Fuchs Confirms Strong Q2 Sales and Profit Growth, Warns of Second-Half Headwinds

Fuchs has confirmed its preliminary second-quarter results, posting significant growth in both sales and earnings driven by higher volumes and market share gains across all regions. The German-based lubricant manufacturer reported that sales for the second quarter of 2026 grew 21.5% to €1,069 million.

Strong Q2 Performance

According to the company's announcement on Friday, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) surged 33.7% year-over-year to €135 million. This resulted in an improved EBIT margin of 12.6%, up from 11.5% in the same period last year.

Fuchs attributed the strong performance to several factors, including organic expansion and limited delivery capacity among some competitors. The company also noted that pre-buying effects related to the conflict in the Middle East contributed to the volume-driven growth.

Regional Highlights

All three of the company's geographic regions posted volume gains and increased market share. The performance breakdown is as follows:

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• North and South America: Sales grew 24.6% organically to €204 million. The region saw a substantial EBIT margin improvement of 779 basis points, driven by operating leverage on higher volumes as it recovered from tariff-related impacts in the prior year.
• Asia-Pacific: Sales climbed 21.5% organically to €301 million, with the EBIT margin increasing by 214 basis points, also due to operating leverage.
• EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa): Sales rose 12.6% organically to €609 million, though the EBIT margin in this region declined by 85 basis points.

Outlook and Financial Position

Fuchs confirmed its full-year 2026 guidance, which was previously raised on July 22. The company expects sales to be significantly above €3.7 billion and EBIT to land between €460 million and €480 million.

However, this guidance implies a materially weaker second half, with an expected EBIT of approximately €210 million. The company cautioned that the positive pre-buying effects from the first half are expected to reverse, while rising raw material prices will likely pressure margins. The firm also reported a sharp decline in free cash flow before acquisitions to €7 million from €64 million a year ago, citing changes in working capital.