Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.06 EPS

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The basic materials company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.06, FiscalAI reports. Valvoline had a return on equity of 66.54% and a net margin of 5.03%.The business had revenue of $503.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $495.67 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.34 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Valvoline updated its FY 2026 guidance to 1.650-1.750 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Valvoline’s conference call:

• Strong Q2 results — net sales of $504M (+25% YoY), EBITDA of $134M (+28%), EPS of $0.41 (+21%), and free cash flow up about $57M, driven by system sales growth and SG&A leverage.
• Management has raised full‑year guidance for same‑store sales, EBITDA, and EPS and reports continued momentum into Q3, while remaining measured about macro uncertainty.
• Rising base oil costs tied to the Middle East conflict began to show in Q3 and could modestly pressure margins; company and some franchisees are implementing price increases and index pass‑throughs to mitigate the impact.
• Breeze Autocare integration is ahead of plan with early payroll and procurement synergies and better‑than‑expected financial contribution, resulting in lower‑than‑expected EBITDA dilution.
• Network and fleet momentum — added 31 stores (total 2,409), development pipeline remains healthy with openings weighted to the back half, fleet is growing rapidly (still <10% of sales), and new‑store returns remain in the mid‑to‑high‑teens.

Valvoline Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of VVV stock traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $35.66. The company had a trading volume of 3,936,953 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,422,675. The company has a market capitalization of $4.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.85 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.73. Valvoline has a twelve month low of $28.50 and a twelve month high of $41.33. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.17.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on VVV. Truist Financial set a $38.00 price target on Valvoline in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $44.00 target price (up from $41.00) on shares of Valvoline in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Valvoline from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Valvoline from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $30.00 to $35.00 in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Valvoline from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $40.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valvoline currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valvoline news, insider Julie Marie O’daniel sold 4,312 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.55, for a total value of $166,227.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 17,979 shares in the company, valued at $693,090.45. This represents a 19.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in Valvoline by 1,621.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,050 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 989 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Valvoline by 90.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,458 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Valvoline by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,906 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Valvoline during the third quarter worth about $60,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Valvoline by 300.9% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,261 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 1,697 shares during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valvoline News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Valvoline this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Valvoline beat expectations on both earnings and revenue, posting $0.41 EPS versus $0.35 expected and $503.8 million in revenue versus $495.7 million expected, with revenue up 25% year over year. Valvoline Q2 Earnings Report
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised investor confidence by issuing FY2026 guidance of $1.65-$1.75 EPS, which is near consensus, while revenue guidance of $2.0 billion-$2.1 billion suggests continued growth. Valvoline Stock Page
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts responded positively after the earnings beat, including Piper Sandler reaffirming Overweight and lifting its price target to $44 from $41, implying meaningful upside from current levels. Benzinga Analyst Update
• Neutral Sentiment: Management said it expects to offset higher base oil costs with pricing actions, estimating it can pass along about $0.50-$0.60 per oil change for each $1 per gallon increase in base oil costs. Seeking Alpha Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings-call coverage highlighted growth momentum, but did not add materially new information beyond the strong quarter and guidance. TipRanks Earnings Call Highlights

Valvoline Company Profile

Valvoline (NYSE: VVV) is a leading global producer and distributor of automotive and industrial lubricants. The company’s portfolio spans engine oils, gear oils, transmission fluids, greases, coolants and driveline products, all designed to help improve vehicle performance and longevity. Valvoline’s products are marketed under the Valvoline®, Valvoline NextGen® and Valvoline™ SynPower® brand names and are formulated to meet the stringent requirements of passenger cars, light trucks, heavy‐duty vehicles and off‐road applications.

In addition to its core lubricant business, Valvoline operates one of North America’s largest quick‐lubricant service networks through Valvoline Instant Oil Change℠ (VIOC).