The James Hardie Industries plc (ASX:JHX) share price is rocketing 13% higher after strong FY26 Q3 results and increased guidance for FY26.
James Hardie is a global company that provides building products such as fiber cement, fiber gypsum, composite PVC decking and railing products. The company has more than 5,000 employees with operations across North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
James Hardie FY26 third-quarter result
Here are some of the highlights from the quarter for the three months to 31 December 2025 compared to Q3 of the previous financial year:
- Quarterly net sales soared 30% to $1.2 billion
- Organic revenue growth of 1%
- Adjusted EBITDA (EBITDA explained) increased 26% to $329.9 million
- Adjusted net profit down 7% to $142.2 million
- Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) down 31% to $0.24
- Net profit down 52% to $68.7 million
- EPS down 64% to $0.12
The biggest change in the financials between the two periods was the acquisition of AZEK. This led to its net sales being much higher, but the earnings were split among a lot more shares, hurting the EPS.
James Hardie said that it achieved or exceeded each of its financial commitments in the quarter, despite a mixed macroeconomic backdrop.
The company said it’s taking actions to address the current market environment, including optimising its manufacturing footprint and better aligning its cost structure with the slower but stabilising pace of demand. Management think this will improve near-term profitability and help longer-term profits as conditions improve.
What happened?
Looking at the individual divisions, siding and trim net sales rose 10% to $788.3 million, but profit margins declined. The company said there is a weaker environment and lower volumes for construction in places like Texas, Florida and Georgia. While the margin was down year on year because of higher production and freight costs, the margin was up compared to the September 2025 quarter.
Deck, rail and accessories saw net sales increase by 2% prior to the acquisition, thanks primarily to price and mix of products sold. Its margin benefited from revenue growth, but was partially impacted by growth investments.
ANZ saw net sales rise 7% to $126.5 million. But, the profit margins dropped because of production cost absorption. It’s working on winning more customers in this market.
In Europe, net sales grew 13% to $130.9 million and profit margins improved significantly thanks to a favourable plant performance and lower raw material costs.
Management comments
The James Hardie chief financial officer Ryan Lada said:
For Siding & Trim, market conditions remain challenged, consistent with our prior expectations; however, channel inventories have normalized. As a result, we are allowing our stronger-than-expected third-quarter performance to flow through to full-year results, resulting in a modest increase in the guidance range for the segment.
We continue to expect the broader Exteriors market to remain mixed in the near term. For Deck, Rail & Accessories, mid-single-digit sell-through growth continued through the third quarter and into early Q4. We expect channel partner inventories to remain at seasonally normal levels for the remainder of the fiscal year.
Outlook for the James Hardie share price
The company increased its guidance slightly for its net sales, but the earnings saw a larger change, particularly because of siding and trim.
The adjusted EBITDA for siding and trim is now expected to be between $939 million to $962 million, up from between $920 million to $955 million.
Total adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $1.23 billion to $1.26 billion, compared to previous guidance of between $1.2 billion to $1.25 billion. Free cashflow guidance is unchanged of at least $200 million.
The James Hardie share price continues to regain lost ground from last year amid a shareholder revolt regarding the AZEK acquisition. But, solid financial performance is helping it achieve a 2026 high.
Seeing as it has risen a lot, there doesn’t seem to be an ‘oversold’ discount as much now. I’d look at other ASX growth shares that are growing organically at a faster pace.
