry production” again.
“Automotive OEM coatings net sales increased 6% due to above-market sales volume growth as we outpaced the global automotive industry for the second consecutive quarter,” the release said.
“Segment EBITDA increased 6%, and segment EBITDA margin improved by 30 basis points compared to the fourth quarter 2024 driven by higher sales volumes and improved productivity,” offset by locked-in lower for pre-existing indexed contracts, as well as a divestment.
Companywide, PPG saw net sales of $3.9 billion for the quarter and $15.9 billion for the year.
Other metrics and looking ahead
In the third quarter, PPG cut its full-year adjusted EPS from a range of $7.75 to $8.05 down to one of $7.60 to $7.70; the final tally came in at $7.58. Net debt rose $630 million, year-over-year, approximately 14%.
“We ended the year with a strong cash balance of $2.2 billion and a net debt position of $5.1 billion, with $700 million of debt maturing in 2026, which we intend to pay from our current cash position,” Chairman and CEO Tim Knavish said on the conference call.
Knavish said PPG expects the same sales trends to continue in 2026.
“We expect to outgrow the [automotive OEM] market in the first quarter and for the full year in 2026,” he said. Alongside its other segments, “this will result in organic sales growth in the range of flat to positive low single-digit percentage” for the full year.
PPG moved quickly in early 2026, confirming in early January it bought EMM International, based in the Netherlands, a maker of collision repair painting tools, including Colad, Hamach, and Finixa-branded products. While trade publications mentioned PPG would have information on the acquisition in its full-year conference call, it wasn’t mentioned.
On Jan. 26, PPG also announced Quality Collision Group named the paint maker its sole supplier of automotive refinish coatings for nearly 100 OEM-certified locations in 13 states.
Paul Hughes