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what it is
Koppers makes treated wood, rail parts, wood-treatment chemicals, and carbon materials for railroads and utilities.
how it gets paid
Last year Koppers made $1.9B in revenue. Railroad ties and rail products was the main engine at $0.60B, or 32% of sales.
why growth slowed
Revenue fell 10.2% last year. The $1.4B quarter matters because it shows the company can still post a huge top line even after a full-year revenue decline of 10.2%.
what just happened
Revenue hit $1.4B, and EPS came in at $1.29 on a very ugly comparison base.
At a glance
C++ balance sheet — some cracks in the foundation
40/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
35.2x trailing p/e — you're paying up for this one
0.9% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
6.4% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 47/100 — below average
What they do
Koppers makes treated wood, rail parts, wood-treatment chemicals, and carbon materials for railroads and utilities.
You are buying a business with 2,082 employees and $1.9B in annual revenue. It sells crossties, switch ties, poles, and preservatives that railroads and utilities keep needing. An 11.6% operating margin means 11.6 cents of each sales dollar stays after running the business, which is decent for this kind of gritty shop.
How they make money
$1.9B
annual revenue · their business grew -10.2% last year
Railroad ties and rail products
$0.60B
+0.0%
Utility poles and pilings
$0.45B
+4.0%
Wood treatment chemicals
$0.40B
+3.0%
Specialty additives and preservatives
$0.25B
+2.0%
Carbon compounds and creosote
$0.20B
5.0%
The products that matter
industrial chemicals and treatment
Performance Chemicals
$1.1B · down 10%
this is the larger revenue engine at $1.1B, but it fell 10% last year. size helps, yet the direction is the problem.
largest segment
railroad and utility infrastructure
Railroad & Utility Products
$0.8B · down 11%
it generated $0.8B and declined 11% last year, tied to end markets that sound stable until volumes or pricing soften.
infrastructure exposure
margin and cash flow program
Catalyst program
$46M benefit
management says the Catalyst program delivered $46M in benefits. if that number keeps showing up in cash flow, the debt story improves. if it does not, it was just a presentation slide with good lighting.
the swing factor
Key numbers
$1.9B
annual revenue
You are looking at a company that sells almost $2B of industrial inputs a year.
$996M
long-term debt
The debt stack is bigger than the $742M market value, so creditors have real leverage over your stock.
35.2x
trailing earnings
The market is paying 35.2 times trailing profit, which is a rich price for a company with an 11.6% operating margin.
11.6%
operating margin
That means 11.6 cents of every sales dollar survives the business before interest and taxes.
Financial health
C++
strength
- balance sheet grade C++ — below average — limited financial resources
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 50 / 100
- long-term debt $996M (57% of capital)
C++ — balance sheet grade and long-term debt are flagged. this stock carries more risk than average.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for KOP right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
beat estimates
Revenue hit $1.4B, and EPS came in at $1.29 on a very ugly comparison base.
The quarter grew 198% vs. prior year on revenue and 10% on EPS. Full-year revenue still landed at $1.9B, down 10.2%, so the rebound sits inside a softer trend.
$1.4B
revenue
$1.29
eps
+198%
revenue vs. last year
the number that mattered
The $1.4B quarter matters because it shows the company can still post a huge top line even after a full-year revenue decline of 10.2%.
source: company earnings report and SEC filing
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is environmental permits at wood-treatment and chemical facilities.
high
environmental permit risk
management has already said the business is sensitive to obtaining and maintaining permits. if a key site loses a permit or faces tighter operating limits, production does not politely continue somewhere else.
hard to quantify from this snapshot, but operational disruption would hit cash flow first and sentiment second.
high
debt load
$996M in long-term debt equals 57% of capital. when a company only keeps 3% of revenue as net income, leverage stops being a footnote and becomes the main character.
a modest operating miss can eat into deleveraging capacity fast.
med
Catalyst execution risk
the company says the Catalyst program delivered $46M in benefits and is targeting $300M of free cash flow across 2026–2028. if those savings do not convert into actual cash, the thesis weakens quickly.
this is the bridge between a merely okay business and a better equity story.
med
end-market softness
Performance Chemicals fell 10% and Railroad & Utility Products fell 11% last year. when both core segments contract together, recovery timing matters more than management rhetoric.
all else equal, slower volumes or weaker pricing stretch the debt timeline.
with $996M in long-term debt and just a 3% net margin on $1.9B in revenue, Koppers does not need a disaster to disappoint shareholders.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
metric
free cash flow versus the $300M target
management set a 2026–2028 free cash flow target of $300M. that is the scorecard for whether debt comes down for real.
risk
permits and environmental compliance
the company has already flagged permit sensitivity. if you see unusual language around facilities or remediation, pay attention fast.
calendar
Sidoti Small Cap Conference
management hosts investor meetings on March 16–17, 2026. the useful question is not optimism. it is whether management gets more specific about cash flow and debt paydown.
trend
segment declines need to stop getting worse
last year, Performance Chemicals fell 10% and Railroad & Utility Products fell 11%. stabilization matters before re-acceleration even enters the chat.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
40 / 100
earnings are harder to forecast than average. in human-speak, analysts should not be shocked if the next few quarters come with swings.
risk rank
3
that points to middle-of-the-road market risk. the business is not inherently wild, but leverage can make the equity feel wilder than the operations.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for KOP is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$28
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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