Oct 26, 2026 earnings call — Transformation progress, cash generation, and asset pruning
Adjusted trailing 12 month free cash flow reached $2.2 billion with an adjusted conversion rate of approximately 62%.
Revenue $4.6B (est $4.5B) · EPS $0.28 (est $0.25)
Key quotes
"I am pleased with the continued execution of our cost savings program. This quarter, we achieved $60 million in recurring savings, including $20 million originally expected in the fourth quarter and beyond."
"We estimate the potential benefit from this initiative to be between $100 million to $150 million in incremental recurring free cash flow."
"Our diesel hedging program covering owned and third party freight generated gains of $82 million year to date."
Analyst Q&A 8
Sustainability of 2026 margins
Q (Benjamin Theurer · Barclays): He asked how sustainable the margin improvement in 2026 is given less favorable FX and higher raw material costs. He asked what will offset those pressures (productivity, price, mix, operating leverage).
A: Management said the 2026 margin is structural and that 21% EBITDA is the floor. They plan further transformation and may find savings beyond the $470 million committed by end of 2027, and they expect asset pruning and M&A to be accretive to margins.
"We committed to a 21% EBITDA margin for 2020 CEMEX during CEMEX Day, and that is the floor." — Jaime Muguiro Domínguez (CEO)
Free cash flow sustainability
Q (Alejandra Obregon · Morgan Stanley): She asked how much of the free cash flow improvement is structural and repeatable into 2027 versus seasonal, timing, or linked to asset pruning.
A: Management said everything they are doing on free cash flow conversion is structural and not timing-related. They are improving EBITDA, reducing interest expense, keeping working capital around minus 8 to minus 10 days, targeting total CapEx of a maximum of $1.15 billion to $1.2 billion by 2028, and expect at least $100 million recurrent incremental free cash flow from asset pruning from 2027 onward.
"I have commented to the market that we should be landing at around maximum of $1.15 billion to $1.2 billion of total CapEx including the 3 concepts by 2028 and beyond, and we are making significant traction." — Jaime Muguiro Domínguez (CEO)
Energy hedges and exposure
Q (Carlos Peyrelongue · BofA): He asked which energy costs are hedged for next year, what will be negotiated in Q4, and the percent hedged for gas (he noted 80% on diesel).
A: Management said energy is roughly 12% of COGS, about $1.5 billion, split roughly into three equal parts: cement fuels, electricity, and diesel. Natural gas exposure is around 28% this year, they hedged 75% of that in 2026 and are close to 75% to 80% into 2027; they have hedged roughly 75% to 80% of direct diesel, alternative fuels are fixed/contracted, pet coke and coal cannot be hedged, and overall about 50% of energy exposure is hedged today.
"I think in total, about 50% of our energy exposure is hedged." — Louisa Page Rodriguez
Q4 guidance and risks
Q (Yassine Touahri · On Field): He asked whether activity or margins deteriorated in October and whether there is scope to beat the upper range of guidance given energy or geopolitical uncertainty.
A: Management said they expect to land very close to the 21% EBITDA margin target, but normal seasonality will weigh (roughly minus 1.3 percentage points) and they expect energy headwinds and higher maintenance. They quantified maintenance headwinds of around $80 million for the quarter, plus about $17 million of energy headwind in Europe and a tough EMEA comparison from last year.
"So overall, the headwind for the quarter in maintenance is around $80 million." — Jaime Muguiro Domínguez (CEO)
US pricing for cement, aggregates, ready-mix
Q (Adrian Huerta · JPMorgan): He asked for color on U.S. prices for cement, aggregates, and ready-mix, what drove the midyear price moves, and plans for price increases in early 2027.
A: Management said the sequential FOB cement price decline was partly due to higher internal freight as imports are replaced by domestic production and tougher competition in some markets (Texas, Northern Florida). Ready-mix prices were resilient (up 1% sequentially) driven by fuel surcharges, aggregates are up 3% year-on-year and flat quarter-on-quarter adjusted for mix, and for 2027 they will target solid mid single digit price increases across products to protect margins.
"So we are going to target solid mid single digit price increases across the board, across all products, right, to protect margins." — Jaime Muguiro Domínguez (CEO)
U.S. residential demand outlook
Q (Wilfredo Jorel Guilloty · Goldman Sachs): He asked how U.S. residential demand will evolve: stabilization, downside risk, or signs of recovery; whether outlook differs by geography; and what share of demand is residential.
A: No management answer to this question is included in the provided transcript. The call transcript does not show a response from management to this question.
Follow-up / acknowledgement
Q (Wilfredo Jorel Guilloty · Goldman Sachs): This was an acknowledgement/thank you after the previous question; no substantive new question was asked.
A: No management answer or follow-up commentary is included in the transcript for this exchange.
Mexico housing and infrastructure demand
Q (Citi): He asked views for housing and infrastructure in Mexico for 2027 and the cement intensity of the social housing program.
A: Management said housing and infrastructure should be resilient in 2027, noting infrastructure moved slower in 2026 but ready-mix backlog has almost doubled (about 95% to 98%) and projects should come in 2027. They said the social housing program is concrete-intensive and estimated about 6 to 7 tons of cement and 30 cubic meters of ready-mix concrete per unit.
"For this reason, we are estimating that around 6 to 7 tons of cement and 30 cubic meters of ready-mix concrete per unit." — Jaime Muguiro Domínguez (CEO)