Crown Holdings delivered a first quarter that surpassed Wall Street’s expectations, prompting a positive reaction from investors. Management attributed the results primarily to robust beverage can demand in North America, Brazil, and Europe, as well as substantial growth in North American food can volumes. CEO Timothy Donahue emphasized that “outstanding manufacturing performance globally, including some additional benefits from the prior year’s Asian capacity optimization program, also contributed to the excellent results.” The company benefited from a favorable mix in the food can business and improved operational efficiency, which collectively pushed margins higher.
Is now the time to buy CCK? Find out in our full research report (it’s free).
Crown Holdings (CCK) Q1 CY2025 Highlights:
- Revenue: $2.89 billion vs analyst estimates of $2.84 billion (3.7% year-on-year growth, 1.5% beat)
- Adjusted EPS: $1.67 vs analyst estimates of $1.23 (35.7% beat)
- Adjusted EBITDA: $473 million vs analyst estimates of $405.7 million (16.4% margin, 16.6% beat)
- Management raised its full-year Adjusted EPS guidance to $6.90 at the midpoint, a 1.5% increase
- Operating Margin: 12.6%, up from 8.8% in the same quarter last year
- Constant Currency Revenue rose 4.7% year on year (-6.7% in the same quarter last year)
- Market Capitalization: $11.92 billion
While we enjoy listening to the management's commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls are the analyst questions. Those are unscripted and can often highlight topics that management teams would rather avoid or topics where the answer is complicated. Here is what has caught our attention.
Our Top 5 Analyst Questions Crown Holdings’s Q1 Earnings Call
- George Staphos (Bank of America) asked about customer inventory behavior ahead of potential tariff impacts. CEO Timothy Donahue explained that beverage can customers operate just-in-time supply chains, with minimal signs of pre-buying, and that strong results were mainly due to volume and operational execution.
- Phil Ng (Jefferies) questioned whether demand trends through March and April remained firm. Donahue confirmed that demand strength carried through to the end of April, particularly in beverage cans, and expects a tight summer supply situation in core geographies.
- Ghansham Panjabi (R.W. Baird) inquired about the sustainability of high incremental margins in the Americas beverage segment. Donahue attributed margin gains to full plant utilization and operational efficiency, cautioning that first quarter trends should not be assumed to persist throughout the year.
- Stefan Diaz (Morgan Stanley) pressed management on why full-year guidance was not raised more significantly after a strong quarter. Donahue noted that guidance reflects caution regarding tariffs and macro uncertainty, especially in the transit packaging business.
- Anthony Pettinari (Citigroup) queried about debottlenecking efforts and the need for future capacity additions. Donahue said operational focus during peak season limits debottlenecking, but new capacity (such as in Greece) is under evaluation to meet ongoing demand shifts.
Catalysts in Upcoming Quarters
In the coming quarters, the StockStory team will be monitoring (1) sustained volume growth and utilization in beverage can markets during the summer, (2) the company’s ability to navigate and quantify the effects of tariffs on transit and international segments, and (3) progress in operational efficiency initiatives that underpin margin expansion. Developments in substrate shifts, customer contract renewals, and capital deployment decisions will also serve as important markers of execution.
Crown Holdings currently trades at $103.62, up from $89.78 just before the earnings. In the wake of this quarter, is it a buy or sell? Find out in our full research report (it’s free).
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