Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.06 EPS

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) released its earnings results on Thursday. The basic materials company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.06, FiscalAI reports. Valvoline had a net margin of 5.03% and a return on equity of 66.54%. The company had revenue of $503.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $495.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.34 EPS. Valvoline’s revenue for the quarter 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 Price Performance

NYSE VVV traded down $0.21 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 quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.54 billion, a PE ratio of 48.85 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $34.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.17. Valvoline has a 12 month low of $28.50 and a 12 month high of $41.33.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Valvoline from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $44.00 target price (up from $41.00) on shares of Valvoline in a research note on Friday. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Valvoline from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Valvoline from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Valvoline in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valvoline presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.21.

Insider Transactions at Valvoline

In other Valvoline news, insider Julie Marie O’daniel sold 4,312 shares of Valvoline stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.55, for a total value of $166,227.60. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 17,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $693,090.45. The trade was a 19.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Valvoline

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VVV. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 142.0% in the 4th quarter. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP now owns 2,738,245 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $79,573,000 after buying an additional 1,606,810 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 39.2% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,537,621 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $198,835,000 after buying an additional 1,560,328 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 141.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,706,259 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,584,000 after buying an additional 998,896 shares during the last quarter. Sculptor Capital LP increased its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 47.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sculptor Capital LP now owns 3,000,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $113,610,000 after buying an additional 966,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Channing Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 40.7% in the 4th quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 3,031,697 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $88,101,000 after buying an additional 877,286 shares during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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).