Company Reports

Hexcel reported second-quarter revenue of $529 million, up 8% compared with the year-ago quarter, with adjusted operating profit of $73.6 million, up 36% from the year-ago quarter. Aerospace production rates are finally ramping up, and Hexcel is benefiting from operating leverage as they do.

Hexcel is one of the three major manufacturers of advanced carbon fiber and resin composite materials for the aerospace and defense industry. Composites as a percentage of aircraft weight have increased with each generation of aircraft development, as they are strong and durable enough for aerospace purposes but generally lighter and even stronger than the metals they replace, which allows airlines to save on fuel expense when operating a lighter plane. We think this trend will likely persist over the next decade or longer, as aircraft development and replacement is a slow-moving process and several important aircraft types, notably narrow-bodies, still have low composite penetration. Hexcel's strategy is to provide composite materials to build successive generations of aircraft within the very consolidated aerospace and defense industry. The company has, over the years, expanded into multiple verticals, experienced downturns, and subsequently rationalized its product lines away from leisure and other undifferentiated applications.

Hexcel reported first-quarter revenue of $502 million, up 9.9% compared with the year-ago quarter, with operating profit of $57.6 million, up 30% from the year-ago quarter. Aerospace production rates are finally ramping up, and although space-related revenue remains lumpy, defense volumes increased.

Hexcel is one of the three major manufacturers of advanced carbon fiber and resin composite materials for the aerospace and defense industry. Composites as a percentage of aircraft weight have increased with each generation of aircraft development, as they are strong and durable enough for aerospace purposes but generally lighter and even stronger than the metals they replace, which allows airlines to save on fuel expense when operating a lighter plane. We think this trend will likely persist over the next decade or longer, as aircraft development and replacement is a slow-moving process and several important aircraft types, notably narrow-bodies, still have low composite penetration. Hexcel's strategy is to provide composite materials to build successive generations of aircraft within the very consolidated aerospace and defense industry. The company has, over the years, expanded into multiple verticals, experienced downturns, and subsequently rationalized its product lines away from leisure and other undifferentiated applications.

Hexcel reported fourth-quarter revenue of $491 million, up 3.7% compared with the year-ago quarter, with annual operating profit of $172 million, down 7.8% from 2024. The aerospace business suffered from customer destocking in 2025 as aircraft builders prepare to expand their production rates.

Hexcel is one of the three major manufacturers of advanced carbon fiber and resin composite materials for the aerospace and defense industry, though it supplies a few adjacent markets as well. Composites as a percentage of aircraft weight have increased with each generation of aircraft development, as they are strong and durable enough for aerospace purposes but generally lighter and even stronger than the metals they replace, which allows airlines to save on fuel expense when operating a lighter plane. We think this trend will likely persist over the next decade or longer, as aircraft development and replacement is a slow-moving process and several important aircraft types, notably narrow-bodies, still have low composite penetration. Hexcel's strategy is to provide composite materials to build successive generations of aircraft within the very consolidated aerospace and defense industry. The company has, over the years, expanded into multiple verticals, experienced downturns, and subsequently rationalized its product lines away from leisure and other undifferentiated applications.

Hexcel is one of the three major manufacturers of advanced carbon fiber and resin composite materials for the aerospace and defense industry, though it supplies a few adjacent markets as well. Composites as a percentage of aircraft weight have increased with each generation of aircraft development, as they are strong and durable enough for aerospace purposes but generally lighter and even stronger than the metals they replace, which allows airlines to save on fuel expense when operating a lighter plane. We think this trend will likely persist over the next decade or longer, as aircraft development and replacement is a slow-moving process and several important aircraft types, notably narrow-bodies, still have low composite penetration. Hexcel's strategy is to provide composite materials to build successive generations of aircraft within the very consolidated aerospace and defense industry. The company has, over the years, expanded into multiple verticals, experienced downturns, and subsequently rationalized its product lines away from leisure and other undifferentiated applications.

Hexcel reported third-quarter revenue of $456 million, flat compared with the year-ago quarter and down 7% sequentially, with operating profits of $36 million, down 31% from the third quarter of 2024. The company announced accelerated share repurchases, which buoyed our fair value estimate.

Hexcel reported second-quarter revenue of $490 million, down 2% from the year-ago quarter, and operating profit dropped 58% to $30 million. The result includes a $24 million charge to close one of the more costly legacy plants in Belgium.

Hexcel is one of the three major manufacturers of advanced carbon fiber and resin composite materials for the aerospace and defense industry, though it supplies a few adjacent markets as well. Composites as a percentage of aircraft weight have increased with each generation of aircraft development, as they are strong and durable enough for aerospace purposes but generally lighter and even stronger than the metals they replace, which allows airlines to save on fuel expense when operating a lighter plane. We think this trend will likely persist over the next decade or longer, as aircraft development and replacement is a slow-moving process and several important aircraft types, notably narrow-bodies, still have low composite penetration. Hexcel's strategy is to provide composite materials to build successive generations of aircraft within the very consolidated aerospace and defense industry. The company has, over the years, expanded into multiple verticals, experienced downturns, and subsequently rationalized its product lines away from leisure and other undifferentiated applications.

Hexcel is one of the three major manufacturers of advanced carbon fiber and resin composite materials for the aerospace and defense industry, though it supplies a few adjacent markets as well. Composites as a percentage of aircraft weight have increased with each generation of aircraft development as they are strong and durable enough for aerospace purposes but generally lighter and even stronger than the metals they replace, which allows airlines to save on fuel expense when operating a lighter plane. We think this trend will likely persist over the next decade or longer, as aircraft development and replacement is a slow-moving process and several important aircraft types, notably narrow-bodies, still have low composite penetration. Hexcel's strategy is to provide composite materials to build successive generations of aircraft within the very consolidated aerospace and defense industry. The company has, over the years, expanded into multiple verticals, experienced downturns, and subsequently rationalized its product lines away from leisure and other undifferentiated applications.

Hexcel reported first-quarter revenue of $456 million, nearly $50 million below our expectation, and lowered its full-year expectation by $85 million. This was driven almost entirely by Airbus paring back its 2025 order pace for A350 shipsets, which are worth nearly $5 million a piece to Hexcel.

President Donald Trump imposed new tariffs on imports from US global trading partners with the stated aim of boosting domestic manufacturing. Aerospace firms are among the US' most globally integrated manufacturers and include the country's largest exporters, which complicates matters.

Hexcel delivered final 2024 results, including $1.9 billion of revenue and a slip in operating margin to 9.8% compared with 12% in 2023. The company is more or less waiting to spin up its provision of significant portions of the material Boeing and Airbus use to build commercial jets.

Hexcel is one of the three major manufacturers of advanced carbon fiber and resin composite materials for the aerospace and defense industry, though it supplies a few adjacent markets as well. Composites as a percentage of aircraft weight have increased with each generation of aircraft development as they are strong and durable enough for aerospace purposes but generally lighter and even stronger than the metals they replace, which allows airlines to save on fuel expense when operating a lighter plane. We think this trend will likely persist over the next decade or longer, as aircraft development and replacement is a slow-moving process and several important aircraft types, notably narrow-bodies, still have low composite penetration. Hexcel's strategy is to provide composite materials to build successive generations of aircraft within the very consolidated aerospace and defense industry. The company has, over the years, expanded into multiple verticals, experienced downturns, and subsequently rationalized its product lines away from leisure and other undifferentiated applications.

We assess whether trade policy between large aircraft manufacturers will likely flare up based on President-elect Donald Trump's previous administration policy and 2024 campaign positions.

Third-quarter sales rose 8.8% year over year as growth in Hexcel's commercial aerospace segment offset flat and declining sales in the space and industrials businesses.

Hexcel is one of the three major manufacturers of advanced carbon fiber and resin composite materials for the aerospace and defense industry, though it supplies other industrial markets as well. Composites as a percentage of aircraft weight have increased with each generation of aircraft development as they are strong and durable enough for aerospace purposes but generally lighter and stronger than the metals they replace, which allows airlines to save on fuel expense when operating a lighter plane. We think this trend will likely persist over the next decade or longer, as aircraft development and replacement is a slow-moving process and several important aircraft types, notably narrow-bodies, still have low composite penetration. Hexcel's strategy is to provide composite materials to build successive generations of aircraft within the very consolidated aerospace and defense industry. The company has, over the years, expanded into multiple verticals, experienced downturns, and subsequently rationalized its product lines away from leisure and other undifferentiated applications.

Hexcel is one of the three major manufacturers of advanced carbon fiber and resin composite materials for the aerospace and defense industry, though it supplies other industrial markets as well. Composites as a percentage of aircraft weight have increased with each generation of aircraft development as they are strong and durable enough for aerospace purposes but generally lighter and stronger than the metals they replace, which allows airlines to save on fuel expense when operating a lighter plane. We think this trend will likely persist over the next decade or longer, as aircraft development and replacement is a slow-moving process and several important aircraft types, notably narrow-bodies, still have low composite penetration. Hexcel's strategy is to provide composite materials to build successive generations of aircraft within the very consolidated aerospace and defense industry. The company has, over the years, expanded into multiple verticals, experienced downturns, and subsequently rationalized its product lines away from leisure and other undifferentiated applications.

Narrow-moat Hexcel's second-quarter results in aerospace and defense markets came in close to our expectations. Still, its sales to other industries declined 25% in the first half, continuing years of declines in markets like windmills and automobiles. The company slightly trimmed its 2024 expectations of aerospace deliveries, driven by customers Airbus and Boeing, who are not accelerating their production pace as much this year as initially planned. We have lowered our fair value estimate by $3 to $61 mainly because we forecast continued declines in the industrials markets for the next decade.