Weyerhaeuser Company’s WY shares dropped 0.4% in yesterday’s after-hours trading session after it reported mixed results for fourth-quarter 2024. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate, while net sales missed the same.
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On a year-over-year basis, both metrics declined due to lower fee harvest volumes in the West. In the quarter, domestic sales volumes were moderately higher, while export volumes declined as the company shifted volumes from China to domestic customers. Sales realizations were slightly lower due to product mix, while per-unit log and haul costs remained unchanged. Additionally, distribution results declined compared with the third quarter, impacted by seasonally lower sales volumes.
Despite market challenges, the company expanded its timberlands through acquisitions and invested in engineered wood products portfolio in 2024. The company also advanced its Natural Climate Solutions business and improved operational efficiency. Market development and demand for climate solutions continued to grow. WY remains on track to achieve its financial targets by the end of 2025. With a strong balance sheet, the company is well-positioned to navigate market conditions and focus on long-term growth.
Weyerhaeuser’s Earnings & Sales Discussion
The company reported adjusted earnings of 11 cents per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 7 cents. The bottom line, however, decreased 31.3% from the year-ago reported figure of 16 cents.
Net sales for the quarter were $1.71 billion, which missed the consensus mark of $1.74 billion by 2.1% and declined 3.7% from $1.77 billion reported in the year-ago quarter.
Weyerhaeuser Company Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Weyerhaeuser Company Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Weyerhaeuser Company price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Weyerhaeuser Company Quote
Adjusted EBITDA was $294 million, down 8.4% from $321 million in the year-ago period.
WY’s Segment Details
Timberlands: Net sales (including inter-segment sales of $138 million) from the segment were $497 million, down from the year-ago figure of $534 million. We expected segment sales to decline 5.4% year over year to $505 million in the quarter. Adjusted EBITDA was $126 million, down from $143 million in the year-ago quarter.
Real Estate, Energy and Natural Resources: For the reported quarter, the segment’s net sales amounted to $86 million, up from $77 million a year ago. We expected segment sales to decrease to $74.5 million in the quarter. Adjusted EBITDA was $76 million, indicating a rise from $67 million reported in the year-ago period.
Wood Products: In the fourth quarter, the segment’s sales totaled $1.26 billion, down from $1.30 billion in the year-ago period. We expected segment sales to grow 0.3% year over year to $1.31 billion in the quarter. Adjusted EBITDA was $161 million, up from $159 million a year ago.
2024 Highlights of WY
For the full year, adjusted earnings were 53 cents per share, indicating a decrease of 48% from $1.02 reported in 2023. Revenues were $7.12 billion, which declined 7.2% from $7.67 billion reported a year ago.
Adjusted EBITDA of $1.29 billion increased 23.7% from 2023.
WY’s Financial Highlights
As of Dec. 31, 2024, Weyerhaeuser had cash and cash equivalents of $684 million, down from $1.16 billion at the end of 2023. Long-term debt was $4.87 billion at the fourth-quarter end, down from $5.07 billion at 2023 end.
Net cash from operations was $218 million for the fourth quarter and $1,008 million for 2024 compared with $288 million and $1,433 million reported in the respective year-ago period.
Weyerhaeuser’s Q1 Outlook
For first-quarter 2025, for Timberland, Weyerhaeuser expects earnings and adjusted EBITDA to be approximately $20 million higher than the fourth quarter. In the West, the company anticipates slightly higher fee harvest volumes and per-unit log and haul costs. Sales volumes and realizations are expected to see a moderate increase, mainly for domestic logs. Forestry and road costs are likely to decline due to seasonal factors. In the South, fee harvest volumes, sales realizations, and forestry and road costs are expected to align closely with fourth-quarter results, while per-unit log and haul costs are expected to see a slight increase.
In the Real Estate, Energy and Natural Resources segment, Weyerhaeuser expects first-quarter earnings and adjusted EBITDA to be comparable sequentially, primarily due to timing and sales mix in real estate. For 2025, the company anticipates adjusted EBITDA to reach about $350 million.
Within the Wood Products segment, Weyerhaeuser expects its first-quarter earnings before special items and adjusted EBITDA to slightly exceed fourth-quarter levels, excluding changes in lumber and oriented strand board prices. It expects higher sales volumes and slightly higher log costs and low unit manufacturing costs in lumber.
For OSB, it anticipates moderately higher sales volumes with slightly higher fiber and unit manufacturing costs. For engineered wood products, Weyerhaeuser anticipates a slight increase in sales volumes, while sales realizations are expected to remain steady. Raw material costs, particularly for oriented strand board web stock, are likely to be slightly higher. In the distribution segment, Weyerhaeuser anticipates slightly higher results than the previous quarter.
WY’s Zacks Rank & Recent Construction Releases
Weyerhaeuser currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
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