Kronos Worldwide Earnings Miss Estimates in Q2 on Low Volumes

Kronos Worldwide, Inc. KRO reported a second-quarter 2025 loss of 8 cents per share. This compares unfavorably with earnings of 17 cents in the year-ago quarter. The figure missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of earnings of 13 cents.

Net sales decreased around 1.2% year over year to $494.4 million. The decline was mainly due to lower average titanium dioxide (TiO2) selling prices, an unfavorable product mix and reduced sales volumes in the company’s export markets, partially offset by higher sales volumes in the North American market. The top line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $501 million.

KRO’s Volumes and Pricing

TiO2 production volumes (thousand metric tons) were down 8.8% year over year to 125 in the second quarter. TiO2 sales volumes (thousand metric tons) declined 1.5% to 132 in the quarter.

TiO2 segment profit was $10.9 million in the reported quarter compared with a segment profit of $41.1 million a year ago. The decrease was largely due to reduced operating income, resulting from unfavorable fixed cost absorption caused by lower operating rates at some manufacturing facilities, the inclusion in the second-quarter cost of sales of higher-cost inventory produced in the first quarter and the effects of currency fluctuations.

KRO’s Financials

Kronos ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $18.9 million. Long-term debt amounted to $501.4 million.

KRO’s Outlook

The company expects demand to remain under pressure until uncertainty surrounding tariffs is resolved, noting that the potential impact of global tariff and trade tensions on demand for the remainder of 2025 is still unclear. It expects customer inventory levels to remain low. However, customers remain reluctant to rebuild stock and continue placing orders with shorter notice.

KRO’s Price Performance

Shares of Kronos have lost 48.7% in the past year against a 23.8% decline of the industry.

KRO’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks

KRO currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

Better-ranked stocks worth a look in the basic materials space include Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. ASM, Gold Fields Limited GFI and Vizsla Silver Corp. VZLA.

Avino Silver is slated to report second-quarter results on Aug. 13. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at 3 cents per share. ASM’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, with the average surprise being 104.2%. Avino Silver flaunts a Zacks Rank #1 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Gold Fields is slated to report second-quarter results on Aug. 22. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GFI’s second-quarter earnings is pegged at 59 cents per share. Gold Fields currently sports a Zacks Rank #1.

Vizsla is expected to report quarterly results on Sept. 11. The consensus estimate for VZLA’s earnings is pegged at a loss of a penny per share. VZLA’s earnings met the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters while beating it in one, with the average surprise being 75%. Vizsla sports a Zacks Rank #1 at present.

 

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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