Aug. 21 at 2:08 PM
UBS downgraded James Hardie Industries to Neutral from Buy after the building materials company reported weaker quarterly earnings and cut its North America outlook, its largest market.
Q1 underlying profit fell 29% YoY and missed consensus by 19%, driven by a 17% drop in North America earnings as volumes declined 14% despite a 3% rise in average selling prices.
The company cited volume drops of over 20% in key Southern U.S. states, which account for ~60% of its single-family exterior business. UBS noted that weaker U.S. housing construction, distributor destocking, affordability challenges, high interest rates, and tariff volatility pressured demand.
For FY26, James Hardie guided EBITDA of
$1.05B–
$1.15B including Azek, about 15–20% below market expectations, implying a low double-digit sales decline in its core siding business versus prior guidance for stable-to-slightly higher revenue.
$UBS $JHX