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SEC filingGrafTech reported Q1 2026 net loss of $43 million ($1.66 per share) on $125 million in net sales, reflecting 14% year-over-year sales volume growth but a 5% decline in realized price to ~$3,900/MT, resulting in negative $14 million Adjusted EBITDA.
GrafTech’s Q1 2026 results reflect a divergence between volume strength and pricing weakness: sales volume grew robustly at 14% YoY to 28.1 thousand MT—driven by 37% growth in the U.S., its strongest pricing region—but realized price declined 5% YoY to ~$3,900/MT due to persistent overcapacity in China and India, which management explicitly cited as causing an 'unsustainably weak' pricing environment. This dynamic drove net sales up 12% YoY to $125 million, yet net loss widened to $43 million ($1.66 per share), and Adjusted EBITDA turned more negative at ($14) million versus ($4) million in Q1 2025—confirming that volume gains were fully offset—and more—by margin compression. Management reaffirmed full-year volume guidance of 5–10% growth, noting >85% of anticipated volume is already committed, and signaled proactive commercial actions: implementing $600–$1,200/MT price increases on uncommitted volume and supporting trade cases in the U.S. and Brazil. Operationally, capacity utilization improved to 65% (from 63% YoY), supported by production volume of 29.4 thousand MT against 45.0 thousand MT capacity. Liquidity remains solid at $329 million, underpinning near-term stability while the company executes on pricing discipline and cost optimization—including a targeted low single-digit percentage-point decline in cash COGS per MT for 2026. The outlook acknowledges modest demand improvement outside China but underscores that current pricing fails to reflect graphite electrodes’ essential role in electric arc furnace steelmaking—a structural concern requiring sustained corrective action.