Axalta Coating Systems Ltd.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Excel to Coating Systems Q3 2026 earnings call. A question and answer session will follow the presentation by management. Today's call is being recorded and a replay will be available through November 5th. Those listening after today's call should please note that the information provided in the recording will not be updated and therefore may no longer be current. It is now my pleasure to turn the call over to Colleen Lubic, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us to discuss Exalta's third quarter 2026 financial results. I'm Colleen Lubic, Vice President of Investor Relations. Joining me today are Chris Villavarayan, our Chief Executive Officer, and Carl Anderson, our Chief Financial Officer. You can find today's presentation and supporting materials on the investor relations section of our website at exalta.com. Before we begin, please turn to slide two for our forward-looking statements and non-GAAP disclosures. Our remarks today and the slide presentation may include forward-looking statements reflecting our current views of future events and their potential impact on Exalta's performance. and with respect to the proposed merger of equals between Exalta and AxoNobel. These statements involve risks and uncertainties and actual results and outcomes may differ. We're under no obligation to update these statements. Our remarks and the side presentation also contain various non-GAAP financial measures. We have included reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures. Please refer to our filings with the SEC for more information. With that, I will now turn the call over to Chris.

Thank you, Colleen, and good morning, everyone. Let's turn to slide three. Net sales in the third quarter increased 2% year-over-year to $1.3 billion, with volume growth in three of our four end markets and three of our four regions. Mobility Coatings performed exceptionally well, delivering record quarterly net sales and record third quarter adjusted EBITDA. Commercial vehicle net sales grew 24%. Light vehicle once again outperformed underlying global production trends and the industrial showed modest growth. We delivered adjusted EBITDA of 282 million and adjusted EBITDA margin of 21.5%, marking our 11th consecutive quarter above 20%. While our performance in the quarter remains strong, Results were below our expectations, driven primarily by softer volumes in Europe refinish. Sales in the region were lower than anticipated following five consecutive quarters of record sales as a weakening macroeconomic environment led distributors to adopt more cautious ordering patterns during the quarter. Importantly, our pricing actions this year continued to offset inflation, resulting in positive price mix for the business. While the current operating environment is affected by sluggish end markets, geopolitical uncertainty, and rapidly increasing raw material and freight costs, we continue to strengthen our financial position. Free cash flow was 92 million, up 3% year-over-year, despite absorbing approximately 21 million of merger-related cash costs during the quarter. Year-to-date, free cash flow is up 25% compared to the prior year period. Inclusive of approximately $42 million of M&A-related cash costs, while capital investment remained at record levels. Total net leverage ended at a record low 2.1 times and gross debt fell below $3 billion for the first time in company history, approximately $500 million lower than two years ago. We're gaining new business in attractive markets, generating strong margins and converting earnings into cash at a high level. Through September, we have won approximately 2,600 net new body shops and believe the pipeline remains strong. Additionally, industrial sales in Asia Pacific grew again in the third quarter, marking seven straight quarters of net sales growth, and CTS grew double digits year over year to a quarterly net sales record. Combined with the strength of our balance sheet, we're well positioned to navigate the current environment. Now to Carl for the results.