Koppers falls after earnings miss and lowered full-year outlook

What happened

Koppers (KOP) fell 24.4% on November 6, 2026, because of third-quarter results that missed expectations and a lowered full-year 2026 earnings outlook. The company reported earnings per share of $0.77 against $1.37 expected, 43.8% below estimates, and said rising raw material and freight costs outpaced its ability to recover those costs through pricing. Management also disclosed regulatory-investigation notices from a plaintiffs’ firm. Those elements together drove heavy selling, according to reports by Seeking Alpha and The Motley Fool.

How big was the move

The stock closed at $29.97 after opening 25.7% below the previous close and traded at 2.5 times its 20-day average volume. The one-day decline equaled 6.0 times a typical daily move for this stock and left the share price down 27.8% over the last five sessions. By comparison, the S&P 500 rose 0.3% on the day while the Basic Materials sector median rose 0.4%, leaving the stock 24.8 percentage points worse than the sector median. With a beta of 1.04, the stock tends to move about as much as the market. The company’s market value was $566.8 million.

The technical picture

The stock is 27.6% below its 20-day moving average, 32.1% below its 50-day moving average and 28.3% below its 200-day moving average. The 50-day average is above the 200-day average, a sign of an established uptrend despite the recent sharp decline. The Relative Strength Index (14 days) is 18, which is below 30 and often called oversold. The share price is 43.5% below the 52-week high. Over one month the stock fell 32.3% and over three months it fell 40.7%; over one year it rose 6.8%, 1.7 percentage points behind the S&P 500. Volatility is 64% annualized over 60 days, the highest reading of the past five years, signaling unusually large swings in the share price.

Fundamentals and valuation

For the four quarters through September 30, 2026, revenue was $1.91 billion, a decline of 0.9% from a year earlier. Diluted earnings per share for that period were $-5.14, and earnings per share growth from a year earlier fell 742.5%. Gross margin narrowed to 14.7% from 21.9% a year earlier, and operating margin slipped to 4.1% from 6.5%. Free-cash-flow margin was 6.3% and return on invested capital was 3.4%. The balance sheet shows net debt of 50.2 times EBITDA, a leverage metric that the market is likely to watch closely after the guidance cut. Share count over one year decreased by 2.7%.

Valuation measures present a mixed picture. Price to forward earnings was 7.4 times expected earnings and free-cash-flow yield was 15.4%, figures that imply a low multiple on expected profits and a high yield from cash flow. PromtFinance scores within the sector were 52 for Value (Neutral) and 54 for Revisions (Neutral). Growth scored 24 (Very weak), Quality 17 (Very weak), Momentum 44 (Weak) and Stability 16 (Very weak). Those scores reflect pressure on profitability and balance-sheet strength despite apparent value on earnings and cash flow metrics.

Earnings and analyst expectations

The company’s November 6, 2026, report showed earnings per share of $0.77 against $1.37 expected, 43.8% below estimates, and management lowered its full-year 2026 earnings outlook. The next report is scheduled for February 25, 2027. The stock had 0 consecutive quarters beating estimates; the average surprise over the last four reports was 12.1% above estimates, and typical two-day reactions after recent reports saw the stock fell 3.8%.

Analysts’ consensus price target was $55.00, 83.5% above the closing price, based on coverage from 14 analysts. Half of those analysts rated the stock Buy and the consensus rating was Buy. The gap between the consensus target and the market price highlights how sharply sentiment shifted on the earnings miss and the guidance cut.

What to watch

• February 25, 2027: next scheduled earnings report.
• The company’s revised full-year 2026 guidance and any further updates on cost recovery or pricing actions.
• Notices from the plaintiffs’ firm and any regulatory-investigation developments as reported by Seeking Alpha and The Motley Fool.
• Changes in net debt or EBITDA metrics disclosed in quarterly filings, given net debt of 50.2 times EBITDA.
• Volume and price action in the days following this report, noting the stock traded 2.5 times its 20-day average volume and the one-day move equaled 6.0 times a typical daily move for this stock.