Revenue growth accelerated to 16.2% in 2026Q1, though gross margins remain constrained within a narrow 14.5% to 15.9% range, indicating persistent challenges in achieving consistent profitability.
| Metric | TTM | Dec'25 | Dec'24 | Dec'23 | Dec'22 | Dec'21 | Dec'20 | Dec'19 | Dec'18 | Dec'17 | Dec'16 | Dec'15 | Dec'14 | Dec'13 | Dec'12 | Dec'11 | Dec'10 | Dec'09 | Dec'08 | Dec'07 | Dec'06 | Dec'05 | Dec'04 | Dec'03 | Dec'02 | Dec'01 | Dec'00 | Dec'99 | Dec'98 | Dec'97 | Dec'96 |
|---|
| Sales/Revenue | 13.64B | 13.16B | 11.8B | 12.02B | 15.29B | 13.93B | 11.76B | 11.46B | 11.63B | 10.99B | 9.06B | 7.99B | 8.6B | 8.5B | 8.79B | 8.57B | 7.64B | 7.35B | 7.56B | 7.48B | 6.62B | 5.75B | 5.44B | 4.98B | 3.86B | 3.69B | 3.66B | 3.71B | 3B | 2.39B | 2.18B |
| Revenue Growth % | 13.33% | 11.55% | -1.84% | -21.39% | 9.75% | 18.49% | 2.64% | -1.52% | 5.81% | 21.32% | 13.41% | -7.08% | 1.19% | -3.31% | 2.58% | 12.19% | 3.97% | -2.86% | 1.15% | 12.89% | 15.13% | 5.72% | 9.31% | 28.97% | 4.69% | 0.58% | -1.15% | 23.75% | 25.42% | 9.34% | 6.77% |
| Cost of Goods Sold | 8.55B | 11.21B | 9.96B | 10.3B | 13.54B | 11.9B | 9.88B | 9.79B | 10.06B | 9.46B | 7.71B | 6.69B | 7.13B | 7.15B | 7.41B | 7.37B | 6.49B | 6.23B | 6.6B | 6.48B | 5.81B | 4.99B | 4.62B | 4.09B | 3.23B | 3.14B | 3.07B | 3.11B | 2.54B | 2B | 1.91B |
| COGS % of Revenue | - | 85.14% | 84.41% | 85.72% | 88.52% | 85.41% | 84.01% | 85.49% | 86.49% | 86.08% | 85.1% | 83.77% | 82.95% | 84.15% | 84.32% | 86.05% | 85.05% | 84.87% | 87.35% | 86.69% | 87.7% | 86.79% | 84.98% | 82.23% | 83.71% | 85.24% | 83.69% | 83.92% | 84.71% | 83.89% | 87.61% |
| Gross Profit | 1.5B | 1.96B | 1.84B | 1.72B | 1.75B | 2.03B | 1.88B | 1.66B | 1.57B | 1.53B | 1.35B | 1.3B | 1.47B | 1.35B | 1.38B | 1.2B | 1.14B | 1.11B | 956.6M | 995.2M | 814.3M | 759.6M | 817.1M | 884.2M | 628.5M | 543.9M | 597.6M | 596.2M | 458M | 384.8M | 270.6M |
| Gross Margin % | 10.96% | 14.86% | 15.59% | 14.28% | 11.48% | 14.59% | 15.99% | 14.51% | 13.51% | 13.92% | 14.9% | 16.23% | 17.05% | 15.85% | 15.68% | 13.95% | 14.95% | 15.13% | 12.65% | 13.31% | 12.3% | 13.21% | 15.02% | 17.77% | 16.29% | 14.76% | 16.31% | 16.08% | 15.29% | 16.11% | 12.39% |
| Gross Profit Growth % | - | 6.36% | 7.17% | -2.22% | -13.63% | 8.09% | 13.12% | 5.73% | 2.75% | 13.33% | 4.09% | -11.55% | 8.84% | -2.25% | 15.28% | 4.69% | 2.75% | 16.16% | -3.88% | 22.22% | 7.2% | -7.04% | -7.59% | 40.68% | 15.55% | -8.99% | 0.23% | 30.17% | 19.02% | 42.2% | -6.01% |
| Operating Expenses | 731M | 566M | 847M | 540M | 742M | 800M | 575M | 660M | 649M | 346M | 659M | 475.6M | 490.5M | 446.8M | 415.5M | 401.9M | 379M | 354.1M | 321.1M | 351.1M | 303.9M | 258.4M | 293.4M | 423.4M | 317.5M | 569.3M | 388.5M | 303.8M | 264.4M | 254.4M | 186.7M |
| OpEx % of Revenue | - | 4.3% | 7.18% | 4.49% | 4.85% | 5.74% | 4.89% | 5.76% | 5.58% | 3.15% | 7.27% | 5.95% | 5.7% | 5.26% | 4.73% | 4.69% | 4.96% | 4.82% | 4.25% | 4.7% | 4.59% | 4.49% | 5.39% | 8.51% | 8.23% | 15.44% | 10.6% | 8.19% | 8.83% | 10.65% | 8.55% |
| Selling, General & Admin | 731M | 566M | 847M | 532M | 687M | 744M | 528M | 616M | 617M | 319M | 631M | 449.6M | 463.9M | 415.6M | 388.7M | 379.6M | 356.8M | 328.5M | 288.2M | 323.7M | 281.4M | 233.8M | 267.9M | 221.6M | 165.9M | 135.6M | 138.9M | 140.9M | 119.4M | 136.9M | 93.2M |
| SG&A % of Revenue | - | 4.3% | 7.18% | 4.43% | 4.49% | 5.34% | 4.49% | 5.38% | 5.3% | 2.9% | 6.96% | 5.63% | 5.39% | 4.89% | 4.42% | 4.43% | 4.67% | 4.47% | 3.81% | 4.33% | 4.25% | 4.07% | 4.92% | 4.45% | 4.3% | 3.68% | 3.79% | 3.8% | 3.99% | 5.73% | 4.27% |
| Research & Development | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55M | 55M | 56M | 47M | 44M | 32M | 27M | 28M | 26M | 26.6M | 31.2M | 26.8M | 22.3M | 22.2M | 25.6M | 32.9M | 27.4M | 22.5M | 24.6M | 25.5M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| R&D % of Revenue | - | - | - | 0.46% | 0.36% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.38% | 0.28% | 0.25% | 0.31% | 0.33% | 0.31% | 0.37% | 0.3% | 0.26% | 0.29% | 0.35% | 0.44% | 0.37% | 0.34% | 0.43% | 0.47% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Operating Expenses | 0 | 0 | 0 | -47M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 201.8M | 151.6M | 433.7M | 249.6M | 162.9M | 145M | 117.5M | 93.5M |
| Operating Income | 1.12B | 1.39B | 992M | 1.18B | 1.01B | 1.23B | 1.3B | 1B | 923M | 1.18B | 691M | 821.3M | 975.7M | 900.3M | 962.6M | 793.5M | 762.8M | 757.1M | 635.5M | 644.1M | 510.4M | 501.2M | 523.7M | 460.8M | 311M | -25.4M | 209.1M | 292.4M | 193.6M | 130.4M | 83.9M |
| Operating Margin % | 8.2% | 10.56% | 8.41% | 9.78% | 6.63% | 8.84% | 11.1% | 8.75% | 7.93% | 10.77% | 7.63% | 10.28% | 11.35% | 10.59% | 10.95% | 9.26% | 9.99% | 10.31% | 8.4% | 8.62% | 7.71% | 8.71% | 9.63% | 9.26% | 8.06% | -0.69% | 5.71% | 7.89% | 6.46% | 5.46% | 3.84% |
| Operating Income Growth % | - | 40.12% | -15.65% | 16.09% | -17.78% | -5.59% | 30.24% | 8.56% | -22.04% | 71.35% | -15.87% | -15.82% | 8.38% | -6.47% | 21.31% | 4.02% | 0.75% | 19.13% | -1.34% | 26.2% | 1.84% | -4.3% | 13.65% | 48.17% | 1324.41% | -112.15% | -28.49% | 51.03% | 48.47% | 55.42% | -23.52% |
| EBITDA | 1.43B | 2.01B | 1.61B | 1.86B | 1.69B | 1.93B | 1.97B | 1.68B | 1.63B | 1.91B | 1.14B | 1.11B | 1.26B | 1.2B | 1.25B | 1.09B | 1.03B | 1.04B | 932.9M | 925.1M | 763M | 714.7M | 738.8M | 666.3M | 460.2M | 127.1M | 368.2M | 455.3M | 338.6M | 247.9M | 177.4M |
| EBITDA Margin % | 10.5% | 15.29% | 13.66% | 15.49% | 11.02% | 13.87% | 16.78% | 14.66% | 13.97% | 17.4% | 12.62% | 13.85% | 14.61% | 14.12% | 14.17% | 12.78% | 13.47% | 14.19% | 12.34% | 12.38% | 11.52% | 12.43% | 13.58% | 13.39% | 11.93% | 3.45% | 10.05% | 12.28% | 11.3% | 10.38% | 8.12% |
| EBITDA Growth % | -21.28% | 24.81% | -13.43% | 10.5% | -12.78% | -2.08% | 17.44% | 3.38% | -15.05% | 67.22% | 3.36% | -11.92% | 4.7% | -3.64% | 13.79% | 6.45% | -1.34% | 11.73% | 0.84% | 21.25% | 6.76% | -3.26% | 10.88% | 44.78% | 262.08% | -65.48% | -19.13% | 34.47% | 36.59% | 39.74% | -5.84% |
| D&A (Non-Cash Add-back) | 313M | 622M | 620M | 686M | 672M | 700M | 668M | 678M | 702M | 729M | 453M | 285.5M | 280.9M | 299.9M | 282.9M | 301.1M | 265.5M | 285.2M | 297.4M | 281M | 252.6M | 213.5M | 215.1M | 205.5M | 149.2M | 152.5M | 159.1M | 162.9M | 145M | 117.5M | 93.5M |
| EBIT | 1.16B | 1.47B | 839M | 1.07B | 1.21B | 1.28B | 954M | 937M | 948M | 815M | 442M | 573.5M | 838.2M | 793M | 790M | 838.2M | 759.7M | 646.5M | 590.5M | 513.9M | 581.3M | 480M | 538.4M | 460.8M | 311M | -25.4M | 209.1M | 292.4M | 193.6M | 130.4M | 83.9M |
| Net Interest Income | -221M | -284M | -225M | -424M | -299M | -270M | -275M | -317M | -301M | -285M | -229M | -143M | -160M | -183.8M | -179.8M | -177.1M | -149.4M | -117.2M | -137.7M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Interest Income | 33M | 30M | 68M | 36M | 14M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Interest Expense | 166M | 314M | 293M | 460M | 313M | 270M | 275M | 317M | 301M | 285M | 229M | 143M | 160M | 183.8M | 179.8M | 177.1M | 149.4M | 117.2M | 137.7M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Income/Expense | 60M | -235M | -429M | -542M | -122M | -198M | -624M | -395M | -285M | -639M | -551M | -471.4M | -327.8M | -316.1M | -368.3M | -123.6M | -38.4M | -205.9M | -168.2M | -266.7M | -48.8M | -122.1M | -88.5M | -141.1M | -75.6M | -88.3M | -95.2M | -123.3M | -152.8M | -40.1M | -63.6M |
| Pretax Income | 1.18B | 1.16B | 563M | 634M | 891M | 1.03B | 681M | 607M | 638M | 545M | 140M | 349.9M | 647.9M | 584.2M | 594.3M | 669.9M | 724.4M | 551.2M | 467.3M | 377.4M | 461.6M | 379.1M | 435.2M | 319.7M | 235.4M | -113.7M | 113.9M | 169.1M | 40.8M | 90.3M | 20.3M |
| Pretax Margin % | 8.64% | 8.78% | 4.77% | 5.27% | 5.83% | 7.42% | 5.79% | 5.3% | 5.48% | 4.96% | 1.54% | 4.38% | 7.53% | 6.87% | 6.76% | 7.82% | 9.49% | 7.5% | 6.18% | 5.05% | 6.97% | 6.59% | 8% | 6.42% | 6.1% | -3.08% | 3.11% | 4.56% | 1.36% | 3.78% | 0.93% |
| Income Tax | 240M | 240M | 133M | 146M | 159M | 156M | 99M | 71M | 185M | 165M | -126M | 47M | 150M | 149.6M | 172.2M | 201.3M | 175.8M | 159.8M | 147.4M | 95.7M | 131.6M | 106.2M | 143.4M | 100.1M | 83.9M | -9.7M | 42.8M | 64.9M | 8.8M | 32M | 7.2M |
| Effective Tax Rate % | 20.36% | 20.78% | 23.62% | 23.03% | 17.85% | 15.09% | 14.54% | 11.7% | 29% | 30.28% | -90% | 13.43% | 23.15% | 25.61% | 28.98% | 30.05% | 24.27% | 28.99% | 31.54% | 25.36% | 28.51% | 28.01% | 32.95% | 31.31% | 35.64% | 8.53% | 37.58% | 38.38% | 21.57% | 35.44% | 35.47% |
| Net Income | 937M | 912M | 4.01B | 707M | 719M | 878M | 585M | 566M | 454M | 374M | 263M | 281M | 470M | 406.8M | 396.3M | 444M | 468M | 387.9M | 319.5M | 281.3M | 329.6M | 272.1M | 302.1M | 229.9M | 156.1M | -99.2M | 68.2M | 104.2M | 16.6M | 58.3M | 24.2M |
| Net Margin % | 6.87% | 6.93% | 33.97% | 5.88% | 4.7% | 6.3% | 4.98% | 4.94% | 3.9% | 3.4% | 2.9% | 3.52% | 5.47% | 4.79% | 4.51% | 5.18% | 6.13% | 5.28% | 4.23% | 3.76% | 4.98% | 4.73% | 5.55% | 4.62% | 4.05% | -2.69% | 1.86% | 2.81% | 0.55% | 2.44% | 1.11% |
| Net Income Growth % | 86.65% | -77.25% | 466.9% | -1.67% | -18.11% | 50.09% | 3.36% | 24.67% | 21.39% | 42.21% | -6.41% | -40.21% | 15.54% | 2.65% | -10.74% | -5.13% | 20.65% | 21.41% | 13.58% | -14.65% | 21.13% | -9.93% | 31.41% | 47.28% | 257.36% | -245.45% | -34.55% | 527.71% | -71.53% | 140.91% | 230.11% |
| Net Income (Continuing) | 939M | 915M | 430M | 488M | 732M | 878M | 582M | 536M | 453M | 380M | 266M | 303M | 498M | 434.6M | 422.1M | 468.6M | 548.6M | 390.6M | 319.9M | 281.3M | 329.6M | 272.1M | 302.1M | 229.9M | 159.3M | -99.2M | 68.2M | 104.2M | 32M | 58.3M | 13.1M |
| Discontinued Operations | 0 | 3M | 3.58B | 223M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 400K | -2.8M | -2.3M | -74.9M | -2.2M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11.1M |
| Minority Interest | 19M | 0 | 68M | 68M | 66M | 58M | 62M | 70M | 104M | 105M | 106M | 10M | 206.5M | 191.4M | 175.4M | 158.9M | 140.1M | 1.7M | 1.5M | 1.1M | 1M | 5.1M | 6.4M | 6.2M | 5.6M | 9.7M | 14.9M | 19.7M | 24.4M | 51.7M | 7M |
| EPS (Diluted) | 3.50 | 3.30 | 13.00 | 2.23 | 2.25 | 2.65 | 1.75 | 1.66 | 1.29 | 1.12 | 0.70 | 1.00 | 1.65 | 1.37 | 1.27 | 1.32 | 1.27 | 1.02 | 0.83 | 0.69 | 0.79 | 0.62 | 0.66 | 0.50 | 0.34 | -0.23 | 0.17 | 0.17 | 0.03 | 0.11 | 0.04 |
| EPS Growth % | 105.36% | -74.62% | 482.96% | -0.89% | -15.09% | 51.43% | 5.42% | 28.68% | 15.18% | 60% | -30% | -39.39% | 20.44% | 7.87% | -3.79% | 3.94% | 24.51% | 22.89% | 20.29% | -12.66% | 27.42% | -6.06% | 32% | 47.06% | 247.83% | -235.69% | -0.29% | 398.53% | -69% | 158.82% | 209.82% |
| EPS (Basic) | - | 3.33 | 13.12 | 2.25 | 2.27 | 2.69 | 1.79 | 1.71 | 1.32 | 1.14 | 0.71 | 1.02 | 1.70 | 1.40 | 1.31 | 1.35 | 1.30 | 1.03 | 0.84 | 0.70 | 0.80 | 0.63 | 0.68 | 0.52 | 0.35 | -0.23 | 0.18 | 0.18 | 0.03 | 0.12 | 0.04 |
| Diluted Shares Outstanding | 267.41M | 275.97M | 308.21M | 317.02M | 320.01M | 331.62M | 333.9M | 340.12M | 352.32M | 356.99M | 322.88M | 281.97M | 284.86M | 298.45M | 316.17M | 337.18M | 367.08M | 379.96M | 388.08M | 411.04M | 419.8M | 438.93M | 455.16M | 457.1M | 460.81M | 438.59M | 362.32M | 616.11M | 487.28M | 510.34M | 501.18M |
| Basic Shares Outstanding | 265.78M | 274.26M | 305.46M | 314.77M | 316.43M | 325.99M | 327.14M | 331.1M | 344.8M | 350.27M | 316.54M | 274.6M | 277.02M | 291.89M | 309.3M | 330.55M | 361.49M | 375.14M | 383.43M | 404.74M | 413.35M | 431.03M | 443.38M | 446.84M | 450.83M | 438.59M | 343.39M | 574.92M | 487.28M | 482.61M | 486.86M |
| Dividend Payout Ratio | - | 24.12% | 6.09% | 35.64% | 35.33% | 26.08% | 33.85% | 32.16% | 30.18% | 34.49% | 31.56% | 25.62% | 15.47% | 18.49% | 15.59% | 10.29% | 7.65% | 9.64% | 11.74% | 14.43% | 12.44% | 15.62% | 12.88% | 11.66% | 13.07% | - | 31.67% | 21.59% | 136.75% | 39.28% | 94.21% |
Fixed cost absorption volatility
As reported in recent financial filings, Ball Corporation achieved a 16.2% revenue growth rate in 2026Q1, marking a significant acceleration from the stagnant or negative growth periods observed throughout 2024, likely reflecting the successful transition to a pure-play packaging model following the Aerospace segment divestiture.
The recent uptick in top-line performance suggests that the company is successfully pivoting away from the volatility associated with its former defense-adjacent business. Investors should monitor whether this growth is driven by sustainable volume increases in specialty cans or if it remains susceptible to the cyclicality of mass-market beverage consumption.
Based on the provided income statement data, Ball's gross margins have remained constrained within the 14.5% to 15.9% range, suggesting that the company faces persistent challenges in expanding profitability despite its dominant market position in the aluminum packaging industry.
The inability to consistently push gross margins above the 16% threshold implies that the company's conversion-fee model is highly sensitive to input cost fluctuations and capacity utilization. This margin profile warrants further investigation into whether the company possesses sufficient pricing power to offset rising energy and labor costs in a competitive landscape.
According to quarterly income statements, operating margins have fluctuated significantly between 5.1% and 14.1%, indicating that Ball's high-fixed-cost manufacturing base struggles to maintain consistent operating leverage when faced with even minor shifts in quarterly production volumes or SG&A expenditure levels.
The erratic nature of operating income suggests that the company's profitability is heavily dependent on achieving optimal plant absorption. When utilization rates dip, the fixed cost burden appears to disproportionately erode operating margins, highlighting a structural vulnerability to demand-side shocks in the beverage packaging sector.
As evidenced by the anomalous $3.7 billion net income reported in 2024Q1, Ball's bottom-line results are frequently impacted by significant non-operating items, such as divestiture gains, which obscure the underlying operational performance and complicate year-over-year earnings quality assessments for institutional investors.
The massive variance in net income figures suggests that relying on GAAP EPS as a proxy for operational health is misleading. Analysts should focus on normalized operating income to strip away the noise created by one-time asset sales and tax adjustments that do not reflect the core packaging business's recurring cash-generating capability.
Based on the reported figures, the company's recent history of aggressive capacity expansion may be creating a structural risk, as evidenced by the periods of margin contraction when demand failed to keep pace with the increased fixed-cost base of the manufacturing footprint.
Short-sellers may focus on the potential for persistent under-absorption if the shift toward aluminum packaging plateaus or if mass-market beer volumes continue to face secular headwinds. The company's reliance on high-volume throughput means that any sustained decline in capacity utilization could lead to a rapid deterioration in profitability that the current valuation may not fully account for.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying BALL stock.
For fiscal year 2025, Ball Corporation (BALL) reported total revenue of $13.16B. This represents a 502.5% increase compared to $2.18B in 1996.
Ball Corporation (BALL) is profitable, generating $912.0M in net income for the fiscal year ending 2025 with a net profit margin of 6.9%.
Ball Corporation (BALL) reported an operating income of $1.39B, resulting in an operating profit margin of 10.6%. This margin reflects the operational efficiency of the business before interest and taxes.
Ball Corporation (BALL) generated $1.96B in gross profit for the year, representing a gross profit margin of 14.9%. This demonstrates the company's core pricing power and production efficiency.