Howmet Aerospace Q4 Earnings: Revenue Up 9%, Beats Estimates, Cautious 2025 Outlook And More

Howmet Aerospace Inc. HWM reported fourth-quarter revenue growth of 9% year-over-year to $1.89 billion, surpassing the $1.879 billion consensus estimate. The increase was driven by a 13% surge in commercial aerospace sales.

Revenue by Segments: Engine Products $972 million (+14% YoY); Fastening Systems $401 million (+11% YoY); Engineered Structures $275 million (+13% YoY); and Forged Wheels $243 million (-12% YoY).

Adjusted EBITDA excluding special items was $507 million (+27.4% YoY), and the margin was 26.8%, up from 23% YoY. Operating income increased by 36.5% YoY to $445 million, and the margin expanded by 470 bps to 23.5%.

Adjusted EPS stood at $0.74 (+40% YoY), beating the consensus of $0.72.

Howmet Aerospace repurchased $190 million in the quarter, $500 million in full-year 2024, and $50 million in January 2025, retiring a total of ~7.9 million shares. The remaining share repurchase authorization is $2.15 billion as of January 31, 2025.

In the fourth quarter 2024, the company paid down $60 million of its U.S. dollar-denominated Term Loan, resulting in annualized interest expense savings of approximately $3 million.

Howmet Aerospace’s operating cash flow for 2024 stood at $1.298 billion compared to $901 million a year ago. Free cash flow was $977 million. At the end of the quarter, the company’s cash balance was $564 million.

“The outlook for commercial aerospace remains solid with rising OEM production rates supported by strong demand as well as continued healthy growth in engine spares demand. We expect continued growth in the defense aerospace and industrial end markets, with the commercial transportation market anticipated to be soft until the second half of 2025,” commented John Plant, Howmet Aerospace Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

“We continue to employ a cautious view on underlying build rates in our guidance, assuming The Boeing Company produces approximately 25 737-MAX aircraft per month and 6 787 aircraft per month on average across 2025 and Airbus averages mid-50s per month on the A320 and approximately 6 per month on the A350,” added Plant.

Q1 Outlook: Howmet Aerospace expects revenue of $1.925 billion – $1.945 billion, versus the consensus of $1.918 billion, and adjusted EPS of $0.75 – $0.77, versus the consensus of $0.71.

The company expects an Adj. EBITDA margin of 28.6% – 27%, with Adj. EBITDA in the range of $515 million – $525 million.

2025 Outlook: Howmet Aerospace expects revenue of $7.93 billion—$8.13 billion versus the consensus of $8.036 billion and adjusted EPS of $3.13 – $3.21 versus the consensus of $3.20.

The company expects 2025 Adj. EBITDA margin of ~26.5% and Adj. EBITDA of $2.105 billion – $2.155 billion.

Price Action: HWM shares are trading lower by 3.05% at $124.18 at the last check Thursday.

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