Full Transcript: Cemex Q2 2026 Earnings Call

On Thursday, Cemex (NYSE: CX ) discussed second-quarter financial results during its earnings call. The full transcript is provided below. APIs provide real-time access to earnings call transcripts and financial data. Visit to learn more.

View the webcast at Summary Cemex reported strong financial performance with consolidated EBITDA exceeding $1 billion, reflecting 18% growth on a like-to-like basis and significant improvements in margins and free cash flow. The company is advancing its Project Cutting Edge, aiming to capture $475 million in savings by 2027, with $230 million from overhead reductions and $245 million from operational efficiencies. Cemex raised its full-year EBITDA guidance to 16-17% growth, supported by improved operational efficiencies and strategic pricing initiatives. S.

faced challenges from bad weather impacting operations. In Europe, despite softer demand and heatwave disruptions, the company benefitted from pricing strategies and cost savings, and is optimistic on future price increases due to regulatory changes. Full Transcript Jeannie, Operator Good morning. Welcome to the Cemex Second Quarter 2026 Conference Call and webcast.

My name is Jeannie and I'll be your operator for today. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later we will conduct a question-and-answer session. If at any time you require operator assistance, please press star followed by zero and we will be happy to assist you.

And now I will turn the call over to Lucy Rodriguez, Chief Communications Officer. Please proceed. Lucy Rodriguez, Chief Communications Officer Good morning and thank you for joining us for our second quarter 2026 conference call and webcast. We hope this call finds you well.

I am joined today by Jaime Muguiro, our CEO, and by Maher Al Hazar, our CFO. We will start our call by reviewing our second quarter results, followed by our expectations for the full year and updated guidance, and then we will be happy to take your questions. As a reminder, we expect to close the announced sale of some of our operating assets in Colombia by the end of the year. Until such time, for accounting purposes, the transaction will be treated as a partial sale and operation and we will continue to fully consolidate these operations in our P&L.

In addition, following our acquisition of Omega earlier in the year, we began consolidating the business as of April 1st. And now I will hand the call over to Jaime. Jaime Muguiro, CEO Cemex Thank you, Lucy, and good day to everyone. I am pleased to be here today to present strong second quarter results reflecting significant progress in our ongoing transformation as well as organic growth in most markets.

What stands out most is the clear evidence of that progress in our results, with meaningful gains against our new KPIs and at a pace that is running ahead of our own expectations. I would like to recognize my colleagues who have embraced this transformation and remain open to the profound cultural change it requires. Our transformation is well underway and is already delivering on our goal of structurally higher earnings quality, as reflected in margins and free cash flow. We still have much work to do and continue to uncover new opportunities under Project Cutting Edge, which I will elaborate shortly.

Consolidated EBITDA in the quarter exceeded $1 billion and included a favorable one-off settlement of an outstanding claim in Europe of $42 million. As our efficiencies compound, the benefits become increasingly evident across the P&L and cash flow, pointing to a significant improvement in our earnings quality. Adjusting for the one-off, sales grew 11% while EBITDA expanded 19%, almost twice as fast, and EBIT, a key metric of our transformation, grew 29%, almost three times the pace of sales growth. 4% while EBIT margin rose almost 2 percentage points.

Free cash flow is also benefiting from this higher-quality earnings stream. Our free cash flow from operations reached a second quarter record of $651 million, up more than $400 million year on year after adjusting for severance and discontinued operations. This lifted our trailing twelve-month free cash flow from operations conversion rate to 60%, also on an adjusted basis. Turning to our decarbonization pathway, we continue to advance profitably, reducing gross CO2 emissions by 1% year to date supported by a lower clinker factor.

And with that, let me discuss our results in more detail. EBITDA grew 18% on a like-to-like basis driven by Project Cutting Edge efficiencies during the quarter of $60 million and organic growth in most regions. Performance was broad-based, with three of our four regions contributing double-digit EBITDA and EBIT growth and boasting margin expansion in excess of 2 and 3 percentage points respectively. For the second quarter in a row, Mexico led regional results with continued volume recovery, efficiency gains, and an easy prior-year comparison.

, disruptions in our operations related to bad weather in Texas, together with rising materials and freight costs, weighed on EBITDA and margin in the quarter. In EMEA, despite softer demand in Europe, the region continued to benefit from pricing and Project Cutting Edge savings. South, Central America and the Caribbean rounded out the picture with significant margin expansion related to cost efficiencies. As a result of Project Cutting Edge, free cash flow from operations tripled year over year, lifting our trailing twelve-month conversion rate to 60% on an adjusted basis.

At the consolidated level, volumes were broadly stable, with performance in Mexico largely offsetting lower volumes in EMEA. In Mexico, the recovery continued to build, posting t