Ball Corp Gears Up to Report Q1 Earnings: Here's What to Expect

Ball Corporation BALL is scheduled to report first-quarter 2025 results on May 6, before the opening bell.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BALL’s net sales is pegged at $2.95 billion, indicating 2.7% growth from the year-ago reported figure.

The consensus estimate for earnings is pegged at 69 cents per share, which has been unchanged in the past 60 days. The estimate indicates year-over-year growth of 1.5%. (Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.)

BALL’s Solid Earnings Surprise History

Ball Corp’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimates in the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 7.8%.

What the Zacks Model Unveils for Ball Corp

Our model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for BALL this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. That is not the case here, as you can see below.

You can uncover the best stocks before they are reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Earnings ESP: Ball Corp has an Earnings ESP of -0.48%.

Zacks Rank: BALL currently carries a Zacks Rank of 3.

Factors Likely to Have Shaped BALL’s Q1 Performance

Ball Corp has lately been witnessing weaker-than-expected demand as customer spending has been muted amid higher retail prices, particularly in the United States. This is likely to get reflected in BALL’s first-quarter results. 

High input and labor costs due to supply constraints are anticipated to have impacted the company’s performance.
However, BALL has been focused on improving its efficiency and reducing costs, which is likely to have negated these impacts and aided margins.

Our estimate for the Beverage packaging, North and Central America segment’s net sales is pegged at $1.39 billion, indicating a 0.6% year-over-year dip. We expect the segment’s volume to increase 1.5% year over year. We anticipate a 3.7% year-over-year slip in the segment’s operating income to $185 million.

Our model predicts the Beverage Packaging,  Europe segment’s sales to be $829 million, indicating 2.4% growth from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure. We expect volume growth of 4.8% for this segment. 

The segment’s operating income is projected at $81.5 million, indicating a 4.1% year-over-year dip.

We expect the Beverage Packaging, South America segment’s net sales to be $484 million, indicating 0.4% growth from the year-ago period’s reported level. The consensus estimate for the segment’s operating income is pegged at $53 million, indicating 3.7% growth from the year-ago quarter’s actual. Our model predicts a volume increase of 4.4% for the segment.

Ball Corp’s Other Updates

In March 2025, the company announced that it entered a joint venture named Oasis Venture Holdings, LLC with Ayna.AI to fuel the development and expansion of BALL's Aluminum Cup business. Headquartered in Rome, GA, the joint venture will look after the commercial, supply chain and manufacturing operations of the Aluminum Cup business. Ball Corp will hold the minority interest of 49% in the joint venture, with Ayna having the remaining 51%.

The venture will focus on expanding Aluminum Cup’s customer base while maintaining exceptional operational standards and customer service. This will position Ball Corp’s Aluminum Cup business for growth, market expansion and innovation.

BALL Stock’s Price Performance

The company’s shares have lost 24.3% in the past year compared with the industry's 6.4% decline.

Stocks to Consider

Here are some stocks with the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat in their upcoming releases.

Emerson Electric Co. EMR, expected to release earnings on May 7, currently has an Earnings ESP of +1.96% and a Zacks Rank of 3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The consensus estimate for Emerson Electric’s earnings for the second quarter of fiscal 2025 is pegged at $1.42 per share, indicating year-over-year growth of 4.4%. EMR has a trailing four-quarter average surprise of 4.3%.

Trimble Inc. TRMB, expected to release earnings on May 7, currently has an Earnings ESP of +5.44% and a Zacks Rank of 3. 

The consensus estimate for Trimble’s earnings for the first quarter of 2025 is pegged at 59 cents per share, indicating a year-over-year dip of 7.8%. Trimble has a trailing four-quarter average surprise of 7.8%.

Kinross Gold Corporation KGC, scheduled to release first-quarter earnings on May 6, has an Earnings ESP of +11.07%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Kinross Gold's earnings for the first quarter of 2025 is pegged at 21 cents, indicating a surge of 111% from the year-ago quarter’s actual. KGC currently carries a Zacks Rank #3. Kinross Gold has a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 23.6%.

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

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