Ball posts 6.8% comparable EPS growth as GAAP swings to loss
Ball reported third-quarter comparable diluted EPS of $1.10, up 6.8% from $1.03 a year earlier, while GAAP diluted loss per share was 36 cents. Comparable operating earnings reached $451 million, creating a stronger underlying quarter but a sharp gap between adjusted and GAAP performance.
PR NEWSWIRE / FILEThe story
Ball said third-quarter comparable diluted earnings per share rose to $1.10 from $1.03 in 2025, a 6.8% increase. Comparable operating earnings were $451 million, compared with $440 million a year earlier, while the company reported a U.S. GAAP diluted loss per share of 36 cents versus GAAP earnings of $1.18 in the prior-year quarter.
The results show improvement on Ball’s comparable measures despite the reversal in reported GAAP per-share performance. The current quarter follows a 2025 third quarter in which the company posted $1.18 of GAAP diluted EPS and $1.03 of comparable diluted EPS.
Ball is a global packaging company, and its operating earnings figure is the clearest reported measure connecting the quarter to its core business performance. Older full-year company figures show $13.2 billion of 2025 revenue, up 11.6% year over year, with diluted EPS of $3.30; those annual figures are separate from the current quarter’s results.
The reported figures leave the explanation for the gap between comparable earnings and GAAP loss unresolved here. The comparable measures improved, but the GAAP comparison moved from earnings to a loss, making the composition of the quarter important for assessing its durability.
The next checkpoints are Ball’s detailed quarterly filing and management commentary on the items separating GAAP from comparable results, followed by the company’s next earnings release.
Our read · Tue, Nov 3
Ball lifted comparable third-quarter EPS 6.8% to $1.10 as GAAP diluted results swung to a 36-cent loss.
Why. The quarter offers two competing signals: underlying comparable EPS and operating earnings improved, but GAAP diluted results moved from $1.18 of earnings to a 36-cent loss. Ball’s older full-year base was $13.2 billion of revenue and $3.30 of diluted EPS, so the next decision point is whether the comparable improvement carries through without a repeat of the GAAP charges or adjustments implied by the gap.
Both cases
What could change this view: The read fails if the detailed filing shows the GAAP loss was temporary and comparable earnings continue to improve, or if the next quarter exposes weaker operating performance.
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Reported by PR Newswire as Ball Reports Strong Third Quarter 2026 Results
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