Ball Corporation

Greetings, and welcome to the Ball Corporation's third quarter 2025 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A brief question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone should require operator assistance during the conference, please press star zero on your telephone keypad. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Brandon Potthoff, and Head of Investor Relations. Thank you, sir. You may begin.

Thank you, Christine. Good morning, everyone. This is Ball Corporation's conference call regarding the company's third quarter 2025 results. The information provided during this call will contain forward-looking statements. Actual results or outcomes may differ materially from those that may be expressed or implied. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made today. Some factors that could cause the results or outcomes to differ are described in the company's latest Form 10-K, our most recent earnings release, and Form 8-K and in other company SEC filings, as well as company news releases. If you do not already have our earnings release, it is available on our website at ball.com. Information regarding the use of non-GAAP financial measures may also be found in the notes section of today's earnings release. In addition, the release includes a summary of non-comparable items, as well as reconciliation of comparable net earnings and diluted earnings per share calculations. References to net sales and comparable operating earnings in today's release and call do not include the company's former aerospace business. Prior year-to-date net earnings attributable to the corporation and comparable net earnings do include the performance of the company's former aerospace business through the sale date of February 16th, 2024. I would now like to turn the call over to our CEO, Dan Fisher.

Thank you, Brandon. Today I'm joined on our call by Dan Rabbit, SVP and interim CFO. I will provide some brief introductory remarks and discuss third quarter financial performance. Dan will then touch on key metrics for 2025, and we will finish up with closing comments and Q and A. First, I want to take a minute to highlight the amazing work our employees and teams have done to give back to their communities. During the third quarter, I'm proud to share that Ball employees donated over 7,000 hours of their time across 19 countries in support of 116 charities. This past September was also our annual Who We Are Month, where we celebrated our unmatched culture and talented people that help us and our customers navigate complexity and provide innovative solutions that enable us to win. I want to thank all of our employees for devoting time to uplift our communities and participating in Who We Are Month. I also want to thank all of our employees for our great third quarter business performance. The average can volumes grew 4.2%, comparable operating earnings increased 5.1%, and comparable diluted earnings per share rose 12.1%. In addition, we have now returned $1.35 billion to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends as of today's call. This strong performance reinforces our opportunity to deliver record comparable diluted earnings per share record EVA, and approach record adjusted free cash flow in 2025, a testament to the strength of our portfolio and disciplined execution. Aluminum packaging continues to outperform other substrates globally, underscoring the resilient and defensive nature of our business. While we remain attentive to uncertainties related to tariffs and consumer pressures, particularly in the US, we are confident in our ability to proactively manage these dynamics and sustain our momentum towards delivering 12 to 15% comparable diluted EPS growth. Third quarter comparable net earnings of $277 million were driven by higher volume and cost management initiatives, partially offset by higher interest expense and lower interest income. In North and Central America, segment comparable operating earnings increased 3.5%, driven by stronger than expected volume performance, though partially offset by product mix headwinds. Mid-single digit percent volume growth was led by continued strength in energy drinks and non-alcoholic beverages. Our team continues to execute at a high level, successfully meeting elevated demand, navigating the complexities of Section 232 tariffs, and mitigating risks in a volatile environment. We remain vigilant in monitoring the evolving geopolitical landscape and tariff developments, and we are actively managing these dynamics to protect our business and support long-term growth. In EMEA, third-quarter segment volume growth of mid-single-digit percent remain robust, contributing to a 14.8% increase in segment-comparable operating earnings. Favorable demand trends continue to reinforce our confidence in delivering meaningful year-over-year growth in 2025. This outlook is supported by sustained volume momentum and ongoing operational efficiency, which position as well to capitalize on market opportunities and drive continued performance improvement. In South America, segment comparable operating earnings increased 2.6% as mid single digit percent volume growth was supported by strong performance in Argentina. While the Brazilian market came in slightly below our initial expectations due to weather-related softness, we anticipate a recovery in the fourth quarter as conditions normalize. Our teams across the region continue to execute well, positioning us for sustained momentum. We delivered a strong first nine months of 2025, positioning us well to achieve our full year objectives. While important work remains in the fourth quarter, our teams are fully engaged, navigating ongoing uncertainties with discipline and leveraging the strength and resilience of our global portfolio. We remain laser focused on our goal of delivering 12% to 15% comparable deleted EPS growth for the year. Despite external challenges, we are confident in our team's proven ability to execute effectively and deliver meaningful value to shareholders. We anticipate 2025 global volume growth to end above the long-term 2% to 3% range, and expect all of our reportable segment businesses to perform in line with or ahead of our long-term targets in 2025. This reflects the durability of our underlying global demand, the strength of our customer relationships, in addition to the operational consistency of our teams across markets. In EMEA, we continue to expect mid-single-digit volume growth in 2025, as the competitive advantages of aluminum packaging and low can penetration rates continue to drive share gains across the region. In South America, recovery in both Argentina and Chile has progressed in line with our expectations. While Brazil experienced some softness earlier in the year, we anticipate a recovery in the fourth quarter. As a result, we now expect full-year 2025 volume growth across the region to fall within our long-term range of 4% to 6%. Our teams remain focused on execution and are well positioned to capture growth as market conditions stabilize. In our North American business, stronger than expected volume growth across non-alcoholic categories, particularly energy drinks, give us confidence that we will exceed the top end of our long-term 1% to 3% volume growth range in 2025. We remain confident in our ability to grow volume slightly ahead of the market. The defensive nature of our portfolio, combined with strong customer alignment, positions us well to navigate potential economic uncertainty, and continue delivering consistent performance. With that, I'll turn it over to Dan to talk about key metrics for 2025.