Good morning. CEMEX, the cement and building-materials company headquartered right here in San Pedro Garza García, reported second-quarter results this week that beat what analysts were expecting — and the company used the moment to raise its own bar for the rest of the year.
Net profit came in at $347 million, up 9% from a year earlier. But the number that mattered more to markets was EBITDA: $1.02 billion, a record for the company and a 24% jump year-over-year, comfortably ahead of the $937 million analysts had modeled. Sales rose 12% to $4.09 billion, according to Reuters. Cement volumes grew a modest 1% to 11.3 million metric tons, while aggregates slipped 2% and ready-mix held flat — this was a quarter won on margin, not on tonnage.
Why it matters
CEMEX credited the jump to two things: cost discipline and a bit of good fortune. "México presentó resultados sólidos respaldados por eficiencias de costos, mejoras en demanda y apalancamiento operativo," the company said. Underneath that, per Morningstar/Dow Jones, sat a $42 million one-off gain from a European settlement and roughly $60 million in savings tied to Project Cutting Edge — CEMEX's ongoing efficiency program. The company said it has already banked 80% of that program's original $400 million savings target, and raised the target itself to $475 million.
The result: CEMEX now expects full-year 2026 EBITDA growth of 16% to 17%, up from its prior guidance of "high single-digit growth." For a company this size to nearly double its own growth forecast mid-year is a strong signal — both about the underlying business and about how much room the cost program still has to run.
- Q2 EBITDA: $1.02 billion, +24% year-over-year, a company record
- Q2 net profit: $347 million, +9% year-over-year
- Q2 sales: $4.09 billion, +12% year-over-year
- Project Cutting Edge savings target raised to $475 million from $400 million
- Full-year 2026 EBITDA guidance raised to 16-17% growth
What to watch
The gap between the $42 million one-off gain and the recurring cost savings is worth tracking into Q3 — investors will want to see the margin hold up without the settlement's help. Also worth watching: whether cement volumes, which grew just 1% this quarter, pick up if Nuevo León's construction pipeline (data centers, industrial parks, housing) converts from announcements into poured concrete in the back half of the year.