Hexcel (HXL) shares are down about 10% before Thursday’s open (trading at about $81) after the composites maker’s third-quarter sales came in at $496.4 million, $5.7 million short of the $502.1 million analysts expected.
That miss is about 1% of revenue, yet the drop erases nearly $700 million of market value. The bigger issue is the fourth quarter: Hexcel held its full-year guidance, and the midpoint now requires about $548 million in sales.
What Changed in Hexcel’s Quarter
- Commercial aerospace sales rose 20.5% to $330.3 million on widebody and narrowbody demand.
- Defense, space and other fell 8.7% to $166.1 million (management pointed to fighter and space programs).
- Adjusted EPS rose 35% to $0.50, in line, and adjusted operating margin widened to 11% from 9.8%.
- Hexcel bought back no shares this year (against $100.9 million in the first nine months of 2025) while it pays down debt.
- 2026 guidance held at $2.025 billion to $2.125 billion in sales and $2.30 to $2.40 in adjusted EPS.
The Quarter Hexcel Now Needs
Nine-month sales total $1.53 billion, so the $2.075 billion guidance midpoint requires about $548 million in the fourth quarter. That is 11.5% above last year’s fourth quarter and above $529.3 million in the second quarter, its highest in at least three years.
The low end needs only $498 million, roughly a repeat of the third quarter.
What Wall Street Already Expects From Hexcel
Analysts expect $2.09 billion in 2026 revenue, which implies about $563 million in the fourth quarter, 6% above that high. They see $2.34 billion in 2027, another 12% of growth.
That gap is where the stock goes next. The $2.09 billion consensus sits inside the guidance range, but above its midpoint. If management stands behind a fourth quarter around $550 million on this morning’s call, a 10% drop is too much for a business whose commercial sales are growing 20%. If it points toward the low end, the consensus is the number most likely to come down.
TIKR Tracks 17 Analysts on Hexcel. How Many Say “Buy”?
See the full breakdown of Buy, Hold, and Sell ratings on Hexcel, along with Wall Street’s revenue and earnings estimates, all in one place. More than 500,000 investors use TIKR to research stocks like this one. See Hexcel’s Analyst Ratings
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