RankAlpha logo
Back to Rankings

PCT

PureCycleB
Nasdaq / Materials
Last Price
Quote time unavailable
View Chart
Documents
39
Stored
Transcripts
2
Recent loaded
Latest report
2026-08-13
Investor release

Document history

Earnings documents stored for PCT.

12 shown
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-08-13

PureCycle (PCT) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Motley Fool
Image source: The Motley Fool. Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. ET Director of Investor Relations - Eric DeNatale Chief Executive Officer - Dustin Olson Chief Financial Officer - Donald Carpenter Operator: Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the PureCycle Technologies Second Quarter 2026 Corporate Update Call. [Operator Instructions] Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Eric DeNatale, Director of Investor Relations. Please go ahead. Eric DeNatale: Thank you, Kelly. I'm Eric DeNatale, Director of Investor Relations for PureCycle. And joining me on the call today are Dustin Olson, our Chief Executive Officer; and Donald Carpenter, our Chief Financial Officer. This evening, we will be highlighting our corporate developments for the second quarter of 2026. The presentation we'll be going through on this call can also be found at the Investor tab on our website at purecycle.com. Many of the statements made today will be forward-looking and are based on management's beliefs and assumptions and information currently available to management at this time. The statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which may be beyond our control, including those set forth in our safe harbor provisions and forward-looking statements that can be found at the end of our second quarter 2026 corporate update press release filed this evening, as well as in other reports on file with the SEC that provides further detail about the risks related to our business. Additionally, please note that the company's actual results may differ materially from those anticipated, and except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement. Our remarks today may also include preliminary non-GAAP estimates and are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, among other things, changes in connection with quarter-end and year-end adjustments. Any variation between PureCycle's actual results and the preliminary financial data set forth herein may be material. You're welcome to follow along with our slide deck, or if joining us by phone, you can access it at any time at purecycle.com. With that, I will now turn it over to Dustin Olson, PureCycle's Chief Executive Officer. Dustin Olson: Thank you, Eric, and good evening, every…Read full document

Image source: The Motley Fool. Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. ET Director of Investor Relations - Eric DeNatale Chief Executive Officer - Dustin Olson Chief Financial Officer - Donald Carpenter Operator: Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the PureCycle Technologies Second Quarter 2026 Corporate Update Call. [Operator Instructions] Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Eric DeNatale, Director of Investor Relations. Please go ahead. Eric DeNatale: Thank you, Kelly. I'm Eric DeNatale, Director of Investor Relations for PureCycle. And joining me on the call today are Dustin Olson, our Chief Executive Officer; and Donald Carpenter, our Chief Financial Officer. This evening, we will be highlighting our corporate developments for the second quarter of 2026. The presentation we'll be going through on this call can also be found at the Investor tab on our website at purecycle.com. Many of the statements made today will be forward-looking and are based on management's beliefs and assumptions and information currently available to management at this time. The statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which may be beyond our control, including those set forth in our safe harbor provisions and forward-looking statements that can be found at the end of our second quarter 2026 corporate update press release filed this evening, as well as in other reports on file with the SEC that provides further detail about the risks related to our business. Additionally, please note that the company's actual results may differ materially from those anticipated, and except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement. Our remarks today may also include preliminary non-GAAP estimates and are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, among other things, changes in connection with quarter-end and year-end adjustments. Any variation between PureCycle's actual results and the preliminary financial data set forth herein may be material. You're welcome to follow along with our slide deck, or if joining us by phone, you can access it at any time at purecycle.com. With that, I will now turn it over to Dustin Olson, PureCycle's Chief Executive Officer. Dustin Olson: Thank you, Eric, and good evening, everyone. This is a quarter of real progress on all fronts and sets up the second half for further progress. Operationally, we completed the turnaround ahead of schedule and below budget, executed more than 170 site projects and came out of it with a plant that set a new daily throughput record in June. We brought compounding in-house and it is running today, producing what customers specify. Commercially, revenue grew for the sixth consecutive quarter, and our first Procter & Gamble application entered commercial production. On the regulatory front, New Jersey approved PureFive as recycled content, the last approval our customers are waiting on, and it's already accelerating qualification at some of the largest foodservice companies in the country. We also spent the quarter preparing for future developments. In May, we ran Ironton under process conditions that closely match the plant designs we will build in Thailand and Antwerp, and those tests were successful. Thailand received Board of Investment approval in the quarter, and we expect to break ground in the second half of this year. Every one of those threads points in the same direction: a second half ramp and Ironton breakeven, which remains our second half target. We are further along the path than we were 90 days ago. Let me walk you through the details. Here is the frame that we are using internally. All year, we have said that commercial ramp will be second half-weighted, and it was for two specific reasons. The first was regulatory clock. Requirements that begin in January '27 set the pace for when brands must move. The second was supply chain readiness. It is one thing to technically qualify the product. It is another thing to make it consistently and reliably at specification every time. Brands buy at the SKU level one application at a time, and they do not start until they're confident the material in the tenth truck will be identical to the material of the first. Both factors are now proving out. Since the New Jersey approval, brands are accelerating their qualification process for the first time. You see it in QSR cold cups and in large snack and confectionery programs that tells you that the regulations really matter for driving demand and that the demand is coming. And with our compounding assets integrated and running, we now have the reliable supply chain that those brands require. You can see it working. A customer with standards as exacting as Procter & Gamble is accelerating their own commercial ramp with us. The other thing to understand is fragmentation. Outside of a handful of categories, this market converts SKU by SKU, thousands of separate qualifications rather than a few large contracts. That is not an issue unique to PureCycle. It is the structure of the market and is the same for everyone in it. Quick service restaurants follow the same pattern, but with higher volume SKUs. A large chain carries fewer packaging SKUs, and each one is enormous. A single qualification there can be worth what dozens are worth elsewhere, and they are working against a deadline that's not set by us. New Jersey's food contact exemption expires in January of '27. So the expected future pace from here is largely set by a date in statute. Customers are driving to have product on the shelves to meet requirements that start in January of '27. This all drives toward an Ironton breakeven, which remains our second half target. We have referred to breakeven as roughly 40% to 50% utilization, and that number has not changed. It is built on branded sales at those utilization rates, and branded sales are ramping. Branded pricing remains robust, and applications carrying the highest confidence for the second half maintain strong pricing. The net of this is our confidence in the second half ramp and the path through Ironton breakeven has increased because the things that made the second half weighted are being proved out. Ironton produced approximately 4.5 million pounds of PureFive in the second quarter, down from the prior quarter and consistent with the message we communicated in advance of the planned turnaround. We processed approximately 5 million pounds of feedstock. This was not a quarter for rate. It was a quarter for making improvements to the plant, testing equipment, and the test worked. The turnaround was completed ahead of schedule and below budget, and we executed more than 170 projects during the outage, targeting reliability rate and quality. Two reliability items are worth naming because together, they were our two largest sources of unplanned downtime last year. The first was the CP2 system, which has been a persistent problem and is now substantially improved. The second was improving the reliability of numerous mechanical systems, and this outage substantially expanded the capacity of the plant bottleneck and improved the worst performing seal in the plant. Both are structural fixes. When we opened the equipment during the outage, the large equipment where we had prior problems was very clean, including the settler, where co-product separates from the product stream. That bodes well for future reliability, so waste plastic is not [ fouling ] the system, and is a good long-term indicator for the technology, not just for this facility. May was, by design, a low-volume month. We commissioned the newly installed equipment, and we changed process conditions at Ironton to mimic the designs we intend to build in Antwerp and Thailand. Those tests were successful. Being able to run those conditions on an operating commercial asset before we build is an advantage most companies in our position do not have. In June, we set a new daily throughput record, and we demonstrated production at 12,000 pounds per hour. On feedstock supply, our feedstock supply is very steady. Purchases are routine, Denver is running well and inventory is balanced. Delivered costs are declining, and we now source from over 15 different domestic suppliers. On-site compounding is running. We announced mechanical completion on our May call. The asset today is running 24 hours a day for 5 days a week, and we intend to move to 24/7 in the fourth quarter. That is consistent with the cadence we described in February and again in May and is a large part of why our ramp has been second half-weighted all year. We previously relied on third-party compounders, and third-party operations carry their own reliability risks. Bringing it in-house saves us money and lets us ship by railcar. Most importantly, it derisks our supply chain, strengthens our quality control and gives us the flexibility to deliver on what each customer specifies. Now that it's running, here is what it changes. We control the formulation. We can hit a customer specification with precise recycled content percentage with precise properties and hold it consistently. And the mandates do not currently require 100% recycled material, they require a percentage. Compounding is how we deliver that percentage in a form that the application needs. It also opens thermoformed cups at scale, in clear and in white. Both sit directly in the scope of regulations, and with compounding, we can make both. Also importantly, we can now deliver compounded product in railcars directly from Ironton. This was a capability that we don't have with a third-party compound part. We have generated and shipped numerous samples since startup. The product looks excellent, and you see the examples of it in the deck. And because compounding is running in Ironton, we can now control the product samples going into the hands of prospective customers in Thailand and Europe, and we are doing exactly that. One comment on how to read the numbers. Compounded volumes includes additives and virgin polypropylene alongside our PureFive content, so compounded products will run ahead of the PureFive resin pounds. This is the product that the market is asking for. Finally, in May, we achieved ISO 9001 certification, independent validation of the quality systems that sit behind all of this. It's one of those quiet milestones, but it's kind of the thing that branded customers ask about before they commit. Revenue was approximately $4.5 million, up substantially from a year ago, with 7 new customer conversions, including our first building and construction application. On top of the $40 million to $50 million of non-New Jersey and $25 million to $50 million of New Jersey ramp, the most significant new commercial development is in quick-serve restaurants, and it happened after quarter close. In the third quarter to date, we shipped to all 3 major converters that served the QSR cold cup market for clear cups. That is the channel, not the single customer. Cold cup programs are underway at 2 major QSRs through those converters. New Jersey is what accelerated this. Following the approval, we were fast tracked into two very large qualification programs for cold cup lids. For QSR applications in New Jersey alone, we estimate the annual demand to meet the recycled content requirement to be roughly 20 million pounds. One piece of context on timing. The approval landed in mid-May, which means the entire market is qualifying on a compressed calendar ahead of January 2027. Compression creates urgency, and urgency favors a supplier that is ready. The brands are moving as fast as we are. This is the acceleration. This is what the acceleration actually looks like. In February, we laid out 5 application categories that we chose to concentrate on. Let me come back to that list because I think it provides the clearest way to show you what our progress really looks like. The largest of the five was QSR cold beverages, which we size at roughly 330 million pounds in North America, growing at 7% to 10% per year. This is where we have moved furthest, as I just described it. Value household goods at roughly 150 million pounds across multiple brand owners. This is where P&G sits, and I'll come back to them in a moment. We also added two closure partnerships during the quarter with Reliable Caps and StackTeck. Premium pet food and jerky and meat sticks are both BOPP film categories. In June, working with Innovia Films, we successfully produced white cavitated BOPP film using PureFive Choice. So the capability is now demonstrated with the named converter. We also continue to progress with two of the top five global food manufacturers on snack and confectionery packaging. One of those food manufacturers has accelerated its work with us and is pushing to move as quickly as it can, one of the first instances we've seen of a large company pulling a time line forward rather than pushing one out. It is a 2027 program, and the direction of travel is the point. The current regulatory deadline is a hard catalyst, and our supply chain and commercial infrastructure are materially better than they were a year ago. [ Dermacosmetics ] is the earliest of the 5, but it moved to this quarter, achieving the highest CosPaTox purity grade, the first recycler to do so and is what made the category accessible to us. And we are nearing commercial shipments to a large global cosmetics and personal care company. They are all in different stages. 4 of the 5 moved this quarter, and the largest QSR is moving the fastest. One thing about this business builds, accounts are sticky. Once you are qualified into an application, you tend to stay there for a long time. For calibration, a partnership we announced in July with Mitsui and RM TOHCELLO in Japan took roughly 3 years from first engagement to announcement. This is a measure of the business we are in, and it is the same reason these relationships are durable once they are established. Following the New Jersey approval and the Cleveland Kitchen launch, inbound interest increased meaningfully. Today, the pipeline spans at 42 brands, 15 converters, 28 applications and 37 programs, advanced at least 1 stage during the second quarter to the third quarter to date. Our relationship with Procter & Gamble continues to broaden. Downy detergent caps are now in commercial production, Tide caps are scheduled for retail production in the third quarter and the Vicks ZzzQuil PURE Zzzs child-resistant lids are targeted for the fourth quarter. Procter & Gamble continues to execute the pipeline by adding brands. This is important because Procter & Gamble has among the most demanding qualification standards in consumer products. Having cleared them once, additional applications move faster, and other brands notice. When one of the toughest qualifiers in the industry buys again, that is a third-party verdict on quality that we could not deliver ourselves. A few things worth remembering about Procter & Gamble. They hold an offtake arrangement for up to 15% of Ironton's capacity. Their portfolio is highly fragmented across SKUs and applications, which means each approval opens the door to the next rather than closing the opportunity. They have also been clear in their support of our growth plan, and they remain committed to increasing recycled content across their portfolio. One more point on Procter & Gamble because it applies to every large brand we serve. You start small, you prove it, and then you expand. You walk before you run. The applications we have commercialized so far are walking, and we believe the larger volume opportunities are starting to filter into the pipeline behind them. This is a natural progression of a relationship like this one, and it is what we expected to see. In June, Cleveland Kitchen deli containers were made with 25% PureFive recycled polypropylene produced by our converter partner, IPL Schoeller. Reached store shelves at a major big box retailer. I want to be very precise about what this is. It is a commercial retail conversion, not a trial. It is on shelves. Consumers are buying it, and additional brands have since approached IPL Schoeller about using our resin. Connect that to what other converter announcements we made during the quarter: Reliable Caps, StackTeck, Innovia, Amcor, alongside our continuing work with Plastic Ingenuity. Converter relationships and our marketing effort opened the long tail of demand, smaller brands and private label, which, in aggregate, is very real, just as affected by regulation, and they may be far less aware that a solution actually exists. That is how demand broadens beyond the largest CPGs. The Cleveland Kitchen B2B marketing campaign was our first fully integrated marketing campaign, and it worked. 8 industry outlets picked up the story, and it generated 7 new account engagements with large retailers, food CPG companies and converters. That is pipeline, not impressions, and it came from a deliberately small test budget. We will run this playbook behind more brand launches and incremental spend is modest against the pipeline that opens. The regulatory picture is one of the most reliable part of our demand outlook because it sets the date in which regulations will come if set by them and not set by us. ESG has been a headwind for several years globally and in the United States. The regulations matter. However, the regulations that matter kept advancing anyway. New Jersey approved, California is in effect. Japan opened food contact, and Europe keeps moving forward. Rules that advance to the toughest part of the cycle are durable, and our demand is built on those rules. Our posture toward regulation has changed as well. We used to react to legislative developments. Today, we are proactive. We have stepped up our lobbying and government relations work, we are in regular dialogue with policymakers, and we are increasingly the thought leader in the room when recycled content rules are written. We are well ahead of those same efforts in Europe and Asia. Two key points. First, our largest customers are accelerating in circular solutions because of regulations. The QSR programs and the food manufacturer I mentioned earlier both moved faster after the New Jersey approval. This is the clearest evidence that we have brands are treating these deadlines as real rather than aspirational. Second, we believe New Jersey and California are the tip of the iceberg. This is going global, and the regulations are set to affect the entire foundation we continue to build. One element of the global regulatory process may be underappreciated. While Ironton is the focus on domestic demand, our REACH certification allows us to serve Europe and other geographies from it. And we're seeing increased interest in doing so. That has also helped us convert letters of intent in Thailand, which brings me to growth. In New Jersey, the recycled content requirements rise to 20% in 2027. The food contact exemption expires in January of '27. In California, SB 54 effect is in effect, with 10% source reduction by '27, 20% by 2030 and 25% by 2032. PureFive qualifies as recycled content through our APR certification. One point on New Jersey I want to highlight because I believe it matters how you understand the demand. The approval we received in May is a 1-year conditional approval with a defined path to permanent status. We do not regard this as a meaningful hurdle. The conditions are largely documentation, feedstock sources, the types of feedstock process, PureFive end-use application and compliance information as the New Jersey Department -- the New Jersey DEP requested. We are already providing a number of these items. One related point, most recycled content claims in our industry rely on mass balance, an accounting approach where a producer buys credits and allocates recycled content to output that may not physically contain any. New Jersey and California both exclude it. Our product physically contains the recycled material, so it qualifies where credit-based claims do not. That makes PureCycle one of the very few compliant suppliers at scale for food-grade recycled polypropylene. Outside the United States, the same shift is underway. In July, together with Mitsui, we announced a strategic partnership with RM TOHCELLO to bring recycled polypropylene into flexible packaging in Japan, following Japan's approval of physically recycled polypropylene for food contact. Europe continues to advance to the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation. On Thailand, the detailed design is confirmed. We have ordered key long lead equipment, and we have a team on the ground progressing the project. We received the Board of Investment approval in the quarter, including admission to Thailand's FastPass investment acceleration program. The facility is expected to be operational in 2028, and we expect to break ground in the second half of this year. Total investment remains approximately $250 million. On the commercial side of Thailand, we have signed 7 letters of intent with Thai feedstock suppliers and 14 letters of intent on feedstock. Those letters more than cover the plant requires. On the sales side, they span similar categories and are targeting the U.S. customers with heavy export business into the U.S., Europe and Japan. In Belgium, permitting continues on schedule. We signed a EUR 40 million European innovation grant fund earlier this year. I'll now turn it over to Donald for the financial update and some commentary on our capital position. Donald Carpenter: Thank you, Dustin. Operating loss improved by $4.3 million year-over-year to $41.3 million from $45.6 million. Net loss for the second quarter was $142.2 million compared to $144.2 million a year ago. Adjusted EBITDA was negative $31.7 million compared to negative $27.8 million. That comparison reflects $7.8 million of lower noncash add-backs, which primarily consists of equity-based compensation and prior year equipment write-downs rather than a deterioration in operating performance. Both quarters included a planned outage, and this year's was substantially longer. Production still grew approximately 32% year-over-year, while core monthly operations spending declined approximately 8%. Operation spending was $8.3 million per month in the quarter, within the $8 million to $9 million per month range we have described previously. That figure reflects core operations and corporate cash spend presented on a consistent basis for all periods. It excludes materials purchases, meaning feedstock, virgin polypropylene and additives, which averaged approximately $2.1 million per month, up from approximately $0.7 million per month in the first quarter. This was aligned with the restart of production and the new compounding operation. On the same basis, spending was $8.5 million per month in the first quarter and $9 million per month in the second quarter of last year. Core spending is trending down year-over-year. The Ironton turnaround, which came in below budget, was tracked separately from the ongoing operations spending rate. We ended the quarter with total liquidity of $236.9 million, which includes $165.2 million in cash and cash equivalents, $59.6 million invested in marketable securities and $12.1 million in restricted cash. That compares to $131 million of total liquidity at the end of the first quarter. Second quarter project spend was $20.9 million. For the full year, we now expect project spend of $45 million to $50 million, up from our prior range of $39 million to $45 million, driven primarily by incremental engineering, permitting and long lead equipment spending for the Antwerp and Thailand projects. Second half project spend of $10 million to $12 million remains contingent on project gating decisions and the timing of the Thailand project financing. In June, we closed concurrent public offerings of our 4.75% convertible senior notes due 2032 and common stock. The offerings priced at aggregate gross proceeds of $395 million. With the over-allotment options exercised, gross proceeds were $450.5 million. Net proceeds were $432 million after $18.5 million of underwriting and offering costs. We used a portion of the proceeds to repurchase $216 million aggregate principal amount of our 7.25% convertible notes for $241.1 million plus $5.2 million of accrued interest, leaving approximately $186 million of net cash on the balance sheet. The transaction moved the put date on the substantial majority of our convertible debt from 2027 to 2030, reduced our ongoing interest costs and funds our commercial ramp and near-term growth plans. Beyond that, our $200 million revolving credit facility remains undrawn and available. We have approximately $76 million in revenue bonds available to monetize and approximately $273 million of potential warrant proceeds. Equipment financing payments step down in the second half of the year as existing leases mature. Debt service in the third quarter is expected to be approximately $2.4 million, primarily the August coupon on the $34 million of remaining 7.25% notes, plus the final equipment lease payments. The new notes carry no coupon until January. On Thailand project financing, we are actively negotiating binding terms and targeting financial close by year-end. With the liquidity added in June, our capital is sufficient for the commercial ramp and for our planned growth spending, and most of that spending remains discretionary until project financing is in place. With that, operator, please open the line for questions. Anand Balaji: This is Anand on for Andres. Congrats on the quarter. And congrats on the BOI approval and FastPass. I was wondering, touching on Thailand, if you could give us a more full picture of where that sits today, first on the ground in terms of engineering, long lead equipment? And what happens now between now and groundbreaking? And then on the financing side, where that process stands and what are the remaining steps to financial close? Dustin Olson: Yes. Thanks a lot, Anand. That's a good question. We're really excited about Thailand. Thailand is doing exactly what we need it to do. The detailed design is confirmed. The key long lead equipment is ordered, and we've got a really good team on the ground. We've received BOI approval in the quarter, including a FastPass treatment, which is a significant accelerant to permitting and licensing. We expect to break ground in the second half of this year, and the facility is expected to be operational in '28. The one new capability worth noting is that with the compounding running in Ironton, we're actually now putting real samples in the hands of prospective customers in Thailand. So I think this whole project is really starting to wrap together nicely, and we're very excited about it. Donald, do you want to give a little bit more information on the financing? Donald Carpenter: Yes, sure. Thank you, Dustin. We're really pleased with the progress of the discussions thus far. We're discussing binding terms, and we believe that we can meet the requirements negotiated thus far. After the binding terms are finalized, we'll begin working on the definitive agreements and then satisfying the conditions to close. The process is tracking to a close by year-end. Anand Balaji: Got you. I appreciate all the color, Dustin and Donald. And maybe as a follow-up, touching on P&G. That relationship looks like it keeps broadening, Downy commercial, Tide and ZzzQuil. Maybe, can you talk about what's driving that cadence? And are you seeing similar behavior from other large brands that maybe aren't ready to put their names out yet? I'm just trying to get a sense of how much of the second half ramp is already in motion underneath all of the announcements. Dustin Olson: Yes, that's also a good question. A lot of the ramp is already in motion. You just see it publicly as the last step. When a product hits the shelves, like Procter & Gamble shows you the full pattern. I mean, we have Downy caps and Tide caps and ZzzQuil and just one by one by one, added to the list. The cadence is trust and compounding and trust in our ability to deliver good product. P&G has among the most demanding qualification standards in consumer products. But once you clear them, the next application moves faster. And yes, we see the same behavior from large customers, other large companies, they're not ready to put their names out there. One of the largest global food manufacturers pulled its time line forward in the quarter. For the first time, we've seen that. The cold cup work with other major QSRs moved from conversation to shipments in weeks. In total of the 37 programs advancing at least one qualification stage. Look, a lot of times, these announcements lag the activity. The activity is the ramp. And with Procter & Gamble, again, like we've been working with them for so long, have such a good relationship with them, and we have a large pipeline behind what you see on the paper right now. This effort continues every single week where we look for new trials and new developments with other applications. I'm very excited where this is going to go with Procter & Gamble. Hassan Ahmad: Dustin, a high-level question, both on near-term production as well as demand. Obviously, I know production was negatively impacted by your planned turnaround in Q2. And you guys produced, call it, 4.5 million pounds. But you also talked about post-turnaround production levels of 12,000 pounds per hour. So I'm just trying to get a better sense of what Q3 production levels will look like? So that's on the production side of it. And then in your previous quarter's update, you guys had talked about the demand ramp-up, right? I mean, Q2 to Q3 -- Q2, Q3, 40 million to 50 million pounds, Q3 to Q4, 20 million to 25 million pounds. Where do we stand on those forecasts? Dustin Olson: Yes. So look, I can make this pretty simple. All year long, we've said that the ramp would be in the second half weighted for basically two reasons: the regulatory clock with requirements starting in January '27 and then supply chain readiness. It's one thing to qualify products and another thing to deliver it consistently with every truck. Both are now proving out. And so since the New Jersey approval, brands are accelerating their qualification work for the first time. And with compounding running, we have the reliable supply chain that they require. You can see it in the Procter & Gamble applications that are accelerating. And so our confidence has increased because the things we said that the ramp dependent upon are actually happening. And that's what converts the Ironton into breakeven, the site-level monthly cash breakeven at an exit rate built on the branded sales that we talked about with 40% to 50% utilization we've discussed. So with respect to the ramps, the $40 million to $50 million and the 20 to 25 -- $25 million to $50 million for New Jersey, like those ramps are underway, okay? Part of those ramps is in the $40 million to $50 million is described by Procter & Gamble. You see progress there. And part of the ramp is described by a little bit of the revenue growth. But quite frankly, there's a lot of unnamed companies that are in that ramp that have started to pull product on the branded basis. So that's working really well. We've always talked about the second half ramp. The second half ramp is in play, and it's largely driven by regulatory hurdles that are on the back end of the year. I mean, people don't want to start the year by trying to meet the regulation. People want to have the regulation met by the beginning of the year. And so that naturally means that they're going to start pulling in Q3 and Q4 in order to meet those regulations. And we see that in spades. With respect to production, yes, for sure, the production came down in Q2, and we, quite frankly, planned on that. We knew that the outage was going to take a chunk out of the production. But we also planned on a substantial amount of testing of the new equipment and testing of the design premise for Antwerp and Thailand in May. And we followed that and did a good job of gathering that data. Production will always follow the commercial. So I think that what you'll see is as the commercial begins to ramp in Q3 and Q4, you're going to see the production follow suit with that. Hassan Ahmad: Very helpful. And as a follow-up, I think part of the answer you already gave me, but just wanted to get a bit more granular around the demand side of things. If I heard correctly, you talked about the nearer-term New Jersey opportunity being around 25 million to 50 million pounds, right? And so that's one side of it, whether that is the case or not. And then the other side is obviously a lot of encouraging stuff on the P&G side between Downy and Tide and Vicks. And I know you've talked about sort of walking before running over there. But I mean, could these individually be multimillion pound opportunities, I guess, in the near term over the next couple of quarters? Dustin Olson: Yes, I see it that way. I mean, New Jersey was a real qualification for us. I would say that in the past, when you're working through the demand ramp and forecasting where you're going to go, you have a sense for what is holding up some of the qualifications. But I think that when New Jersey passed, we had such an influx of requests. And we had some brands that were calling converters and saying, get PureCycle's product in the trial now where they weren't there originally because we didn't have New Jersey. I mean, a lot of these things really started to happen. And I mean, we fast tracked into 2 large qualification programs for cold cups. We have 17 active trials that were tied to New Jersey compliance. Brands were, quite frankly, paused because of the uncertainty. And what hasn't changed is just the qualification process. Those cycles can run quarters, which is why that converts into volume late this year and into '27 is exactly what we described. And so I think the 25 million to 50 million pound term in the near frame still holds. I think QSR cups alone is a 20 million per year kind of bucket, but that's only a couple of QSRs, and there's a bunch of them out there. And so I see New Jersey as being a real accelerant to what we're doing. And I think you're going to see that in the next coming quarters. Luke Persons: This is Luke on for Eric. So I guess first here, when thinking about the international expansion plan, so how should we think about these time lines versus your plans to ramp at Ironton? Are these -- are the new project time lines at all contingent on hitting certain commercial and operational milestones at Ironton? Or should we just consider them to be completely independent of each other? Dustin Olson: Yes. To a certain extent, they're tied. I mean, there's a few qualifications that we're going to need to make on the commercial side to keep moving forward with Thailand, but these are pretty low hurdles that we don't expect to impact our overall ramp timing. I think it's a pretty safe assumption to say that this project stays on track. With respect to the time line of Thailand relative to Ironton, look, we're already pulling samples from Ironton into Asia and into Europe, okay? There's a pretty healthy demand building for sampling of the Ironton product, which will accelerate the adoption process in those regions. It will probably create incremental demand in Ironton in the short term, which then will be replaced by Thailand supply and Antwerp supply when those plants are up and running. So I feel really good about that time line. The reality is that in order to have a good project, you've got to have a good project team and you've got to have a good strategy for how you're going to implement this. And with the team we have on site in Thailand as well as the support we have at the Board level, we've got a very good project that's developing here. I think it's going to be the right size in terms of capital, and I think it's going to be the right team to execute. And I'm very excited about where this is going to go in the next couple of years. Luke Persons: That's helpful. So I guess for a follow-up here, just on the compounded product, how is pricing trending relative to just the PureCycle product when you're having conversations with some of these customers? I mean, are you finding that you're still able to demand a significant premium to virgin resin? Dustin Olson: Yes. I mean, we kind of break this up into a couple of different ways. I mean, when we sell a compounded product, there's a component of that sale that is PCT material. And when you look at the pricing range that we see for that product, it's still consistent with the guidance that we've given in the past. And then on top of that, you're giving additional service, okay? We're giving them a one pellet solution. So the operational headaches are reduced, the supply chain headaches are reduced. And they're willing to pay a premium for that as well. And so the virgin component, the mixture, the other additives that we're putting into that overall compound is really a value proposition for the customer. They like it because it makes their life easier, and it gives them exactly what they want. I mean, there are some customers that want to have a higher percentage of PCR content because they want to do more with that application for their overall book. And there are other customers that want to meet it exactly. And so with the compounding asset at Ironton, it allows us to really tailor fit for their unique specifications. It's really a differential asset that we've built in Ironton. I'm really excited to have it in service. Gerard Sweeney: Listen, you put out some stats earlier. I think you said converted 5 million pounds of product to -- 5 million pounds of material to 4.5 million pounds of product. That's about a 90% yield, which I think gives very good, if not in the realm where you want to be. And I think you also said you were running Ironton around 12,000 pounds an hour, which is sort of 85% utilization. Is that accurate, my math assessment on where those numbers came out? Dustin Olson: Yes. That math is right. A couple of clarifications. One, on the 5 million down to 4.5 million, the delta there represents co-product 1 and co-product 2 applications. And we've had increasing success marketing that and getting that into the market. So we're -- the 0.5 gap there is a good product for us. And the 12,000 is a production rate that we have touched, but I did not say that we're running there routinely right now. That's a rate that we've confidently run since the outage to test different rate limitations, and we're going to continue to do that in Q3, okay? It shows what's capable, not what we're doing on a day-to-day basis. Gerard Sweeney: [indiscernible]. Dustin Olson: Yes. So you're probably going to ask what's the day-to-day. The day-to-day is going to -- similar to how I responded to it earlier, it's really the production is going to chase the commercial. And as we see the qualifications with the branded sales, we'll continue to raise rates to compensate for that. Gerard Sweeney: So in other words, you have a high degree of confidence this system -- the plant is operating as you want and can handle the volume of orders as they accelerate? Dustin Olson: More and more every day. Look, Gerry, I mean, you've been in the story for a long time. And so you've seen, let's say, all the twists and turns with bringing this technology to the market. I mean, it's hard, okay? Bringing a technology to the market is a very hard thing to do. There's a lot of unexpected things that jump in your way that you've got to figure out how to work around. And I've said many, many times that the testament of this company is that we've got the team that has the capability to push through all of those constraints and keep moving forward. That said, I mean, our technology is really, really good, okay? We've demonstrated that in terms of all the different applications that we've qualified. We've demonstrated that in terms of the, call it, SOI reduction, which is substance of interest. A lot of the big brands really care about that, and we're, quite frankly, really good there. We've demonstrated that in some of these high-colorable applications. I mean, we're making good products. We have a really good technology that does things with speed that other people, quite frankly, can't touch. And so from a technology perspective, like, look, are we done learning? No. Is there more we're going to figure out? Yes. But the core technology is right there, and we're just getting better and better every single day. Gerard Sweeney: I mean, my next comment, to be quite honest with you, is going to be, over the last several quarters, you have consistently shown incremental improvements at Ironton. And that should be the plan forward, expectation-wise, which I think is what you just said. Dustin Olson: Yes. I mean, like on all levels, okay, there's the understanding the tech, there's the running the plant, there's the uptime, there's the reliability, there's the rate, there's the quality performance. I mean, you can imagine, Gerry, when you get into these discussions with some of the big brands, I mean, we're talking of major players in the market, right? And they don't just accept an FDA LNO and say, "Okay, good enough for us." They want to peel behind the curtain. As they start looking and really peeling back the technology and asking a lot of questions, like we have to answer very hard questions, and we have to have the data to back it up. And with our R&D team, with our group in Durham, with our team in Ironton, like we've gotten really good at answering a lot of hard questions, which is why we're starting to get traction with a lot of these big brands. And so yes, I mean, on every level in this company, every single day, we get better. There's just no doubt about that. And I expect that to be a core part of our DNA that continues to move forward every single day. Gerard Sweeney: Got it. All right. I'll jump back in queue, I appreciate it. For what it's worth, very happy to see things continuing to move forward. Dustin Olson: Yes. Look, thanks, everybody, for joining us today. Let me close with some facts about the quarter. We completed a major turnaround ahead of schedule and below budget. And within weeks of that restart, we set a new daily throughput record. We brought compounding online. It's running well, we're delivering what customers specify. Revenue grew for a sixth consecutive quarter. Our first Procter & Gamble application went into commercial production, and our product is in the hands of converters who serve the largest cold cup programs in the country. And New Jersey approved PureFive's recycled content with a mandate taking hold in January of '27. Every one of those facts point in the same way. The plant is ready, the product is qualified and being qualified into more applications every quarter. The regulation arrives on a statutory clock, and Ironton breakeven remains our second half target, closer now than it was 90 days ago, with the remaining work squarely within our control. Thank you for everybody for following us, investing in us and supporting us each quarter. See you next time. Operator: Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This does conclude the program. You may now disconnect. Before you buy stock in PureCycle Technologies, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and PureCycle Technologies wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $400,209!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,375,393!* Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 964% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 215% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 13, 2026. This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. PureCycle (PCT) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript was originally published by The Motley Fool

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-08-08

PureCycle Technologies (PCT) On Weak Q2 Results And A Tougher Valuation View

Simply Wall St.
Track your investments for FREE with Simply Wall St, the portfolio command center trusted by over 7 million individual investors worldwide. PureCycle Technologies (PCT) is back on investors' radar after its second quarter 2026 earnings report, which showed revenue of US$4.51 million and a continuing net loss of US$142.22 million. The results came alongside commentary about a challenging industry backdrop and weaker earnings expectations, which have weighed on sentiment toward the stock in recent months. See our latest analysis for PureCycle Technologies. PureCycle Technologies' recent Q2 earnings miss and commentary on a tough industry backdrop have come after a difficult run for shareholders, with the stock showing a 7 day share price return of 13.19% but a 1 year total shareholder return that declined 41.62%. This suggests short term momentum is improving while longer term performance has been weak. If you are reassessing exposure to recycling and materials stocks after this report, it can help to widen the opportunity set using tools built for idea generation such as the 20 top founder-led companies After a sharp 7 day rebound but a much weaker 1 year result, PureCycle Technologies now sits at a crossroads. Investors may be considering whether it makes more sense to add exposure after this bounce or wait for a clearer entry based on valuation. Analysts following PureCycle Technologies see a fair value of $6.00 per share, which sits below the recent $7.21 close and frames a more cautious narrative built around slower revenue conversion and extended losses. Read the complete narrative. Want to see why this fair value points lower even as revenue forecasts stay very aggressive? The narrative leans on steep top line growth, a margin step change and a rich future earnings multiple that together need to line up almost perfectly. Result: Fair Value of $6 (OVERVALUED) Have a read of the narrative in full and understand what's behind the forecasts. However, there are still clear swing factors, including large brand contracts for PureCycle Technologies and timely progress on the Thailand and Antwerp projects that could challenge this cautious view. Find out about the key risks to this PureCycle Technologies narrative. The mixed tone around PureCycle Technologies, with both risks and rewards in play, means sentiment is far from settled. Act quickly, review the lates…Read full document

Track your investments for FREE with Simply Wall St, the portfolio command center trusted by over 7 million individual investors worldwide. PureCycle Technologies (PCT) is back on investors' radar after its second quarter 2026 earnings report, which showed revenue of US$4.51 million and a continuing net loss of US$142.22 million. The results came alongside commentary about a challenging industry backdrop and weaker earnings expectations, which have weighed on sentiment toward the stock in recent months. See our latest analysis for PureCycle Technologies. PureCycle Technologies' recent Q2 earnings miss and commentary on a tough industry backdrop have come after a difficult run for shareholders, with the stock showing a 7 day share price return of 13.19% but a 1 year total shareholder return that declined 41.62%. This suggests short term momentum is improving while longer term performance has been weak. If you are reassessing exposure to recycling and materials stocks after this report, it can help to widen the opportunity set using tools built for idea generation such as the 20 top founder-led companies After a sharp 7 day rebound but a much weaker 1 year result, PureCycle Technologies now sits at a crossroads. Investors may be considering whether it makes more sense to add exposure after this bounce or wait for a clearer entry based on valuation. Analysts following PureCycle Technologies see a fair value of $6.00 per share, which sits below the recent $7.21 close and frames a more cautious narrative built around slower revenue conversion and extended losses. Read the complete narrative. Want to see why this fair value points lower even as revenue forecasts stay very aggressive? The narrative leans on steep top line growth, a margin step change and a rich future earnings multiple that together need to line up almost perfectly. Result: Fair Value of $6 (OVERVALUED) Have a read of the narrative in full and understand what's behind the forecasts. However, there are still clear swing factors, including large brand contracts for PureCycle Technologies and timely progress on the Thailand and Antwerp projects that could challenge this cautious view. Find out about the key risks to this PureCycle Technologies narrative. The mixed tone around PureCycle Technologies, with both risks and rewards in play, means sentiment is far from settled. Act quickly, review the latest figures, and then weigh the 1 key reward and 3 important warning signs. If PureCycle Technologies has you rethinking your next move, do not stop here. Use powerful screeners to uncover other opportunities that could better fit your plan. Target steadier compounders by checking companies with resilient balance sheets and consistent fundamentals through the solid balance sheet and fundamentals stocks screener (49 results). Hunt for potential mispricings by scanning quality companies that look attractively priced using the 51 high quality undervalued stocks. Prioritise stability and lower volatility by reviewing companies that show strong resilience with the 79 resilient stocks with low risk scores. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include PCT. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email [email protected]

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-08-07

PureCycle Technologies, Inc. Q2 2026 Earnings Call Summary

Moby
Our analysts just identified a stock with the potential to be the next Nvidia. Tell us how you invest and we'll show you why it's our #1 pick. Tap here. Management attributes the second-half weighted ramp to two primary factors: the regulatory clock (January 2027 mandates) and the achievement of supply chain readiness through in-house compounding. The Ironton turnaround was completed ahead of schedule and below budget, executing 170 projects that addressed structural reliability issues in the CP2 system and mechanical seals. Operational performance reached a new daily throughput record in June, demonstrating production capability at 12,000 pounds per hour following the successful implementation of structural fixes. The integration of on-site compounding allows the company to control precise recycled content percentages and deliver specialized formulations directly via railcar, derisking the supply chain for large brands. Strategic testing during the quarter successfully validated process conditions for future plants in Thailand and Antwerp using the commercial-scale Ironton asset. Management noted that the market is shifting from aspirational ESG goals to hard regulatory compliance, with New Jersey's food contact approval serving as a major catalyst for customer urgency. The commercial strategy focuses on five high-volume categories, with Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) cold beverages identified as the largest immediate opportunity at approximately 330 million pounds in North America. Management reaffirmed the target for Ironton site-level cash breakeven in the second half of 2026, predicated on 40% to 50% utilization driven by branded sales. Compounding operations are scheduled to transition from a 24/5 schedule to 24/7 operations in the fourth quarter to meet anticipated demand ramps. The Thailand project is expected to break ground in the second half of 2026 with an operational target of 2028, supported by FastPass investment acceleration status. Financial close for Thailand project financing is targeted for year-end 2026, with current liquidity deemed sufficient to fund the commercial ramp and near-term growth. Regulatory deadlines in January 2027 for New Jersey and California are expected to drive significant qualification activity and volume pull-through in Q3 and Q4 of 2026. The company completed a $450.5 million capital raise, using proceeds to retire…Read full document

Our analysts just identified a stock with the potential to be the next Nvidia. Tell us how you invest and we'll show you why it's our #1 pick. Tap here. Management attributes the second-half weighted ramp to two primary factors: the regulatory clock (January 2027 mandates) and the achievement of supply chain readiness through in-house compounding. The Ironton turnaround was completed ahead of schedule and below budget, executing 170 projects that addressed structural reliability issues in the CP2 system and mechanical seals. Operational performance reached a new daily throughput record in June, demonstrating production capability at 12,000 pounds per hour following the successful implementation of structural fixes. The integration of on-site compounding allows the company to control precise recycled content percentages and deliver specialized formulations directly via railcar, derisking the supply chain for large brands. Strategic testing during the quarter successfully validated process conditions for future plants in Thailand and Antwerp using the commercial-scale Ironton asset. Management noted that the market is shifting from aspirational ESG goals to hard regulatory compliance, with New Jersey's food contact approval serving as a major catalyst for customer urgency. The commercial strategy focuses on five high-volume categories, with Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) cold beverages identified as the largest immediate opportunity at approximately 330 million pounds in North America. Management reaffirmed the target for Ironton site-level cash breakeven in the second half of 2026, predicated on 40% to 50% utilization driven by branded sales. Compounding operations are scheduled to transition from a 24/5 schedule to 24/7 operations in the fourth quarter to meet anticipated demand ramps. The Thailand project is expected to break ground in the second half of 2026 with an operational target of 2028, supported by FastPass investment acceleration status. Financial close for Thailand project financing is targeted for year-end 2026, with current liquidity deemed sufficient to fund the commercial ramp and near-term growth. Regulatory deadlines in January 2027 for New Jersey and California are expected to drive significant qualification activity and volume pull-through in Q3 and Q4 of 2026. The company completed a $450.5 million capital raise, using proceeds to retire $216 million of 2027 convertible notes and extending the debt maturity profile to 2030. New Jersey granted a one-year conditional approval for PureFive as recycled content, which management views as a procedural hurdle involving standard documentation rather than a technical risk. Achieved ISO 9001 certification, a critical milestone for validating quality systems required by large-scale branded consumer product companies. Core operations spending declined approximately 8% year-over-year to $8.3 million per month, reflecting improved cost discipline despite the extended turnaround period. One stock. Nvidia-level potential. 30M+ investors trust Moby to find it first. Get the pick. Tap here. Detailed design is confirmed and long-lead equipment has been ordered; the team is currently negotiating binding terms for project financing. Management expects to reach financial close by year-end 2026, with the project benefiting from Thailand's FastPass program for expedited permitting. The P&G relationship is expanding SKU-by-SKU (Downy, Tide, Vicks), which serves as a third-party validation of quality for other demanding brands. Management noted that one large global food manufacturer has actually pulled its timeline forward, a rare instance of acceleration in a typically long qualification cycle. While the plant demonstrated a rate of 12,000 pounds per hour, actual production will 'chase' commercial demand rather than running at max capacity for inventory. The 90% yield (4.5M lbs product from 5M lbs feedstock) includes marketable co-products, which management is increasingly successful in selling. PureCycle continues to command a premium for the recycled content portion, while the compounding service adds further value by providing a 'one-pellet solution'. The ability to tailor recycled percentages allows customers to meet specific regulatory mandates efficiently, supporting robust pricing for branded applications.

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-08-07

PureCycle Technologies Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

MarketBeat
Interested in PureCycle Technologies, Inc.? Here are five stocks we like better. Ironton’s planned turnaround finished ahead of schedule and under budget, with more than 170 reliability and quality projects completed. The facility set a new daily throughput record after restarting, although the 12,000-pound-per-hour figure was achieved during testing rather than as a routine operating rate. PureCycle reported continued commercial progress, including $4.5 million in second-quarter revenue, seven new customer conversions and expanding Procter & Gamble programs. New Jersey’s conditional approval of PureFive recycled content is expected to accelerate food-service and cold-cup opportunities, with management estimating potential state demand of about 20 million pounds annually. The company ended the quarter with $236.9 million in liquidity and raised $432 million through convertible notes and stock offerings, while refinancing part of its debt. Despite a $142.2 million net loss, PureCycle maintained its target for Ironton site-level monthly cash breakeven in the second half of 2026 and expects to break ground on its roughly $250 million Thailand facility in the second half of 2026. 3 Stocks With High Short Interest Still Near Their 52-Week Highs PureCycle Technologies (NASDAQ:PCT) said its second-quarter operations were affected by a planned turnaround at its Ironton, Ohio facility, but management said the work was completed ahead of schedule and below budget and positioned the company for a second-half commercial ramp. Chief Executive Officer Dustin Olson said the company completed more than 170 projects during the outage aimed at improving plant reliability, production rates and product quality. Following the restart, Ironton established a new daily throughput record in June and demonstrated production at 12,000 pounds per hour, though Olson clarified during the question-and-answer session that this was a rate the plant had reached during testing rather than its routine daily operating rate. → Meta’s Earnings Drop Shows Wall Street Wants More Than Ad Growth PureCycle: Up 250% in 2024 - Is This Materials Stock Still a Buy? Ironton produced about 4.5 million pounds of PureFive recycled polypropylene during the second quarter, compared with roughly 5 million pounds of feedstock processed. Olson said the difference represented co-products that the company has increa…Read full document

Interested in PureCycle Technologies, Inc.? Here are five stocks we like better. Ironton’s planned turnaround finished ahead of schedule and under budget, with more than 170 reliability and quality projects completed. The facility set a new daily throughput record after restarting, although the 12,000-pound-per-hour figure was achieved during testing rather than as a routine operating rate. PureCycle reported continued commercial progress, including $4.5 million in second-quarter revenue, seven new customer conversions and expanding Procter & Gamble programs. New Jersey’s conditional approval of PureFive recycled content is expected to accelerate food-service and cold-cup opportunities, with management estimating potential state demand of about 20 million pounds annually. The company ended the quarter with $236.9 million in liquidity and raised $432 million through convertible notes and stock offerings, while refinancing part of its debt. Despite a $142.2 million net loss, PureCycle maintained its target for Ironton site-level monthly cash breakeven in the second half of 2026 and expects to break ground on its roughly $250 million Thailand facility in the second half of 2026. 3 Stocks With High Short Interest Still Near Their 52-Week Highs PureCycle Technologies (NASDAQ:PCT) said its second-quarter operations were affected by a planned turnaround at its Ironton, Ohio facility, but management said the work was completed ahead of schedule and below budget and positioned the company for a second-half commercial ramp. Chief Executive Officer Dustin Olson said the company completed more than 170 projects during the outage aimed at improving plant reliability, production rates and product quality. Following the restart, Ironton established a new daily throughput record in June and demonstrated production at 12,000 pounds per hour, though Olson clarified during the question-and-answer session that this was a rate the plant had reached during testing rather than its routine daily operating rate. → Meta’s Earnings Drop Shows Wall Street Wants More Than Ad Growth PureCycle: Up 250% in 2024 - Is This Materials Stock Still a Buy? Ironton produced about 4.5 million pounds of PureFive recycled polypropylene during the second quarter, compared with roughly 5 million pounds of feedstock processed. Olson said the difference represented co-products that the company has increasingly marketed for other uses. Production was lower than the prior quarter because of the planned outage and equipment testing, he said. During the turnaround, PureCycle addressed its CP2 system and mechanical equipment that had been major sources of unplanned downtime in the prior year. Olson said inspections of major equipment, including the settler where co-product separates from the product stream, found it to be clean. The company also ran Ironton under process conditions intended to resemble the designs planned for its Thailand and Antwerp facilities, with what Olson described as successful results. → 4 Oil and Gas ETF Plays as Prices Stay Sky-High The company has also started operating its on-site compounding asset, which is currently running 24 hours a day, five days per week. PureCycle expects to move the operation to a 24/7 schedule in the fourth quarter. Management said bringing compounding in-house reduces reliance on third parties, supports direct rail-car shipments and allows the company to tailor recycled-content percentages and material properties to customer requirements. Olson said compounded product volumes can exceed purified resin volumes because compounded products may include additives and virgin polypropylene in addition to PureFive material. → Ulta's Growth Is Real, But So Are the Risks Revenue totaled approximately $4.5 million in the second quarter, marking the sixth consecutive quarter of revenue growth, according to the company. PureCycle said it added seven customer conversions during the period, including its first building-and-construction application. Management highlighted commercial developments with Procter & Gamble. Downy detergent caps have entered commercial production, Tide caps are scheduled for retail production in the third quarter, and Vicks ZzzQuil PURE Zzzs child-resistant lids are targeted for the fourth quarter. Olson said Procter & Gamble has an offtake arrangement for up to 15% of Ironton’s capacity. PureCycle also said Cleveland Kitchen deli containers made with 25% PureFive recycled polypropylene reached store shelves at a major big-box retailer in June. The material was produced through converter partner IPL Schoeller. New Jersey’s approval of PureFive as recycled content in May was a central focus of the call. The approval is conditional for one year and includes a defined path to permanent status, according to Olson. He said the conditions primarily concern documentation on feedstock, end uses and compliance information. Management said New Jersey’s food-contact exemption expires in January 2027, while the state’s recycled-content requirements rise to 20% that year. Olson said the approval accelerated qualification activity among quick-service restaurant operators and converters serving the cold-cup market. The company estimated that recycled-content demand from quick-service restaurant applications in New Jersey alone could total about 20 million pounds annually. PureCycle said it had shipped to all three major converters serving the clear quick-service-restaurant cold-cup market in the third quarter to date, and that programs are underway at two major restaurant chains. Its pipeline included 42 brands, 15 converters, 28 applications and 37 programs that advanced at least one qualification stage from the second quarter through the third quarter to date. Olson said the company still targets Ironton site-level monthly cash breakeven in the second half of 2026, based on utilization of roughly 40% to 50% and branded sales. He said production would follow commercial demand as customer qualifications advance. In Thailand, PureCycle said detailed design has been confirmed, key long-lead equipment has been ordered and the project received Board of Investment approval, including FastPass treatment. The company expects to break ground in the second half of 2026 and said the facility is expected to begin operating in 2028. Total investment remains estimated at approximately $250 million. Chief Financial Officer Donald Carpenter said the company is negotiating binding terms for Thailand project financing and is targeting financial close by year-end. In Belgium, permitting for the Antwerp project remains on schedule, according to management. For the second quarter, PureCycle reported an operating loss of $41.3 million, compared with an operating loss of $45.6 million a year earlier. Net loss was $142.2 million, compared with $144.2 million in the prior-year period. Adjusted EBITDA was negative $31.7 million, versus negative $27.8 million a year earlier. Carpenter said the adjusted EBITDA comparison reflected $7.8 million in lower non-cash add-backs, including equity-based compensation and prior-year equipment write-downs. He also said production rose approximately 32% year over year despite the longer planned outage, while core monthly operating spending declined about 8%. Core operations and corporate cash spending averaged $8.3 million per month during the quarter. Material purchases, including feedstock, virgin polypropylene and additives, averaged about $2.1 million per month. Total liquidity at quarter-end was $236.9 million, including $165.2 million in cash and cash equivalents. Full-year project spending is now expected to be $45 million to $50 million, up from a prior forecast of $39 million to $45 million. In June, PureCycle completed concurrent offerings of 4.75% convertible senior notes due 2032 and common stock that generated $432 million in net proceeds after underwriting and offering costs. The company used part of the proceeds to repurchase $216 million principal amount of its 7.25% convertible notes, moving the put date on most of its convertible debt from 2027 to 2030 and reducing ongoing interest costs, Carpenter said. PureCycle Technologies, Inc operates as a recycling technology company focused on restoring waste polypropylene to a “virgin-like” state through a proprietary purification process licensed from Procter & Gamble. The company develops, owns and operates recycling facilities that convert used polypropylene feedstock—such as packaging and industrial plastics—into ultra‐pure recycled resin. This resin, known as Qualified Recycled Polymer (QRP), is designed to meet stringent quality specifications for applications in packaging, consumer goods and industrial products. Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, PureCycle was established with technology development efforts dating back to licensing agreements in the mid-2010s and later spun off as a publicly traded entity in 2021. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. The article "PureCycle Technologies Q2 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat. View MarketBeat's top stocks for August 2026.

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-08-06

PureCycle Technologies Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results

GlobeNewswire
First P&G commercial resin deliveries began, with select Downy detergent caps now in commercial production Revenue of $4.5 million, up approximately 173% year-over-year and a sixth consecutive quarter of sequential growth New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection approved PureFive® resin as post-consumer recycled content On-site compounding now operating, giving PureCycle the ability to deliver product meeting customers' unique specifications Initial Shipments of PureFive® resin made in third quarter to all three major converters for QSR cold cup trials ORLANDO, Fla., Aug. 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PureCycle Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: PCT) (“PureCycle” or the “Company”), a U.S.-based company revolutionizing plastic recycling, today announced results for the second quarter ending June 30, 2026. Second Quarter 2026 Highlights Commercial Seven new customer conversions during the quarter First P&G commercial resin deliveries began in the second quarter, with select Downy detergent caps added as a new approval; select Tide detergent caps scheduled for retail production in Q3 and Vicks ZzzQuil PURE Zzzs child-resistant lids targeted for Q4 2026 Six new commercial partnerships were announced during the quarter: Reliable Caps, Motherson, Innovia Films, RM Tochello, IPL Schoeller / Cleveland Kitchen, and Amcor, spanning closures, caps, automotive, film and food packaging State regulation is a powerful demand tailwind: the New Jersey approval is secured and the State’s food-contact exemption expires in January 2027, with the recycled-content requirement rising to 20%; California SB54 is now in effect; PureFive® qualifies as recycled content via APR certification. Demand is broader than any single regulation Q3 to date: shipped compounded product to major converters for quick-service restaurant (QSR) cold cups; the New Jersey approval accelerated qualification at two major QSRs Forward demand: the Company expects branded sales volumes to build through the second half as compounding scales and regulation-driven demand converts to customer adoption Operations Q2 PureFive® production of 4.5 million pounds, down as previously communicated for the planned turnaround Turnaround completed ahead of schedule and below budget, with more than 170 reliability and rate projects executed; the two largest reliability constraints of the past year, the CP2 system and mechan…Read full document

First P&G commercial resin deliveries began, with select Downy detergent caps now in commercial production Revenue of $4.5 million, up approximately 173% year-over-year and a sixth consecutive quarter of sequential growth New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection approved PureFive® resin as post-consumer recycled content On-site compounding now operating, giving PureCycle the ability to deliver product meeting customers' unique specifications Initial Shipments of PureFive® resin made in third quarter to all three major converters for QSR cold cup trials ORLANDO, Fla., Aug. 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PureCycle Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: PCT) (“PureCycle” or the “Company”), a U.S.-based company revolutionizing plastic recycling, today announced results for the second quarter ending June 30, 2026. Second Quarter 2026 Highlights Commercial Seven new customer conversions during the quarter First P&G commercial resin deliveries began in the second quarter, with select Downy detergent caps added as a new approval; select Tide detergent caps scheduled for retail production in Q3 and Vicks ZzzQuil PURE Zzzs child-resistant lids targeted for Q4 2026 Six new commercial partnerships were announced during the quarter: Reliable Caps, Motherson, Innovia Films, RM Tochello, IPL Schoeller / Cleveland Kitchen, and Amcor, spanning closures, caps, automotive, film and food packaging State regulation is a powerful demand tailwind: the New Jersey approval is secured and the State’s food-contact exemption expires in January 2027, with the recycled-content requirement rising to 20%; California SB54 is now in effect; PureFive® qualifies as recycled content via APR certification. Demand is broader than any single regulation Q3 to date: shipped compounded product to major converters for quick-service restaurant (QSR) cold cups; the New Jersey approval accelerated qualification at two major QSRs Forward demand: the Company expects branded sales volumes to build through the second half as compounding scales and regulation-driven demand converts to customer adoption Operations Q2 PureFive® production of 4.5 million pounds, down as previously communicated for the planned turnaround Turnaround completed ahead of schedule and below budget, with more than 170 reliability and rate projects executed; the two largest reliability constraints of the past year, the CP2 system and mechanical seals, were both substantially improved during the outage Turnaround inspections were favorable; large equipment observed to be clean with no evidence of corrosion, a good indicator of future reliability Successfully commissioned on-site compounding in April with Ironton compounded volume of approximately 2.0 million pounds and approximately 28 sample lots produced; current operation is running 24/5 shifts, with plans to expand to 24/7 in Q4 PureCycle achieved ISO 9001:2015 certification in May, an independent validation of the quality management systems underpinning consistent product delivery Feedstock supply secured, with Denver running at levels needed for Ironton production Growth Thailand Facility expected to be operational in 2028; groundbreaking expected in 2H 2026; total project cost estimate remains in the $250 million range Thailand Board of Investment approval was received in the second quarter, including selection for the “Fast Pass” program Thailand project financing progressing, with binding terms currently being negotiated and financial close targeted by year-end. Anticipated project debt is sized to fund remaining construction Thailand feedstock and offtake: seven signed LOIs with Thai suppliers covering more than the plant's annual feedstock requirement (1.5-2.4x’s coverage), and 14 signed sales offtake LOIs (0.8-1.4x’s coverage) Belgium Facility permits expected by 1H 2027; Gen2 design work continues to progress Finance Total liquidity of $236.9 million at quarter-end, strengthened by the June concurrent offering of convertible senior notes and common stock Operations spending of $8.3 million per month, excluding feed and compounding material purchases; Ironton turnaround costs tracked separately from ongoing operations spending Management Commentary “Our customers are moving faster now, because compliance with new regulations is imminent,” said Dustin Olson, Chief Executive Officer of PureCycle Technologies. “Our solution has been recognized by New Jersey, Ironton is more reliable coming out of the turnaround, and in-house compounding lets us deliver the unique grades that US and global markets require.” Olson continued, “These improvements provide fundamental solutions that our customers are demanding and supports a growing and converting pipeline. Today’s demand is a validation of the technical achievements we demonstrated over the last two years. As customers continue to adopt, our branded sales should improve revenue per pound.” "The June capital raise positioned the balance sheet to fund our planned commercial ramp and near-term growth spending," said Donald Carpenter, Chief Financial Officer of PureCycle Technologies. "Ironton breakeven remains our second-half goal and Thailand project financing is targeted to close by year-end.” Financial Update Financial Results Net loss for Q2 2026 was $142.2 million compared to a net loss of $144.2 million in Q2 2025. Operating loss in Q2 2026 improved to $41.3 million from $45.6 million in the same quarter a year ago. Adjusted EBITDA for Q2 2026 was $(31.7) million compared to $(27.8) million in Q2 2025; the year-over-year comparison reflects $7.8 million of lower non-cash add-backs, principally equity-based compensation and prior-year equipment write-downs, rather than a deterioration in operating performance; operating loss improved by $4.3 million year over year. Adjusted EBITDA is EBITDA adjusted for items affecting comparability. See the reconciliation of GAAP Net Income (Loss) to Adjusted EBITDA provided at the end of this press release. Operating performance continued to build during the period: PureFive® production grew approximately 32% year over year despite the planned turnaround, while core monthly operations spending declined approximately 8%, from $9.0 million to $8.3 million per month. Core operations spending has remained within a consistent band as production capacity has grown. Cash and Liquidity PureCycle ended Q2 2026 with total liquidity of $236.9 million, which includes $165.2 million in cash and cash equivalents, $59.6 million invested in marketable/debt securities, and $12.1 million in restricted cash, compared to total liquidity of $131 million at the end of Q1 2026. The increase was driven primarily by the June concurrent offerings of convertible senior notes and common stock. Operations spending was $8.3 million per month in Q2 2026, reflecting core operations and corporate cash spend, with all periods presented on a consistent basis. This measure excludes materials purchases, consisting of feedstock, virgin polypropylene and compounding additives, which totaled $2.1 million per month, up from $0.7 million per month in Q1 2026 as production restarted and the new compounding operation came online. On the same basis, monthly operations spending was $8.5 million in Q1 2026 and $9.0 million in Q2 2025. The Ironton Facility turnaround, completed below budget, was tracked separately from the operations spending rate. Second quarter cash outflows included a previously disclosed non-recurring legal settlement of $20.4 million. Project Spend Project spend in Q2 2026 totaled $20.9 million, bringing first-half 2026 project spend to approximately $35 million. Fiscal year 2026 project spend expectations are $45 to $50 million, up from the prior range of $39 to $45 million. Second-half 2026 spend of $10 to $12 million remains contingent on project gating decisions and the timing of project financing. Capital Structure In June 2026, the Company closed concurrent public offerings of $287.5 million aggregate principal amount of 4.75% convertible senior notes due 2032 (which have an initial conversion price of approximately $11.08 per share of common stock) and 19,854,000 shares of its common stock. The underwriters' over-allotment options were exercised in full, resulting in net proceeds of approximately $432.0 million after deducting underwriting discounts, commissions, and estimated offering expenses. The Company used a portion of the net proceeds from the offerings to repurchase $216.0 million in aggregate principal amount at maturity of its 7.25% green convertible notes due 2030 for $241.1 million plus $5.2 million of accrued interest, with the remainder available for working capital and other general corporate purposes. Equipment financing payments will step down during the second half of 2026 as existing lease agreements reach their scheduled maturities; Q3 2026 debt service is expected to be approximately $2.4 million, primarily the August coupon on the $34.0 million of remaining 7.25% notes and final equipment financing payments. The Company’s available capital resources include cash on hand following the June concurrent public offerings, approximately $273 million in potential warrant proceeds through March 2027, approximately $76 million in available revenue bonds and the undrawn $200 million revolving credit facility. Second Quarter 2026 Conference Call Details Date: August 6, 2026Time: 5:00 p.m. ET Participant Link: PureCycle Technologies Second Quarter 2026 Corporate Update For participants interested in a listen-only webcast, please access the conference call using the above link. For a calendar reminder, please click HERE. The conference call will have a live Q&A session. For analyst participants who would like to ask management a question after prepared remarks, please click HERE. You will receive a number and a unique access pin. Following prepared remarks, management will try to answer investor questions submitted in advance. To submit a question, please send an e-mail to [email protected]. The corporate update will be available for replay by clicking HERE or through the Company’s website at www.purecycle.com. A replay of the conference call will be available after 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time until October 6, 2026. PureCycle Contact Christian [email protected] Investor Relations ContactEric [email protected] About PureCycle TechnologiesPureCycle Technologies LLC., a subsidiary of PureCycle Technologies, Inc., holds a global license for the only patented dissolution recycling technology, developed by The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G), that is designed to transform polypropylene plastic waste (designated as #5 plastic) into a continuously renewable resource. The unique purification process removes color, odor, and other impurities from #5 plastic waste resulting in our PureFive® resin that can be recycled and reused multiple times, changing our relationship with plastic. www.purecycle.com Forward Looking StatementsThis press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements about the continued execution of PureCycle’s business plan, PureCycle expected financial expenditures, future cash needs and availability of liquidity and the expected timing of significant construction milestones for PureCycle’s planned future facilities. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or PureCycle’s future financial or operating performance and may refer to projections and forecasts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by future or conditional words such as “plan,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “outlook,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project,” “continue,” “could,” “may,” “might,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “should,” “would” and other similar words and expressions (or the negative versions of such words or expressions), but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. The forward-looking statements are based on the current expectations of PureCycle’s management and are inherently subject to uncertainties and changes in circumstances and their potential effects and speak only as of the date of this press release. There can be no assurance that future developments will be those that have been anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in each of PureCycle’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 and PureCycle’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for various quarterly periods, those discussed and identified in other public filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission by PureCycle and the following: PCT’s ability to obtain funding for its operations, future capital requirements and future growth, and to continue as a going concern; PCT’s ability to meet, continue to meet, and comply on an ongoing basis with, the numerous regulatory requirements applicable to its PureFive® resin both generally and in food-grade applications and, more broadly, the operations and construction of PCT’s facilities (including in the United States, Europe, Asia and other future international locations); expectations and changes regarding PCT’s strategies and future financial performance, including future business plans, expansion plans or objectives, prospective performance and opportunities and competitors, revenues, products and services, pricing, operating expenses, market trends, liquidity, cash flows and uses of cash, capital expenditures, and PCT’s ability to invest in growth initiatives, which could be impacted by significant changes to tariffs on foreign imports; the ability of PCT’s first commercial-scale recycling facility in Lawrence County, Ohio (the “Ironton Facility”) to be appropriately certified by Leidos Engineering, LLC, following certain performance and other tests, and commence full-scale commercial operations in a timely and cost-effective manner, or at all; PCT’s ability to meet, and to continue to meet, the requirements imposed upon us and our subsidiaries by the funding for its operations, including the funding for the Ironton Facility and the Planned Facilities (as defined below); PCT’s ability to minimize or eliminate the many hazards and operational risks at its manufacturing facilities that can result in potential injury to individuals, disrupt PCT’s business, including interruptions or disruptions in operations at PCT’s facilities, and subject PCT to liability and increased costs; PCT’s ability to complete the necessary funding with respect to, and complete the construction of, the new polypropylene recycling facility in Thailand (the "Thailand Facility"), PCT’s first commercial-scale European plant located in Antwerp, Belgium (the "Belgium Facility"), and the purification facility to be built in Augusta, Georgia (the "Augusta Facility" and, together with the Thailand Facility and the Belgium Facility, the “Planned Facilities”) in a timely and cost-effective manner; PCT’s ability to procure, sort and process polypropylene plastic waste at our planned plastic waste prep facilities; PCT’s ability to maintain exclusivity under The Procter & Gamble Company license; the implementation, market acceptance and success of PCT’s business model and growth strategy, which includes PCT’s ability to bring a total of one billion pounds of installed polypropylene recycling capability online by 2030, and PCT’s ability to meet related construction, regulatory, and financing requirements; the ability to negotiate multi-year offtake agreements at appropriate margins to fund ongoing operations; the possibility that PCT may be adversely affected or potentially impacted by economic, business, and/or competitive factors, including interest rates, availability of capital, economic cycles, and other macro-economic impacts (such as tariffs); changes in the prices and availability of materials (such as steel and other materials needed for the construction of future Feed PreP and purification facilities), including those changes caused by inflation, tariffs and supply chain conditions, such as increased transportation costs and global conflicts, and our ability to obtain such materials in a timely and cost-effective manner; the ability to source feedstock with a high polypropylene content at a reasonable cost and the temporary spike in prices due to global conflicts such as the current conflict in the Middle East; the development of direct competitors in the recycled polypropylene segment that could impact the demand for PCT’s products; the outcome of any legal or regulatory proceedings to which PCT is, or may become, a party; geopolitical risk and changes in applicable laws or regulations; changes in the prices and availability of labor (including labor shortages), turnover in employees, and increases in employee-related costs; any business disruptions due to political or economic instability, pandemics, or armed hostilities (including the ongoing conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and active military conflicts in the Middle East); and operational risks associated with the ability to operate the Ironton Facility and the Planned Facilities, as and when operative, at nameplate capacity.PCT undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should any of the assumptions made prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Information Regarding Non-GAAP Financial Measures The Company uses certain financial measures that are not calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S. (“GAAP”) to supplement its financial statements. These non-GAAP financial measures provide additional information to investors to facilitate comparisons of past and present operating results, identify trends in our underlying operating performance, and offer greater transparency on how the Company evaluates its business activities. These measures are integral to the Company’s process for budgeting, managing operations, making strategic decisions and evaluating its performance. The Company’s primary non-GAAP financial measures are EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA. The Company defines EBITDA as net income before interest expense, interest income, taxes and depreciation and amortization. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as EBITDA further adjusted to exclude certain non-cash items and other items that are not indicative of the Company’s core operating activities. These may include equity-based compensation expense and changes in the fair value of warrants and put options, and other financial items. The Company believes Adjusted EBITDA is valuable for investors and analysts as it provides additional insight into the Company’s operational performance, excluding the impacts of certain financing, investing, and other non-operational activities. This measure helps in comparing the Company’s current operating results with prior periods and with those of other companies in the Company’s industry. It is also used internally for allocating resources efficiently, assessing strategic decisions, and evaluating the performance of the Company’s management team. There are limitations to Adjusted EBITDA, including its exclusion of cash expenditures, future requirements for capital expenditures and contractual commitments, and changes in the Company’s cash requirements for working capital needs. Adjusted EBITDA also omits significant interest expense and related cash requirements for interest and payments. While depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the associated assets will often need to be replaced in the future, and Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the cash required for such replacements. Additionally, Adjusted EBITDA does not account for income or other taxes or necessary cash tax payments. Investors should use caution when comparing the Company’s non-GAAP measure to similar metrics used by other companies, as definitions can vary. Neither EBITDA nor Adjusted EBITDA should be considered in isolation or as a substitute for GAAP financial measures. In presenting EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA, the Company aims to provide investors with an additional tool for assessing the operational performance of the Company’s business. It serves as a useful complement to the Company’s GAAP results, offering a more comprehensive understanding of the Company’s financial health and operational efficiencies. The table at the end of the press release provides a reconciliation from Net Income (Loss) to Adjusted EBITDA for the specified periods. The following table reconciles GAAP net loss to Adjusted EBITDA (in thousands): Key Performance Indicators Other Production includes Co-product 1, Co-product 2, and additional saleable volumes, net of material reprocessed back into the production stream. Represents recovered material intended for sale as commercial markets develop. *Monthly operations spending reflects core operations and corporate cash spend, presented on a consistent basis for all periods; it excludes materials purchases (feedstock, virgin polypropylene and compounding additives) of $2.1 million per month in Q2 2026, $0.7 million per month in Q1 2026 and $1.2 million per month in Q2 2025; Ironton turnaround costs are tracked in project spend. Q1 2026 includes $0.4 million per month of annual bonus payout and was previously reported as $8.8 million per month on a basis that included materials purchases and excluded the bonus.

TranscriptFY2026 Q22026-08-06

FY2026 Q2 earnings call transcript

Earnings source - 90 paragraphs
Operator

Thank you for standing by. Welcome to the PureCycle Technologies Q2 2026 corporate update call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question and answer session. To ask a question during the session, you will need to press star one one on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press star one one again. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Eric DeNatale, Director of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Eric DeNatale

Thank you, Kelly. I am Eric DeNatale, Director of Investor Relations for PureCycle, joining me on the call today are Dustin Olson, our Chief Executive Officer, and Donald Carpenter, our Chief Financial Officer. This evening, we'll be highlighting our corporate developments for the Q2 of 2026. The presentation we'll be going through on this call can also be found at the Investor tab on our website at purecycle.com. Many of the statements made today will be forward-looking and are based on management's beliefs and assumptions and information currently available to management at this time.

Eric DeNatale

The statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which may be beyond our control, including those set forth in our safe harbor provisions and forward-looking statements that can be found at the end of our Q2 2026 corporate update press release filed this evening, as well as in other reports on file with the SEC that provides further detail about the risks related to our business. Additionally, please note that the company's actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement. Our remarks today may also include preliminary non-GAAP estimates and are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, among other things, changes in connection with quarter end and year end adjustments. Any variation between PureCycle's actual results and the preliminary financial data set forth herein may be material.

Eric DeNatale

You're welcome to follow along with our slide deck. If joining us by phone, you can access it at any time at purecycle.com. With that, I will now turn it over to Dustin Olson, PureCycle's Chief Executive Officer.

Dustin Olson

Thank you, Eric, and good evening, everyone. This is a quarter of real progress on all fronts and sets up the second half for further progress. Operationally, we completed the turnaround ahead of schedule and below budget, executed more than 170 site projects, and came out of it with a plant that set a new daily throughput record in June. We brought compounding in-house, and it is running today producing what customers specify. Commercially, revenue grew for the sixth consecutive quarter, and our first Procter & Gamble application entered commercial production. On the regulatory front, New Jersey approved PureFive as recycled content, the last approval our customers were waiting on, and it's already accelerating qualification at some of the largest food service companies in the country. We also spent the quarter preparing for future developments.

Dustin Olson

In May, we ran Ironton under process conditions that closely match the plant designs we will build in Thailand and Antwerp, and those tests were successful. Thailand received Board of Investment approval in the quarter, and we expect to break ground in the second half of this year. Every one of those threads points in the same direction, a second half ramp and Ironton breakeven, which remains our second half target. We are further along the path than we were 90 days ago. Let me walk you through the details. Here's the frame that we are using internally. All year we have said that commercial ramp will be second half weighted, and it was for two specific reasons. The first was the regulatory clock. Requirements that begin in January 2027 set the pace for when brands must move. The second was supply chain readiness.

Dustin Olson

It is one thing to technically qualify the product. It is another thing to make it consistently and reliably at specification every time. Brands buy at the SKU level one application at a time, and they do not start until they're confident the material in the 10th truck will be identical to the material in the first. Both factors are now proving out. Since the New Jersey approval, brands are accelerating their qualification process for the first time. You see it in QSR cold cups and in large snack and confectionery programs. That tells you that the regulations really matter for driving demand and that the demand is coming. With our compounding assets integrated and running, we now have the reliable supply chain that those brands require. You can see it working.

Dustin Olson

A customer with standards as exacting as Procter & Gamble is accelerating their own commercial ramp with us. The other thing to understand is fragmentation. Outside of a handful of categories, this market converts SKU by SKU. Thousands of separate qualifications rather than a few large contracts. That is not an issue unique to PureCycle. It is the structure of the market, and it is the same for everyone in it. Quick service restaurants follow the same pattern, but with higher volume SKUs. A large chain carries fewer packaging SKUs, and each one is enormous. A single qualification there can be worth what dozens are worth elsewhere, and they are working against a deadline that's not set by us. New Jersey's food contact exemption expires in January of 2027. The expected future pace from here is largely set by a date in statute.

Dustin Olson

Customers are driving to have product on the shelves to meet requirements that start in January of 2027. This all drives toward an Ironton breakeven, which remains our second half target. We have referred to breakeven as roughly 40%-50% utilization, and that number has not changed. It is built on branded sales at those utilization rates, and branded sales are ramping. Branded pricing remains robust, and applications carrying the highest confidence for the second half maintain strong pricing. The net of this is our confidence in the second half ramp and the path through Ironton breakeven has increased because the things that made the second half weighted are being proved out. Ironton produced approximately 4.5 million pounds of PureFive in the Q2, down from the prior quarter and consistent with the message we communicated in advance of the planned turnaround.

Dustin Olson

We processed approximately 5 million pounds of feedstock. This was not a quarter for rate. It was a quarter for making improvements to the plant, testing equipment, and the tests worked. The turnaround was completed ahead of schedule and below budget, and we executed more than 170 projects during the outage targeting reliability, rate, and quality. Two reliability items are worth naming because together they were our two largest sources of unplanned downtime last year. The first was the CP2 system, which has been a persistent problem and is now substantially improved. The second was improving the reliability of numerous mechanical systems, and this outage substantially expanded the capacity of the plant bottleneck and improved the worst-performing seal in the plant. Both are structural fixes.

Dustin Olson

When we opened the equipment during the outage, the large equipment where we had prior problems was very clean, including the settler where co-product separates from the product stream. That bodes well for future reliability, so waste plastic is not fouling the system and is a good long-term indicator for the technology, not just for this facility. May was, by design, a low volume month. We commissioned the newly installed equipment, and we changed process conditions at Ironton to mimic the designs we intend to build in Antwerp and Thailand. Those tests were successful. Being able to run those conditions on an operating commercial asset before we build is an advantage most companies in our position do not have. In June, we set a new daily throughput record, and we demonstrated production at 12,000 pounds per hour. Our feedstock supply is very steady. Purchases are routine.

Dustin Olson

Denver is running well, and inventory is balanced. Delivered costs are declining, and we now source from more than 15 different domestic suppliers. On-site compounding is running. We announced mechanical completion on our May call. The asset today is running 24 hours a day for five days a week, and we intend to move to 24/7 in the Q4. That is consistent with the cadence we described in February and again in May, and is a large part of why our ramp has been second half weighted all year. We previously relied on third-party compounders and third-party operations carry their own reliability risks. Bringing it in-house saves us money and lets us ship by rail car. Most importantly, it de-risks our supply chain, strengthens our quality control, and gives us the flexibility to deliver on what each customer specifies. Now that it's running, here is what it changes.

Dustin Olson

We control the formulation. We can hit a customer's specification, the precise recycled content percentage, the precise properties, and hold it consistently. The mandates do not currently require 100% recycled material. They require a percentage. Compounding is how we deliver that percentage in a form that the application needs. It also opens thermoform cups at scale in clear and in white. Both sit directly in the scope of regulations, and with compounding, we can make both. Importantly, we can now deliver compounded product in rail cars directly from Ironton. This was a capability that we don't have with a third-party compound partner. We have generated and shipped numerous samples since startup. The product looks excellent and you see the examples of it in the deck.

Dustin Olson

Because compounding is running at Ironton, we can now control the product samples going into the hands of prospective customers in Thailand and Europe. We are doing exactly that. One comment on how to read the numbers. Compounded volumes includes additives and virgin polypropylene alongside our PureFive content. Compounded products will run ahead of the purified resin pounds. This is the product that the market is asking for. Finally, in May, we achieved ISO 9001 certification, independent validation of the quality systems that sit behind all of this. It's one of those quiet milestones, but it's kind of a thing that branded customers ask about before they commit. Revenue was approximately $4.5 million, up substantially from a year ago with seven new customer conversions, including our first building and construction application.

Dustin Olson

On top of the $40 million-$50 million of non-New Jersey and $25 million-$50 million of New Jersey ramp, the most significant new commercial development is in quick serve restaurants, and it happened after quarter close. In the Q3 to date, we've shipped to all three major converters that serve the QSR cold cup market for clear cups. That is the channel, not the single customer. Cold cup programs are underway at two major QSRs through those converters. New Jersey is what accelerated this. Following the approval, we were fast-tracked into two very large qualification programs for cold cup lids. For QSR applications in New Jersey alone, we estimate the annual demand to meet the recycled content requirement to be roughly 20 million pounds. One piece of context on timing.

Dustin Olson

The approval landed in mid-May, which means the entire market is qualifying on a compressed calendar ahead of January 2027. Compression creates urgency, and urgency favors the supplier that is ready. The brands are moving as fast as we are. This is what the acceleration actually looks like. In February, we laid out five application categories that we chose to concentrate on. Let me come back to that list because I think it provides the clearest way to show you what our progress really looks like. The largest of the five was QSR cold beverages, which we sized at roughly 330 million pounds in North America, growing at 7%-10% per year. This is where we have moved furthest, as I just described it. Value household goods at roughly 150 million pounds across multiple brand owners.

Dustin Olson

This is where P&G sits, and I'll come back to them in a moment. We also added two closure partnerships during the quarter with Reliable Caps and StackTeck. Premium pet food and jerky and meat sticks are both BOPP film categories. In June, working with Innovia Films, we successfully produced white cavitated BOPP film using PureFive Choice. The capability is now demonstrated with a named converter. We also continue to progress with two of the top five global food manufacturers on snack and confectionery packaging. One of those food manufacturers has accelerated its work with us and is pushing to move as quickly as it can. One of the first instances we've seen of a large company pulling a timeline forward rather than pushing one out. It is a 2027 program, and the direction of the travel is the point.

Dustin Olson

The current regulatory deadline is a hard catalyst. Our supply chain and commercial infrastructure are materially better than they were a year ago. Dermacosmetics is the earliest of the five, but it moved to this quarter, achieving the highest purity grade. The first recycler to do so is what made the category accessible to us, and we are nearing commercial shipments to a large global cosmetics and personal care company. They are all at different stages. Four of the five moved this quarter, and the largest QSR is moving the fastest. One thing about this business builds, accounts are sticky. Once you are qualified into an application, you tend to stay there for a long time. For calibration, partnership we announced in July with Mitsui and RM TOHCELLO in Japan took roughly three years from first engagement to announcement.

Dustin Olson

This is a measure of the business we are in. It is the same reason these relationships are durable once they are established. Following the New Jersey approval and the Cleveland Kitchen launch, inbound interest increased meaningfully. Today, the pipeline stands at 42 brands, 15 converters, 28 applications, and 37 programs. Advanced at least one stage during the Q2 to the Q3 to date. Our relationship with Procter & Gamble continues to broaden. Downy detergent caps are now commercial production. Tide caps are scheduled for retail production in the Q3, and the Vicks ZzzQuil PURE Zzzs child-resistant lids are targeted for the Q4. Procter & Gamble continues to execute the pipeline by adding brands. This is important because Procter & Gamble has among the most demanding qualification standards in consumer products. Having cleared them once, additional applications move faster and other brands notice.

Dustin Olson

When one of the toughest qualifiers in the industry buys again, that is a third-party verdict on quality that we could not deliver ourselves. A few things worth remembering about Procter & Gamble. They hold an offtake arrangement for up to 15% of Ironton's capacity. Their portfolio is highly fragmented across SKUs and applications, which means each approval opens the door to the next rather than closing the opportunity. They have also been clear in their support of our growth plan. They remain committed to increasing recycled content across their portfolio. One more point on Procter & Gamble, because it applies to every large brand we serve. You start small, you prove it. Then you expand. You walk before you run. The applications we have commercialized so far are walking. We believe the larger volume opportunities are starting to filter into the pipeline behind them.

Dustin Olson

This is a natural progression of a relationship like this one, and it is what we expected to see. In June, Cleveland Kitchen deli containers were made with 25% PureFive recycled polypropylene produced by our converter partner, IPL Schoeller. They reached store shelves at a major big box retailer. I want to be very precise about what this is. It is a commercial retail conversion, not a trial. It is on shelves. Consumers are buying it, and additional brands have since approached IPL Schoeller about using our resin. Connect that to what other converter announcements we made during the quarter. Reliable Caps, StackTeck, Innovia, Amcor, alongside our continuing work with Plastic Ingenuity. Converter relationships and our marketing effort open the long tail of demand.

Dustin Olson

Smaller brands and private label, which in aggregate is very real, just as affected by regulation, and they may be far less aware that a solution actually exists. That is how demand broadens beyond the largest CPGs. The Cleveland Kitchen B2B marketing campaign was our first fully integrated marketing campaign, and it worked. Eight industry outlets picked up the story, and it generated seven new account engagements with large retailers, food CPG companies and converters. That is pipeline, not impressions, and it came from deliberately small test budget. We will run this playbook behind more brand launches, and incremental spend is modest against the pipeline it opens. The regulatory picture is one of the most reliable part of our demand outlook because it sets the date in which regulations will come. It's set by them and not set by us.

Dustin Olson

ESG has been a headwind for several years, globally and in the U.S. The regulations matter. The regulations that matter kept advancing anyway. New Jersey approved. California is in effect. Japan opened food contact, and Europe keeps moving forward. Rules that advance the toughest part of the cycle are durable, and our demand is built on those rules. Our posture toward regulation has changed as well. We used to react to legislative developments. Today, we are proactive. We have stepped up our lobbying and government relations work. We are in regular dialogue with policymakers, and we are increasingly the thought leader in the room when recycled content rules are written. We are well ahead of those same efforts in Europe and Asia. Two key points. First, our largest customers are accelerating in circular solutions because of regulations.

Dustin Olson

The QSR programs and the food manufacturer I mentioned earlier both moved faster after the New Jersey approval. This is the clearest evidence that we have brands are treating these deadlines as real rather than aspirational. Second, we believe New Jersey and California are the tip of the iceberg. This is going global, and the regulations are set to affect the entire foundation we continue to build. One element of the global regulatory process may be underappreciated. While Ironton is the focus on domestic demand, our REACH certification allows us to serve Europe and other geographies from it, and we're seeing increased interest in doing so. That has also helped us convert letters of intent in Thailand, which brings me to growth. In New Jersey, the recycled content requirements rise to 20% in 2027. The food contact exemption expires in January of 2027.

Dustin Olson

In California, SB 54 is in effect with 10% source reduction by 2027, 20% by 2030, and 25% by 2032. PureFive qualifies as recycled content through our APR certification. One point on New Jersey I want to highlight because I believe it matters how you understand the demand. The approval we received in May is a one-year conditional approval with a defined path to permanent status. We do not regard this as a meaningful hurdle. The conditions are largely documentation, feedstock sources, the types of feedstocks processed, purified end-use applications, and compliance information as the New Jersey DEP requested. We are already providing a number of these items. One related point. Most recycled content claims in our industry rely on mass balance, an accounting approach where a producer buys credits and allocates recycled content to output that may not physically contain any. New Jersey and California both exclude it.

Dustin Olson

Our product physically contains the recycled material, so it qualifies where credit-based claims do not. That makes PureCycle one of the very few compliant suppliers at scale for food-grade recycled polypropylene. Outside the U.S., the same shift is underway. In July, together with Mitsui, we announced a strategic partnership with RM TOHCELLO to bring recycled polypropylene into flexible packaging in Japan, following Japan's approval of physically recycled polypropylene for food contact. Europe continues to advance to the packaging and packaging waste regulations. On Thailand, the detailed design is confirmed. We have ordered key long lead equipment, and we have a team on the ground progressing the project. We received the Board of Investment approval in the quarter, including admission to Thailand FastPass. The facility is expected to be operational in 2028, and we expect to break ground in the second half of this year.

Dustin Olson

Total investment remains approximately $250 million. On the commercial side of Thailand, we have signed seven letters of intent with Thai feedstock suppliers and 14 letters of intent on feedstock. Those letters more than cover the plant requires. On the sales side, they span similar categories and are targeting the U.S. customers with heavy export business into the U.S., Europe, and Japan. In Belgium, permitting continues on schedule. We signed the EUR 40 million European Innovation Grant Fund earlier this year. I'll now turn it over to Donald for the financial update and some commentary on our capital position.

Donald Carpenter

Thank you, Dustin. Operating loss improved by $4.3 million year-over-year to $41.3 million from $45.6 million. Net loss for the Q2 was $142.2 million compared to $144.2 million a year ago. Adjusted EBITDA was negative $31.7 million compared to negative $27.8 million. That comparison reflects $7.8 million of lower non-cash add-backs, which primarily consist of equity-based compensation and prior year equipment write-downs rather than a deterioration in operating performance. Both quarters included a planned outage, and this year's was substantially longer. Production still grew approximately 32% year-over-year, while core monthly operation spending declined approximately 8%. Operation spending was $8.3 million per month in the quarter, within the eight to nine million per month range we have described previously. That figure reflects core operations and corporate cash spend presented on a consistent basis for all periods.

Donald Carpenter

It excludes materials purchases, meaning feedstock, virgin polypropylene, and additives, which averaged approximately $2.1 million per month, up from approximately $0.7 million per month in the Q1. This was aligned with the restart of production and a new compounding operation. On the same basis, spending was $8.5 million per month in the Q1 and $9 million per month in the Q2 of last year. Core spending is trending down year-over-year. The Ironton turnaround, which came in below budget, was tracked separately from the ongoing operation spending rate. We ended the quarter with total liquidity of $236.9 million, which includes $165.2 million in cash and cash equivalents, $59.6 million invested in marketable securities, and $12.1 million in restricted cash. That compares to $131 million of total liquidity at the end of the Q1. Q2 project spend was $20.9 million.

Donald Carpenter

For the full year, we now expect project spend of $45 million-$50 million, up from our prior range of $39 million-$45 million, driven primarily by incremental engineering, permitting, and long lead equipment spending for the Antwerp and Thailand projects. Second half project spend of $10 million-$12 million remains contingent on project gating decisions and the timing of the Thailand project financing. In June, we closed concurrent public offerings of our 4.75% convertible senior notes due 2032 and common stock. The offerings priced at aggregate gross proceeds of $395 million, with the overallotment options exercised, gross proceeds were $450.5 million. Net proceeds were $432 million after $18.5 million of underwriting and offering costs.

Donald Carpenter

We used a portion of the proceeds to repurchase $216 million aggregate principal amount of our 7.25% convertible notes for $241.1 million, plus $5.2 million of accrued interest, leaving approximately $186 million of net cash on the balance sheet. The transaction moved the put date on the substantial majority of our convertible debt from 2027-2030, reduced our ongoing interest costs, and funds our commercial ramp and near-term growth plans. Beyond that, our $200 million revolving credit facility remains undrawn and available. We have approximately $76 million in revenue bonds available to monetize and approximately $273 million of potential warrant proceeds. Equipment financing payments step down in the second half of the year as existing leases mature. Debt service in the Q3 is expected to be approximately $2.4 million, primarily the August coupon on the $34 million of remaining 7.25% notes, plus the final equipment lease payments.

Donald Carpenter

The new notes carry no coupon until January. On Thailand project financing, we are actively negotiating binding terms and targeting financial close by year-end. With the liquidity added in June, our capital is sufficient for the commercial ramp and for our planned growth spending, and most of that spending remains discretionary until project financing is in place. With that, operator, please open the line for questions.

Operator

Thank you. At this time, we will conduct the question and answer session. As a reminder, to ask a question, you will need to press star one one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star one one again. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. Our first question comes from the line of Andres Sheppard of Cantor Fitzgerald. Your line is now open.

Speaker 4

Hey, everyone. This is Anandon for Andres. Congrats on the quarter, and thanks for taking our questions. Congrats on the BOI approval and FastPass. I was wondering, touching on Thailand, if you could give us a more full picture of where that sits today, first on the ground in terms of engineering, long lead equipment, and what happens between now and groundbreaking, and then on the financing side, where that process stands and what are the remaining steps to financial close? Thank you.

Dustin Olson

Hey, thanks a lot, Anandon. That's a good question. We're really excited about Thailand. Thailand's doing exactly what we need it to do. The detailed design is confirmed. The key long lead equipment is ordered. We've got a really good team on the ground. We've received BOI approval in the quarter, including a FastPass treatment, which is a significant accelerant to permitting and licensing. We expect to break ground in the second half of this year, and the facility is expected to be operational in 2028. The one new capability worth noting is that with the compounding running in Ironton, we're actually now putting real samples in the hands of prospective customers in Thailand. I think this full project is really starting to wrap together nicely, and we're very excited about it. Donald, you want to give a little bit more information on the financing?

Donald Carpenter

Sure. Thank you, Dustin. We're really pleased with the progress of the discussions thus far. We're discussing binding terms, and we believe that we can meet the requirements negotiated thus far. After the binding terms are finalized, we'll begin working on the definitive agreements and then satisfying the conditions to close. The process is tracking to a close by year-end.

Speaker 4

Got you. Appreciate all the color, Dustin and Donald. Maybe as a follow-up, touching on P&G, that relationship looks like it keeps broadening, Downy Commercial, Tide, and ZzzQuil. Maybe can you talk about what's driving that cadence, and are you seeing similar behavior from other large brands that maybe aren't ready to put their names out yet? I'm just trying to get a sense of how much of the second half ramp is already in motion underneath all of the announcements. Thank you.

Dustin Olson

Yeah, that's also a good question. A lot of the ramp is already in motion. You just see it publicly at the last step. When a product hits the shelves, like Procter & Gamble shows you the full pattern. We have Downy caps and Tide caps and ZzzQuil, and just one by one added to the list. The cadence is trust in compounding and trust in our ability to deliver good product. P&G has among the most demanding qualification standards in consumer products

Dustin Olson

Once you clear them, the next application moves faster. Yeah, we see the same behavior from large customers, other large companies that are not ready to put their names out there. One of the largest global food manufacturers pulled its timeline forward in the quarter. For the first time we've seen that. The cold cup work with other major QSRs moved from conversation to shipments in weeks. In total, the 37 programs advancing at least one qualification stage. Look, a lot of times these announcements lag the activity. The activity is the ramp. With Procter & Gamble, again, we've been working with them for so long, have such a good relationship with them, and we have a large pipeline behind what you see on the paper right now. This effort continues every single week where we look for new trials and new developments with other applications.

Dustin Olson

I'm very excited where this is going to go with Procter & Gamble.

Speaker 4

Wonderful. Thanks so much for all the color, and congrats again on all the progress. I'll pass it on.

Operator

Thank you. One moment for our next question. Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Hassan Ahmed of Alembic Global Advisors. Your line is now open.

Hassan Ahmed

Awesome, Dustin. Dustin, a high-level question both on near-term production as well as demand. Obviously, I know production was negatively impacted by your planned turnaround in Q2. You guys produced, call it, 4.5 million pounds. You also talked about post-turnaround production levels of 12,000 pounds per hour. I'm just trying to get a better sense of what Q3 production levels will look like. That's on the production side of it. In your previous quarter's update, you guys had talked about the demand ramp-up, right? I mean, Q2, Q3, 40 million-50 million pounds. Q3 to Q4, 20 million-25 million pounds. Where do we stand on those forecasts?

Dustin Olson

Yeah. Look, I can make this pretty simple. All year long, we've said that the ramp would be in the second half, weighted for basically two reasons. The regulatory clock, with requirements starting in January 2027, and then supply chain readiness. It's one thing to qualify products, and another thing to deliver it consistently with every truck. Both are now proving out. Since the New Jersey approval, brands are accelerating their qualification work for the first time. With compounding running, we have the reliable supply chain that they require. You can see it in the Procter & Gamble applications that are accelerating. Our confidence has increased because the things we said that the ramp depended upon are actually happening. That's what converts the Ironton into break even.

Dustin Olson

The site-level monthly cash break even at an exit rate built on the branded sales we talked about, with 40%-50% utilization we've discussed. With respect to the ramps, the $40 million-$50 million and the $25 million-$50 million from New Jersey, those ramps are underway. Okay. Part of those ramps in the $40 million-$50 million is described by Procter & Gamble. You see progress there. Part of the ramp is described by a little bit of the revenue growth. Quite frankly, there's a lot of unnamed companies that are in that ramp that have started to pull product on the branded basis. That's working really well. We've always talked about the second-half ramp. The second-half ramp is in play, and it's largely driven by regulatory hurdles that are on the back end of the year.

Dustin Olson

People don't want to start the year by trying to meet the regulation. People want to have the regulation met by the beginning of the year. That naturally means that they're going to start pulling in Q3 and Q4 in order to meet those regulations, and we see that in spades. With respect to production, yeah, for sure, the production came down in Q2, and we, quite frankly, planned on that. We knew that the outage was going to take a chunk out of the production. We also planned on a substantial amount of testing of the new equipment and testing of the design premise for Antwerp and Thailand in May. We followed that and did a good job of gathering that data. Production will always follow the commercial.

Dustin Olson

I think that what you'll see is as the commercial begins to ramp in Q3 and Q4, you're going to see the production follow suit with that.

Hassan Ahmed

Very helpful. As a follow-up, I think part of the answer you already gave me, but just wanted to get a bit more granular around the demand side of things. If I heard correctly, you talked about the nearer-term New Jersey opportunity being around 25 million-50 million pounds, right? That's one side of it, whether that is the case or not. The other side is obviously a lot of encouraging stuff on the P&G side, between Downy and Tide and Vicks. I know you talked about sort of walking before running over there. Could these individually be multi-million-pound opportunities, I guess, in the nearer term, over the next couple of quarters?

Dustin Olson

Yeah. I see it that way. New Jersey was a real qualification for us. I would say that in the past. When you're working through the demand ramp and forecasting where you're going to go, you have a sense for what is holding up some of the qualifications. I think that when New Jersey passed, we had such an influx of requests and we had some brands that were calling converters and saying, "Get PureCycle's product in the trial now," where they weren't there originally because we didn't have New Jersey. A lot of these things really started to happen. We fast-tracked into two large qualification programs for cold cups. We have 17 active trials that were tied to New Jersey compliance. Brands were, quite frankly, paused because of the uncertainty. What hasn't changed is just the qualification process.

Dustin Olson

Those cycles can run quarters, which is why the converts into volume late this year and into 2027 is exactly what we describe. I think the 25 million-50 million pound term in the near frame still holds. I think QSR cups alone is a 20 million per year kind of bucket, but that's only a couple of QSRs, and there's a bunch of them out there. I see New Jersey as being a real accelerant to what we're doing, and I think you're going to see that in the next coming quarters.

Hassan Ahmed

Very helpful, Dustin. Thank you so much.

Operator

Thank you. One moment for our next question. Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Luke Persons of Craig-Hallum Capital Group. Your line is now open.

Luke Persons

Hey, this is Luke on for Eric. Thanks for taking our question. I guess first here, when thinking about the international expansion plan, how should we think about these timelines versus your plans to ramp at Ironton? Are the new project timelines at all contingent on hitting certain commercial and operational milestones at Ironton, or should we just consider them to be completely independent of each other?

Dustin Olson

Yeah, to a certain extent, they're tied. There's a few qualifications that we're going to need to make on the commercial side to keep moving forward with Thailand, but these are pretty low hurdles that we don't expect to impact our overall ramp timing. I think it's a pretty safe assumption to say that this project stays on track. With respect to the timeline of Thailand relative to Ironton, look, we're already pulling samples from Ironton into Asia and into Europe. Okay? There's a pretty healthy demand building for sampling of the Ironton product, which will accelerate the adoption process in those regions. It will probably create incremental demand in Ironton in the short term, which then will be replaced by Thailand supply and Antwerp supply when those plants are up and running. I feel really good about that timeline.

Dustin Olson

The reality is that in order to have a good project, you've got to have a good project team, and you've got to have a good strategy for how you're going to implement this. With the team we have on-site or in Thailand, as well as the support we have at the board level, we've got a very good project that's developing here. I think it's going to be the right size in terms of capital, and I think it's going to be the right team to execute. I'm very excited about where this is going to go the next couple of years.

Luke Persons

Thanks for all the color there. That's helpful. I guess for a follow-up here, just on the compounded product, how's pricing trending relative to just the pure recycled product when you're having conversations with some of these customers? Are you finding that you're still able to demand a significant premium to virgin resin?

Dustin Olson

We kind of break this up into a couple of different ways. When we sell a compounded product, there's a component of that sale that is PCT material. When you look at the pricing range that we see for that product, it's still consistent with the guidance that we've given in the past. On top of that, you're giving additional service. Okay? You're giving them a one-pellet solution, so the operational headaches are reduced, the supply chain headaches are reduced, and they're willing to pay a premium for that as well. The virgin component, the mixture, the other additives that we're putting into that overall compound is really a value proposition for the customer. They like it because it makes their life easier, and it gives them exactly what they want.

Dustin Olson

There are some customers that want to have a higher percentage of PCR content because they want to do more with that application for their overall book, and there are other customers that want to meet it exactly. With the compounding asset at Ironton, it allows us to really tailor fit to their unique specifications. It's really a differential asset that we've built in Ironton. I'm really excited to have it in service.

Luke Persons

Thank you. That's helpful. I'll turn it over.

Operator

Thank you. One moment for our next question. Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Gerard Sweeney of Roth Capital. Your line is now open.

Gerard Sweeney

Good afternoon, guys. Thanks for taking my call.

Dustin Olson

Thanks, Gerry. How you doing?

Gerard Sweeney

Doing well. You?

Dustin Olson

Yeah, doing well. Thanks.

Gerard Sweeney

Listen. You put out some stats earlier. I think you said converted five million pounds of material to 4.5 million pounds of product. That's about a 90% yield, which I think is very good, if not in the realm where you want to be. I think you also said you were running Ironton around 12,000 pounds an hour, which is sort of 85% utilization. Is that accurate, my math assessment on where those numbers came out?

Dustin Olson

Yeah, that math is right. A couple of clarifications. One, on the five million down to 4.5 million, the delta there represents co-product one and co-product two applications. We've had increasing success marketing that and getting that into the market. The 0.5 gap there is a good product for us. The 12,000 is a production rate that we have touched, but I did not say that we're running there routinely right now. That's a rate that we've confidently run since the outage to test different rate limitations, and we're going to continue to do that in Q3, okay?

Gerard Sweeney

Okay.

Dustin Olson

It shows what's capable, not what we're doing on a day-to-day basis.

Gerard Sweeney

Oh, yeah, sorry, go ahead.

Dustin Olson

No.

Gerard Sweeney

My call.

Dustin Olson

You're probably going to ask, well, what's the day-to-day? The day-to-day is going to, similar to how I responded to it earlier, it's really the production's going to chase the commercial.

Gerard Sweeney

Okay.

Dustin Olson

As we see the qualifications with the branded sales, we'll continue to raise rates to compensate for that.

Gerard Sweeney

In other words, you have a high degree of confidence the system, the plant is operating as you want and can handle the volume of orders as they accelerate.

Dustin Olson

More and more every day. Look, Gerry, you've been in the story for a long time, you've seen, let's say, all the twists and turns with bringing this technology to the market. It's hard, okay? Bringing a technology to the market is a very hard thing to do. There's a lot of unexpected things that jump in your way that you've got to figure out how to work around. I've said many, many times that the testament of this company is that we've got the team that has the capability to push through all of those constraints and keep moving forward. That said, our technology is really, really good, okay? We've demonstrated that in terms of all the different applications that we've qualified.

Dustin Olson

We've demonstrated that in terms of the, we call it SOI reduction, which is substance of interest. A lot of the big brands really care about that, and we're, quite frankly, really good there. We've demonstrated that in some of these high-colorable applications. We're making good product.

Dustin Olson

We have a really good technology that does things with feed that other people, quite frankly, can't touch. From-

Gerard Sweeney

Right.

Dustin Olson

a technology perspective, look, are we done learning? No. Is there more we're going to figure out? Yes. The core technology is right there and we're just getting better and better every single day.

Gerard Sweeney

My next comment, to be quite honest with you, was going to be, over the last several quarters, you have consistently shown incremental improvements at Ironton, and that should be the plan forward, expectation-wise. Which I think is what you just said.

Dustin Olson

Yeah. On all levels, okay? There's the understanding the tech, there's the running the plant, there's the uptime, there's the reliability, there's the rate, there's the quality performance. You can imagine, Gerry, when you get into these discussions with some of the big brands, we're talking of major players in the market, all right? They don't just accept an FDA LNO and say, "Okay, good enough for us." They want to peel behind the curtain.

Gerard Sweeney

Oh, no doubt.

Dustin Olson

As they start looking and really peeling back the technology and asking a lot of questions, we have to answer very hard questions, and we have to have the data to back it up. With our R&D team, with our group in Durham, with our team in Ironton, we've gotten really good at answering a lot of hard questions, which is why we're starting to get traction with a lot of these big brands. Yeah, on every level in this company, every single day, we get better. There's just no doubt about that, and I expect that to be a core part of our DNA that continues to move forward every single day.

Gerard Sweeney

Got it. All right. I'll turn it back to you. I appreciate it. For what it's worth, I was very happy to see things continuing to move forward, thanks.

Dustin Olson

Thanks, Gerry.

Operator

Thank you. This concludes the question and answer session. I would now like to turn it back to Dustin Olson, Chief Executive Officer, for closing remarks.

Dustin Olson

Hey, look. Thanks everybody for joining us today. Let me close with some facts about the quarter. We completed a major turnaround ahead of schedule and below budget, and within weeks of that restart, we set a new daily throughput record. We brought compounding online. It's running well. We're delivering what customers specify. Revenue grew for a sixth consecutive quarter. Our first Procter & Gamble application went into commercial production, and our product is in the hands of converters who serve the largest cold cup programs in the country. New Jersey approved PureFive's recycled content with a mandate taking hold in January of 2027. Every one of those facts point in the same way. The plant is ready, the product is qualified and being qualified into more applications every quarter. The regulation arrives on a statutory clock, Ironton breakeven remains our second half target.

Dustin Olson

Closer now than it was 90 days ago with the remaining work squarely within our control. Thank you for everybody for following us, investing in us, and supporting us each quarter. See you next time.

Operator

Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This does conclude the program. You may now disconnect.

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-07-23

PureCycle Schedules Second Quarter 2026 Corporate Update

GlobeNewswire
ORLANDO, Fla., July 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PureCycle Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: PCT), a U.S.-based company revolutionizing plastic recycling, will host a conference call on Thursday, August 6, 2026 to provide an update on recent corporate developments. A press release discussing such developments and other activity from the second quarter will be provided prior to the conference call. Second Quarter 2026 Conference Call Details Date: August 6, 2026 Time: 5:00 p.m. EDT Participant Link: PureCycle Technologies Second Quarter 2026 Corporate Update For participants interested in a listen-only webcast, please access the conference call using the above link. For a calendar reminder, please click HERE. The conference call will have a live Q&A session. For analyst participants who would like to ask management a question after prepared remarks, please click HERE. You will receive a number and a unique access pin. Following prepared remarks, management will try to answer investor questions submitted in advance. To submit a question, please send an e-mail to [email protected]. The corporate update will be available for replay by clicking HERE or through the Company’s website at www.purecycle.com. A replay of the conference call will be available after 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time until October 6, 2026. PureCycle Contact Christian Bruey [email protected] Investor Relations ContactEric [email protected] About PureCycle Technologies   PureCycle Technologies LLC., a subsidiary of PureCycle Technologies, Inc., holds a global license for the only patented dissolution recycling technology, developed by The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G), that is designed to transform polypropylene plastic waste (designated as #5 plastic) into a continuously renewable resource. The unique purification process removes color, odor, and other impurities from #5 plastic waste resulting in our PureFive® resin that can be recycled and reused multiple times, changing our relationship with plastic. www.purecycle.com Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements about the continued execution of PureCycle’s business plan, the expected results of tests and trials, the expected timing of commercial sales, and planned future updates. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characteriza…Read full document

ORLANDO, Fla., July 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PureCycle Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: PCT), a U.S.-based company revolutionizing plastic recycling, will host a conference call on Thursday, August 6, 2026 to provide an update on recent corporate developments. A press release discussing such developments and other activity from the second quarter will be provided prior to the conference call. Second Quarter 2026 Conference Call Details Date: August 6, 2026 Time: 5:00 p.m. EDT Participant Link: PureCycle Technologies Second Quarter 2026 Corporate Update For participants interested in a listen-only webcast, please access the conference call using the above link. For a calendar reminder, please click HERE. The conference call will have a live Q&A session. For analyst participants who would like to ask management a question after prepared remarks, please click HERE. You will receive a number and a unique access pin. Following prepared remarks, management will try to answer investor questions submitted in advance. To submit a question, please send an e-mail to [email protected]. The corporate update will be available for replay by clicking HERE or through the Company’s website at www.purecycle.com. A replay of the conference call will be available after 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time until October 6, 2026. PureCycle Contact Christian Bruey [email protected] Investor Relations ContactEric [email protected] About PureCycle Technologies   PureCycle Technologies LLC., a subsidiary of PureCycle Technologies, Inc., holds a global license for the only patented dissolution recycling technology, developed by The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G), that is designed to transform polypropylene plastic waste (designated as #5 plastic) into a continuously renewable resource. The unique purification process removes color, odor, and other impurities from #5 plastic waste resulting in our PureFive® resin that can be recycled and reused multiple times, changing our relationship with plastic. www.purecycle.com Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements about the continued execution of PureCycle’s business plan, the expected results of tests and trials, the expected timing of commercial sales, and planned future updates. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or PureCycle’s future financial or operating performance and may refer to projections and forecasts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by future or conditional words such as “plan,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “outlook,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project,” “continue,” “could,” “may,” “might,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “should,” “would” and other similar words and expressions (or the negative versions of such words or expressions), but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. ​ The forward-looking statements are based on the current expectations of PureCycle’s management and are inherently subject to uncertainties and changes in circumstances and their potential effects and speak only as of the date of this press release. There can be no assurance that future developments will be those that have been anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in each of PureCycle’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 and PureCycle’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for various quarterly periods, those discussed and identified in other public filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission by PureCycle and the following: PCTs’ ability to obtain funding for our operations, future capital requirements and future growth, and to continue as a going concern; PCT’s ability to meet, continue to meet, and comply on an ongoing basis with, the numerous regulatory requirements applicable to our PureFive® resin (as defined below) both generally and in food-grade applications and, more broadly, the operations of our facilities (including in the United States, Europe, Asia and other future international locations); expectations and changes regarding PCT’s strategies and future financial performance, including future business plans, expansion plans or objectives, prospective performance and opportunities and competitors, revenues, products and services, pricing, operating expenses, market trends, liquidity, cash flows and uses of cash, capital expenditures, and our ability to invest in growth initiatives, which could be impacted by significant changes to tariffs on foreign imports; the ability of PCT’s first commercial-scale recycling facility in Lawrence County, Ohio (the “Ironton Facility”) to be appropriately certified by Leidos (as defined below), following certain performance and other tests, and commence full-scale commercial operations in a timely and cost-effective manner, or at all; PCT’s ability to meet, and to continue to meet, the requirements imposed upon us and our subsidiaries by the funding for our operations, including the funding for the Ironton Facility and the Planned Facilities (as defined below); PCT’s ability to minimize or eliminate the many hazards and operational risks at our manufacturing facilities that can result in potential injury to individuals, disrupt our business, including interruptions or disruptions in operations at our facilities, and subject us to liability and increased costs; PCT’s ability to complete the necessary funding with respect to, and complete the construction of, the new polypropylene recycling facility in Thailand (the "Thailand Facility"), our first commercial-scale European plant located in Antwerp, Belgium (the "Belgium Facility"), and the purification facility to be built in Augusta, Georgia (the "Augusta Facility" and, together with the Thailand Facility and the Belgium Facility, the “Planned Facilities”) in a timely and cost-effective manner; PCT’s ability to procure, sort and process polypropylene plastic waste at our planned plastic waste prep facilities; PCT’s ability to maintain exclusivity under The Procter & Gamble Company license; the implementation, market acceptance and success of PCT’s business model and growth strategy, which includes our ability to bring a total of one billion pounds of installed polypropylene recycling capability online by 2030, and our ability to meet related construction, regulatory, and financing requirements; the ability to negotiate multi-year offtake agreements at appropriate margins to fund ongoing operations; the possibility that PCT may be adversely affected or potentially impacted by economic, business, and/or competitive factors, including interest rates, availability of capital, economic cycles, and other macro-economic impacts (such as tariffs); changes in the prices and availability of materials (such as steel and other materials needed for the construction of future Feed PreP and purification facilities), including those changes caused by inflation, tariffs and supply chain conditions, such as increased transportation costs, and our ability to obtain such materials in a timely and cost-effective manner; the ability to source feedstock with a high polypropylene content at a reasonable cost; the development of direct competitors in the recycled polypropylene segment that could impact the demand for PCT’s products; the outcome of any legal or regulatory proceedings to which PCT is, or may become, a party; geopolitical risk and changes in applicable laws or regulations; changes in the prices and availability of labor (including labor shortages), turnover in employees, and increases in employee-related costs; any business disruptions due to political or economic instability, pandemics, or armed hostilities (including the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine and instability in the Middle East); and operational risks associated with the ability to operate the Ironton Facility and the Planned Facilities, as and when operative, at nameplate capacity. PCT undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.​​ Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should any of the assumptions made prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events.​

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-05-07

PureCycle Technologies Q1 Earnings Call Highlights

MarketBeat
PureCycle’s Ironton plant produced 8.4 million pounds of PureFive resin in Q1 (up 12% sequentially) on ~10 million pounds of feedstock; an early, ~15%‑under‑budget turnaround completed 170+ projects that management says materially improved reliability, and the on‑site compounding unit reached mechanical completion with third‑party compounding ramping to ~1.7 million pounds. Commercial momentum continued with $4.1 million in Q1 revenue (fifth consecutive quarter of sequential growth), eight new customer conversions, a first international sale (>300,000 pounds), P&G commercialization approvals for two applications (Tide Caps shipping Q2, Vicks ZzzQuil caps in H2 2026), and a pipeline of ~180 active opportunities. Financially, PureCycle reported a net loss of $33.4 million (adjusted EBITDA -$30.9M) and ended the quarter with about $131 million of liquidity (including $90M cash); management highlighted financing optionality via extended warrants (potential ~$273 million proceeds), an undrawn $200M revolver, and regulatory/commodity tailwinds (including California SB 54 and New Jersey recycled‑content rules) that could accelerate demand. Interested in PureCycle Technologies, Inc.? Here are five stocks we like better. 3 Stocks With High Short Interest Still Near Their 52-Week Highs PureCycle Technologies (NASDAQ:PCT) reported what management called its “strongest” business momentum to date entering 2026, pointing to production gains at its Ironton, Ohio facility, sequential revenue growth, and increased branded customer conversions during its first quarter 2026 corporate update call. CEO Dustin Olson said Ironton produced 8.4 million pounds of PureFive resin in the first quarter, up 12% from the fourth quarter, while the company processed about 10 million pounds of feedstock input. Olson described both figures as evidence of continued scaling. → Tyson Foods' Total Returns: Tasty Treats for Income Investors? PureCycle: Up 250% in 2024 - Is This Materials Stock Still a Buy? Olson also highlighted a planned Ironton turnaround that was completed ahead of schedule and tracking about 15% below budget. He said the outage was the first time the company had completed a turnaround early, and noted the facility had not undergone a full shutdown in two years. During the outage, PureCycle executed more than 170 projects aimed at capacity, reliability, and quality, and Olson sa…Read full document

PureCycle’s Ironton plant produced 8.4 million pounds of PureFive resin in Q1 (up 12% sequentially) on ~10 million pounds of feedstock; an early, ~15%‑under‑budget turnaround completed 170+ projects that management says materially improved reliability, and the on‑site compounding unit reached mechanical completion with third‑party compounding ramping to ~1.7 million pounds. Commercial momentum continued with $4.1 million in Q1 revenue (fifth consecutive quarter of sequential growth), eight new customer conversions, a first international sale (>300,000 pounds), P&G commercialization approvals for two applications (Tide Caps shipping Q2, Vicks ZzzQuil caps in H2 2026), and a pipeline of ~180 active opportunities. Financially, PureCycle reported a net loss of $33.4 million (adjusted EBITDA -$30.9M) and ended the quarter with about $131 million of liquidity (including $90M cash); management highlighted financing optionality via extended warrants (potential ~$273 million proceeds), an undrawn $200M revolver, and regulatory/commodity tailwinds (including California SB 54 and New Jersey recycled‑content rules) that could accelerate demand. Interested in PureCycle Technologies, Inc.? Here are five stocks we like better. 3 Stocks With High Short Interest Still Near Their 52-Week Highs PureCycle Technologies (NASDAQ:PCT) reported what management called its “strongest” business momentum to date entering 2026, pointing to production gains at its Ironton, Ohio facility, sequential revenue growth, and increased branded customer conversions during its first quarter 2026 corporate update call. CEO Dustin Olson said Ironton produced 8.4 million pounds of PureFive resin in the first quarter, up 12% from the fourth quarter, while the company processed about 10 million pounds of feedstock input. Olson described both figures as evidence of continued scaling. → Tyson Foods' Total Returns: Tasty Treats for Income Investors? PureCycle: Up 250% in 2024 - Is This Materials Stock Still a Buy? Olson also highlighted a planned Ironton turnaround that was completed ahead of schedule and tracking about 15% below budget. He said the outage was the first time the company had completed a turnaround early, and noted the facility had not undergone a full shutdown in two years. During the outage, PureCycle executed more than 170 projects aimed at capacity, reliability, and quality, and Olson said the plant was in “much better condition” than during the prior full shutdown. Among the projects, Olson pointed to the replacement of a “critical seal system,” which he said is expected to “materially improve reliability going forward.” He also said the company upgraded an undersized pump, addressed heat integration constraints, cleaned heat exchangers, and implemented seal improvements that required an outage to complete. Looking ahead, Olson said the company expects to increase rates coming out of the outage, while emphasizing the need to test stability as changes are introduced. He referenced prior rate tests that “touched 12,000 lbs an hour” and “14,000 lbs an hour,” which he characterized as roughly 75% and 90%-95% capacity, respectively. → Berkshire Hathaway’s Record Cash Hoard: Why and What's Next? In addition, PureCycle said its on-site compounding unit reached mechanical completion in April and is now being commissioned. Olson called compounding strategically important for serving customers in film and thermoform applications with “application-ready” product while reducing reliance on third parties. He said the “unit economics for compounded product are more attractive than the base resin,” and third-party compounding volumes ramped to about 1.7 million pounds in the quarter with “significant month-over-month growth.” PureCycle reported $4.1 million in revenue for the quarter, which Olson said marked the fifth consecutive quarter of sequential growth and came in above budget. He said branded mix increased “meaningfully” and that branded pricing was “robust and above internal targets.” The company converted eight new customers across multiple product categories in the quarter, according to Olson. → A Prada Payday: Is AMC Back in Style? Olson said the company expects shipments in the current quarter to Procter & Gamble and discussed progress with Plastic Ingenuity for coffee lids. He described coffee lids as “commercial with multiple customers” and said the product can be offered with 25% to 100% PureFive Ultra resin depending on customer needs. Olson also said PureCycle completed its “first international sale” in the first quarter, describing an initial purchase of more than 300,000 pounds of PureFive Choice resin that will be used to produce over 3 million items, with discussions ongoing around additional applications. PureCycle’s pipeline grew to about 180 active opportunities, up from more than 170 at year-end and roughly 100 a year ago, Olson said. During the Q&A, Olson described activity across film, thermoform and injection applications, saying the company is “trialing with virtually all the film producers in the U.S.” and noted progress on cavitated film and sealant film. He also discussed “impact grades” for applications such as butter tubs, cream cheese, and yogurt, describing the value of being a “drop-in replacement for virgin.” On the timing of commercial ramp, Olson said “Q1 and Q2 look largely the same,” with “Q3 and Q4” expected to ramp in volume and revenue, though he cautioned that timing depends on customers’ processes and qualification timelines. Olson described PureCycle’s relationship with Procter & Gamble as “strong” with accelerating activity, and said the company achieved final approval for commercialization of two applications. According to Olson, Tide Caps for select bottles will begin shipping in the second quarter, while Vicks ZzzQuil caps are expected to follow in the second half of 2026. He added that PureCycle is also in qualification with three additional applications. Olson said Procter & Gamble’s qualification process “took longer than anticipated” due to the company’s “exacting” standards, but argued that meeting those standards provides broad validation and could speed up future approvals across the brand portfolio. PureCycle also said it achieved the highest purity grade through CosPaTox testing, which Olson described as a voluntary standardized safety evaluation for post-consumer recycled (PCR) content in cosmetic products and detergent packaging. Olson said the milestone was the result of collaboration with Procter & Gamble using samples from Ironton, and that PureCycle is the “first recycler” to achieve the top grade—meaning the resin is “pure enough for leave-on cosmetics,” in his words. Management pointed to what Olson characterized as a more favorable macro environment versus 2025. He said disruptions to global petrochemical supply chains improved co-product pricing, reinforced the value of a domestic supply source, and increased urgency among brands and converters seeking compliant alternatives. Olson said virgin polypropylene prices rose roughly $0.25 to $0.35 per pound in the U.S. and $0.35 to $0.55 per pound in Asia and Europe, while PureCycle’s feedstock—domestic waste polypropylene sourced from “more than 15 U.S. suppliers”—is “independent of these disruptions.” He also said HDPE prices “have roughly doubled,” which he said would improve co-product pricing dynamics. On regulation, Olson said California finalized SB 54 regulations earlier in the month, with a 10% source reduction requirement by 2027 that is “only seven months away,” followed by increases in later years. He said PureFive resin qualifies as recycled content under SB 54 due to the company’s APR certification, and management said it is seeing increased urgency among brands and converters. Olson also discussed New Jersey’s move to 20% minimum recycled content in 2027 and the end of a temporary food contact exemption in January 2027, noting that both California and New Jersey have excluded mass balance from recycled content definitions. Olson said volume contingent on New Jersey approval has increased to 25 million to 50 million pounds and that two large brands have progressed “as far as they can” in qualification without regulatory clearance. Asked about New Jersey timing, Olson said discussions remain active and “going in the right direction,” but did not provide a specific date, adding that the company believes the matter “will close soon.” He also cited other states with existing or developing legislation, including Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts, Colorado, and New York. CFO Donald Carpenter said the company is introducing operational KPIs alongside financial results, including measures for feedstock processed, purified production, and “other production” that includes co-products. Carpenter said year-over-year production grew about 95% while monthly operation spending grew 6%, which he said reflects emerging operating leverage as higher throughput runs through a largely fixed cost base. PureCycle reported a net loss of $33.4 million for the first quarter, compared to net income of $8.8 million in the year-ago quarter. Carpenter said the prior-year period included a $56.7 million favorable change in the fair value of warrants. Adjusted EBITDA was negative $30.9 million, compared to negative $25.5 million in the first quarter of 2025, driven primarily by about $3 million of higher project development costs running through the income statement. Carpenter said adjusted EBITDA included about $7 million of project development costs expensed through the P&L, including professional services, project team labor, and facility costs tied to Thailand, Belgium, Augusta, and preparation development activities. Liquidity at quarter end was about $131 million, including $90 million in cash and equivalents, about $31 million in marketable securities, and $10 million in restricted cash, compared to about $182 million at the end of the fourth quarter. Total operation spending was about $8.8 million per month in the quarter, within the company’s $8 million to $9 million expectation. Carpenter said the quarterly total of $27.4 million included a $1.3 million annual incentive compensation payout, and he noted second-quarter items including Ironton turnaround spend and a scheduled SOPA bond debt service payment of about $9 million on June 1, with flexibility to monetize SOPA bond holdings to offset outflow. Project spend totaled about $14 million in the quarter, below the company’s $19 million to $20 million expectation due to timing, according to Carpenter. Full-year project spend expectations of $39 million to $45 million were unchanged, and Carpenter said most remaining project spend is discretionary. On capital access, Carpenter said PureCycle extended its public and private warrants to March 17, 2027 and lowered the redemption trigger price to $14.38 per share, aligning them with Series A warrants and representing about $273 million in total potential proceeds through that date. He also pointed to an undrawn $200 million revolving credit facility available through September 2027 and about $75 million in revenue bonds available to monetize. Carpenter added that equipment financing payments are expected to step down in the second half of 2026 as leases mature. For growth projects, Olson said the Thailand facility remains on track for mechanical completion by the end of 2027, commissioning in the first quarter of 2028, and production in the second through fourth quarters of 2028, with construction expected to break ground in the second half of 2026 and total investment expected at around $250 million. Carpenter said discussions with a local Thai bank are progressing, supported by a “comprehensive data room,” with weekly dialogues and review feedback. Olson said the Belgian facility timeline remains unchanged, and he noted the company finalized documentation in April for a EUR 40 million European Innovation Fund grant tied to the project. PureCycle Technologies, Inc operates as a recycling technology company focused on restoring waste polypropylene to a “virgin-like” state through a proprietary purification process licensed from Procter & Gamble. The company develops, owns and operates recycling facilities that convert used polypropylene feedstock—such as packaging and industrial plastics—into ultra‐pure recycled resin. This resin, known as Qualified Recycled Polymer (QRP), is designed to meet stringent quality specifications for applications in packaging, consumer goods and industrial products. Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, PureCycle was established with technology development efforts dating back to licensing agreements in the mid-2010s and later spun off as a publicly traded entity in 2021. The article "PureCycle Technologies Q1 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat.

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-05-07

PureCycle Technologies Reports First Quarter 2026 Results

GlobeNewswire
Ironton turnaround completed ahead of schedule and under budget Record 8.4 million pounds of quarterly production Fifth consecutive quarter of sequential revenue growth Achieved final approval for commercialization of two Procter & Gamble (P&G) applications Macro environment is increasingly favorable as virgin resin prices rise significantly more than recycled feedstock costs ORLANDO, Fla., May 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PureCycle Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: PCT) (“PureCycle” or the “Company”), a U.S.-based company revolutionizing plastic recycling, today announced results for the first quarter ending March 31, 2026. First Quarter 2026 Highlights Operations Record quarter for production, surpassing the prior quarterly high; approximately 10 million pounds of feedstock throughput, also a new quarterly record On-site compounding mechanically complete in April; focused on producing PureFive Choice™ resin for polypropylene (“PP”) film and thermoform applications Ironton Facility turnaround completed ahead of schedule and tracking below budget; incorporated improvement projects targeting higher reliability, production rates, and product quality; product inventory built ahead of the outage to maintain customer shipments Commercial Fifth consecutive quarter of sequential revenue growth, with continued progress in the application pipeline and branded conversions across multiple product categories Reaffirming 40-50MM lbs. of demand beginning to ramp in Q2/Q3; 20-25MM lbs. of demand beginning to ramp in Q3/Q4 PureFive® resin passed qualification for first P&G application and slated for first pellet delivery in Q2; PureFive® resin passed qualification for second application and expected to ship in 2H 2026; Joint product quality study with P&G showed PureCycle process leads to highest CosPaTox purity rating New Jersey recycled content application is in review with NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP); continue to progress positive discussions with all levels of NJDEP and NJ government Macro Environment Global petrochemical supply disruption has increased both virgin resin and recycled feedstock costs; however, virgin PP prices have risen more than PureCycle’s feedstock costs, creating a more favorable environment for the pricing and marketability of recycled content Rising virgin resin prices are also expected to improve co-product pricing dynamics Growth…Read full document

Ironton turnaround completed ahead of schedule and under budget Record 8.4 million pounds of quarterly production Fifth consecutive quarter of sequential revenue growth Achieved final approval for commercialization of two Procter & Gamble (P&G) applications Macro environment is increasingly favorable as virgin resin prices rise significantly more than recycled feedstock costs ORLANDO, Fla., May 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PureCycle Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: PCT) (“PureCycle” or the “Company”), a U.S.-based company revolutionizing plastic recycling, today announced results for the first quarter ending March 31, 2026. First Quarter 2026 Highlights Operations Record quarter for production, surpassing the prior quarterly high; approximately 10 million pounds of feedstock throughput, also a new quarterly record On-site compounding mechanically complete in April; focused on producing PureFive Choice™ resin for polypropylene (“PP”) film and thermoform applications Ironton Facility turnaround completed ahead of schedule and tracking below budget; incorporated improvement projects targeting higher reliability, production rates, and product quality; product inventory built ahead of the outage to maintain customer shipments Commercial Fifth consecutive quarter of sequential revenue growth, with continued progress in the application pipeline and branded conversions across multiple product categories Reaffirming 40-50MM lbs. of demand beginning to ramp in Q2/Q3; 20-25MM lbs. of demand beginning to ramp in Q3/Q4 PureFive® resin passed qualification for first P&G application and slated for first pellet delivery in Q2; PureFive® resin passed qualification for second application and expected to ship in 2H 2026; Joint product quality study with P&G showed PureCycle process leads to highest CosPaTox purity rating New Jersey recycled content application is in review with NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP); continue to progress positive discussions with all levels of NJDEP and NJ government Macro Environment Global petrochemical supply disruption has increased both virgin resin and recycled feedstock costs; however, virgin PP prices have risen more than PureCycle’s feedstock costs, creating a more favorable environment for the pricing and marketability of recycled content Rising virgin resin prices are also expected to improve co-product pricing dynamics Growth Thailand Facility currently on track for mechanical completion by end of 2027; expect to break ground in the second half of 2026; total investment currently expected to be approximately $250 million Belgium Facility permits expected near year-end 2026; construction expected to begin in Q1 2027; mechanical completion by the end of 2028 Finalized documentation for the €40 million grant from the European Innovation Fund for the Belgium Facility construction Gen-2 design work continues to progress with initial capacity and cost estimates remaining encouraging Finance Operations spending within $8–9 million monthly expectations; Q1 Company total of $27.4 million includes $1.3 million annual incentive compensation payout Public and private warrants expiration date extended to March 17, 2027 with redemption trigger price reduced to $14.38 per share, consistent with the Series A warrants Potential warrant proceeds totaling approximately $273 million; all warrants now share the same March 17, 2027 expiration date Management Commentary “Our commercial ramp remains on track for 2026. We achieved our internal sales plan in Q1, our fifth consecutive quarter of sequential revenue growth, and we’re seeing tangible momentum as our commercial pipeline converts into contracted demand,” said Dustin Olson, Chief Executive Officer of PureCycle Technologies. “Against a backdrop of improving macro tailwinds, we believe we’re entering a phase where execution and scale should increasingly differentiate our platform.” Olson continued, “The current global petrochemical supply disruption is reinforcing the relative strength of our model. Virgin polypropylene prices have risen significantly more than our feedstock costs, which have seen only modest movement. This is narrowing the cost premium of recycled content versus virgin and accelerating customer urgency around securing supply.” “This quarter we introduced a set of metrics that enable investors to more clearly evaluate our business and track our progress over time, said Donald Carpenter,” Chief Financial Officer of PureCycle Technologies. “This disclosure represents an important first step, and we intend to continuously refine and evaluate it as our financial performance evolves and matures.” Financial Update Financial Results Net loss for Q1 2026 was $(33.4) million compared to net income of $8.8 million in Q1 2025. Adjusted EBITDA for Q1 2026 was $(30.9) million, compared to $(25.5) million in Q1 2025 primarily related to higher production-related costs due to the continued ramp-up in production that has occurred during 2026. Adjusted EBITDA is EBITDA adjusted for items affecting comparability. See the reconciliation of GAAP Net Income (Loss) to Adjusted EBITDA that is provided at the end of this press release. Cash and Liquidity PureCycle ended Q1 with total liquidity of $131 million, which includes approximately $90 million in cash and cash equivalents, approximately $31 million of excess cash invested in marketable securities, and approximately $10 million in restricted cash, compared to total liquidity of approximately $182 million at the end of Q4 2025. Operations spending of approximately $8.8 million per month in Q1 was within the $8–9 million per month expectations. There have been no changes made to the ongoing expectations. Q2 will include the Ironton Facility turnaround, which is tracking below budget, and such costs will remain separate from the operations spending rate. Project Spend First quarter project spend totaled approximately $14 million, below the $19–20 million quarterly expectations primarily due to timing. Fiscal year 2026 project spend expectations of $39–45 million are unchanged and the majority remains discretionary. Professional services spending on project development activities ran below quarterly expectations, primarily due to timing of engineering milestones, which we expect to partially catch up through the remainder of the year. Capital Structure The Company’s $200 million revolving credit facility remains undrawn and available through September 2027. On April 16, 2026, the Company received consent from certain of its warrant holders to extend the public and private warrants to March 17, 2027 and reduce the redemption trigger price to $14.38 per share, consistent with the Series A warrants. Total potential warrant proceeds of approximately $273 million are now available through March 2027. Equipment financing payments will step down during the second half of 2026, as existing lease agreements reach their scheduled maturities, reducing monthly capital costs. The Company has approximately $75 million in revenue bonds available to monetize as market conditions allow. The Company believes its available capital resources — including approximately $273 million in potential warrant proceeds, $75 million in available revenue bonds, the undrawn $200 million credit facility, and ongoing project financing efforts — provide multiple paths to address its capital needs. Carpenter continued, “We are actively progressing our Thailand project financing and are encouraged by the alignment we are seeing as we work on finalizing the terms and conditions. We will provide updates as appropriate." First Quarter 2026 Conference Call Details Date: May 6, 2026 Time: 5:00 p.m. ET Participant Link: PureCycle Technologies First Quarter 2026 Corporate Update For participants interested in a listen-only webcast, please access the conference call using the above link. For a calendar reminder, please click HERE. The conference call will have a live Q&A session. For analyst participants who would like to ask management a question after prepared remarks, please click HERE. You will receive a number and a unique access pin. Following prepared remarks, management will try to answer investor questions submitted in advance. To submit a question, please send an e-mail to [email protected]. The corporate update will be available for replay by clicking HERE or through the Company’s website at www.purecycle.com. A replay of the conference call will be available after 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time until July 6, 2026. PureCycle Contact Christian Bruey [email protected] Investor Relations Contact Eric DeNatale [email protected] About PureCycle Technologies PureCycle Technologies LLC., a subsidiary of PureCycle Technologies, Inc., holds a global license for the only patented dissolution recycling technology, developed by The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G), that is designed to transform polypropylene plastic waste (designated as #5 plastic) into a continuously renewable resource. The unique purification process removes color, odor, and other impurities from #5 plastic waste resulting in our PureFive® resin that can be recycled and reused multiple times, changing our relationship with plastic. www.purecycle.com Forward Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements about the continued execution of PureCycle’s business plan, PureCycle expected financial expenditures, future cash needs and availability of liquidity and the expected timing of significant construction milestones for PureCycle’s planned future facilities. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or PureCycle’s future financial or operating performance and may refer to projections and forecasts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by future or conditional words such as “plan,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “outlook,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project,” “continue,” “could,” “may,” “might,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “should,” “would” and other similar words and expressions (or the negative versions of such words or expressions), but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. The forward-looking statements are based on the current expectations of PureCycle’s management and are inherently subject to uncertainties and changes in circumstances and their potential effects and speak only as of the date of this press release. There can be no assurance that future developments will be those that have been anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in each of PureCycle’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 and PureCycle’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for various quarterly periods, those discussed and identified in other public filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission by PureCycle and the following: PCT’s ability to obtain funding for our operations, future capital requirements and future growth, and to continue as a going concern; PCT’s ability to meet, continue to meet, and comply on an ongoing basis with, the numerous regulatory requirements applicable to its PureFive® resin both generally and in food-grade applications and, more broadly, the operations and construction of PCT’s facilities (including in the United States, Europe, Asia and other future international locations); expectations and changes regarding PCT’s strategies and future financial performance, including future business plans, expansion plans or objectives, prospective performance and opportunities and competitors, revenues, products and services, pricing, operating expenses, market trends, liquidity, cash flows and uses of cash, capital expenditures, and PCT’s ability to invest in growth initiatives, which could be impacted by significant changes to tariffs on foreign imports; the ability of PCT’s first commercial-scale recycling facility in Lawrence County, Ohio (the “Ironton Facility”) to be appropriately certified by Leidos (as defined below), following certain performance and other tests, and commence full-scale commercial operations in a timely and cost-effective manner, or at all; PCT’s ability to meet, and to continue to meet, the requirements imposed upon us and our subsidiaries by the funding for its operations, including the funding for the Ironton Facility and the Planned Facilities (as defined below); PCT’s ability to minimize or eliminate the many hazards and operational risks at its manufacturing facilities that can result in potential injury to individuals, disrupt PCT’s business, including interruptions or disruptions in operations at PCT’s facilities, and subject PCT to liability and increased costs; PCT’s ability to complete the necessary funding with respect to, and complete the construction of, the new polypropylene recycling facility in Thailand (the "Thailand Facility"), PCT’s first commercial-scale European plant located in Antwerp, Belgium (the "Belgium Facility"), and the purification facility to be built in Augusta, Georgia (the "Augusta Facility" and, together with the Thailand Facility and the Belgium Facility, the “Planned Facilities”) in a timely and cost-effective manner; PCT’s ability to procure, sort and process polypropylene plastic waste at our planned plastic waste prep facilities; PCT’s ability to maintain exclusivity under The Procter & Gamble Company license; the implementation, market acceptance and success of PCT’s business model and growth strategy, which includes PCT’s ability to bring a total of one billion pounds of installed polypropylene recycling capability online by 2030, and PCT’s ability to meet related construction, regulatory, and financing requirements; the ability to negotiate multi-year offtake agreements at appropriate margins to fund ongoing operations; the possibility that PCT may be adversely affected or potentially impacted by economic, business, and/or competitive factors, including interest rates, availability of capital, economic cycles, and other macro-economic impacts (such as tariffs); changes in the prices and availability of materials (such as steel and other materials needed for the construction of future Feed PreP and purification facilities), including those changes caused by inflation, tariffs and supply chain conditions, such as increased transportation costs and global conflicts, and our ability to obtain such materials in a timely and cost-effective manner; the ability to source feedstock with a high polypropylene content at a reasonable cost and the temporary spike in prices due to global conflicts such as the current conflict in the Middle East; the development of direct competitors in the recycled polypropylene segment that could impact the demand for PCT’s products; the outcome of any legal or regulatory proceedings to which PCT is, or may become, a party; geopolitical risk and changes in applicable laws or regulations; changes in the prices and availability of labor (including labor shortages), turnover in employees, and increases in employee-related costs; any business disruptions due to political or economic instability, pandemics, or armed hostilities (including the ongoing conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and various parties in the Middle East); and operational risks associated with the ability to operate the Ironton Facility and the Planned Facilities, as and when operative, at nameplate capacity. PCT undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should any of the assumptions made prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. – financial tables attached – PureCycle Technologies, Inc. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE (LOSS)/INCOME (Unaudited) PureCycle Technologies, Inc. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Unaudited) PureCycle Technologies, Inc. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (Unaudited) Information Regarding Non-GAAP Financial Measures The Company uses certain financial measures that are not calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S. (“GAAP”) to supplement its financial statements. These non-GAAP financial measures provide additional information to investors to facilitate comparisons of past and present operating results, identify trends in our underlying operating performance, and offer greater transparency on how the Company evaluates its business activities. These measures are integral to the Company’s process for budgeting, managing operations, making strategic decisions and evaluating its performance. The Company’s primary non-GAAP financial measures are EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA. The Company defines EBITDA as net income before interest expense, interest income, taxes and depreciation and amortization. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as EBITDA further adjusted to exclude certain non-cash items and other items that are not indicative of the Company’s core operating activities. These may include equity-based compensation expense and changes in the fair value of warrants and put options, and other financial items. The Company believes Adjusted EBITDA is valuable for investors and analysts as it provides additional insight into the Company’s operational performance, excluding the impacts of certain financing, investing, and other non-operational activities. This measure helps in comparing the Company’s current operating results with prior periods and with those of other companies in the Company’s industry. It is also used internally for allocating resources efficiently, assessing strategic decisions, and evaluating the performance of the Company’s management team. There are limitations to Adjusted EBITDA, including its exclusion of cash expenditures, future requirements for capital expenditures and contractual commitments, and changes in the Company’s cash requirements for working capital needs. Adjusted EBITDA also omits significant interest expense and related cash requirements for interest and payments. While depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the associated assets will often need to be replaced in the future, and Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the cash required for such replacements. Additionally, Adjusted EBITDA does not account for income or other taxes or necessary cash tax payments. Investors should use caution when comparing the Company’s non-GAAP measure to similar metrics used by other companies, as definitions can vary. Neither EBITDA nor Adjusted EBITDA should be considered in isolation or as a substitute for GAAP financial measures. In presenting EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA, the Company aims to provide investors with an additional tool for assessing the operational performance of the Company’s business. It serves as a useful complement to the Company’s GAAP results, offering a more comprehensive understanding of the Company’s financial health and operational efficiencies. The table at the end of the press release provides a reconciliation from Net Income (Loss) to Adjusted EBITDA for the specified periods. The following table reconciles GAAP net (loss)/income to Adjusted EBITDA (in millions): Key Performance Indicators Other Production includes Co-product 1, Co-product 2, and additional saleable volumes, net of material reprocessed back into the production stream. Represents recovered material intended for sale as commercial markets develop.

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-05-07

PureCycle Technologies, Inc. Q1 2026 Earnings Call Summary

Moby
Performance in Q1 was driven by a 12% sequential increase in PureFive production and the first-ever ahead-of-schedule completion of the Ironton turnaround, which tracked 15% below budget. Management attributes accelerating branded customer conversions to the convergence of high-quality FDA-grade material, regulatory mandates, and localized supply chains insulated from global disruptions. The macro environment has shifted from a headwind to a tailwind as rising virgin polypropylene prices and global supply chain volatility increase the relative value of PureCycle's domestic, waste-based feedstock. Strategic investment in on-site compounding reached mechanical completion in April, allowing the company to deliver application-ready products for film and thermoform without third-party reliance. The partnership with Procter & Gamble reached a critical milestone with final commercial approval for Tide and Vicks ZzzQuil applications, validating the technology against the industry's highest quality standards. Operating leverage is beginning to emerge as production grew 95% year-over-year while monthly operations spending remained relatively flat, increasing only 6%. Management expects a significant commercial ramp in the second half of 2026, supported by 40 million to 50 million pounds of annual application demand starting to ramp in Q2 and Q3. The resolution of New Jersey regulatory reviews is viewed as a major catalyst, with 25 million to 50 million pounds of volume contingent on approval as food contact exemptions sunset in early 2027. Global growth projects remain on track, with the Thailand facility targeting mechanical completion by late 2027 and the Belgium facility expecting permits by year-end 2026. Future application approvals for Procter & Gamble are expected to move considerably faster now that core specifications have been validated across the brand portfolio. The company maintains significant financing optionality through a $200 million undrawn revolving credit facility and approximately $273 million in potential warrant proceeds. Achieved the highest purity grade through CosPaTox testing, becoming the first recycler to produce resin pure enough for leave-on cosmetic packaging. The Ironton turnaround included over 170 projects targeting capacity and reliability, including a critical seal system replacement expected to materially improve long-term uptime…Read full document

Performance in Q1 was driven by a 12% sequential increase in PureFive production and the first-ever ahead-of-schedule completion of the Ironton turnaround, which tracked 15% below budget. Management attributes accelerating branded customer conversions to the convergence of high-quality FDA-grade material, regulatory mandates, and localized supply chains insulated from global disruptions. The macro environment has shifted from a headwind to a tailwind as rising virgin polypropylene prices and global supply chain volatility increase the relative value of PureCycle's domestic, waste-based feedstock. Strategic investment in on-site compounding reached mechanical completion in April, allowing the company to deliver application-ready products for film and thermoform without third-party reliance. The partnership with Procter & Gamble reached a critical milestone with final commercial approval for Tide and Vicks ZzzQuil applications, validating the technology against the industry's highest quality standards. Operating leverage is beginning to emerge as production grew 95% year-over-year while monthly operations spending remained relatively flat, increasing only 6%. Management expects a significant commercial ramp in the second half of 2026, supported by 40 million to 50 million pounds of annual application demand starting to ramp in Q2 and Q3. The resolution of New Jersey regulatory reviews is viewed as a major catalyst, with 25 million to 50 million pounds of volume contingent on approval as food contact exemptions sunset in early 2027. Global growth projects remain on track, with the Thailand facility targeting mechanical completion by late 2027 and the Belgium facility expecting permits by year-end 2026. Future application approvals for Procter & Gamble are expected to move considerably faster now that core specifications have been validated across the brand portfolio. The company maintains significant financing optionality through a $200 million undrawn revolving credit facility and approximately $273 million in potential warrant proceeds. Achieved the highest purity grade through CosPaTox testing, becoming the first recycler to produce resin pure enough for leave-on cosmetic packaging. The Ironton turnaround included over 170 projects targeting capacity and reliability, including a critical seal system replacement expected to materially improve long-term uptime. Project development costs of $7 million were expensed in Q1 but are expected to shift to the balance sheet as capitalization begins upon construction authorization. The company completed its first international sale in Q1, demonstrating an accelerated qualification timeline for PureChoice resin in global markets. Our analysts just identified a stock with the potential to be the next Nvidia. Tell us how you invest and we'll show you why it's our #1 pick. Tap here. Management identified film, coffee lids, and 'impact grades' (e.g., yogurt tubs) as the most significant near-term volume drivers. Successful trials on 6-meter Bruckner lines have positioned PureCycle as a unique provider of PCR content for thin-film applications. CFO Donald Carpenter confirmed weekly dialogues with a local Thai bank and indicated that indicative financing conditions appear achievable. The company is continuing to add Letters of Intent (LOIs) for both feedstock and offtake to support the project's bankability. Rising oil and polyethylene prices have doubled the value of co-product 2, improving the overall yield economics at Ironton. Most branded contracts are structured as 'feedstock plus,' making them largely independent of global virgin polypropylene price swings. CEO Dustin Olson expressed optimism following meetings with the new administration, noting that interests are clearly aligned for circular economy goals. While no specific date was given, management believes the process is moving in the right direction following the administration's first 100 days. One stock. Nvidia-level potential. 30M+ investors trust Moby to find it first. Get the pick. Tap here.

Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-05-07

PureCycle (PCT) Q1 2026 Earnings Transcript

Motley Fool
Image source: The Motley Fool. Wednesday, May 6, 2026, at 5 p.m. ET Chief Executive Officer — Dustin Olson Chief Financial Officer — Donald Carpenter Director of Investor Relations — Eric DeNatale Need a quote from a Motley Fool analyst? Email [email protected] Eric DeNatale: Welcome to the PureCycle Technologies, Inc. first quarter 2026 corporate update conference call. I am Eric DeNatale, Director of Investor Relations for PureCycle Technologies, Inc., and joining me on the call today are Dustin Olson, our chief executive officer, and Donald Carpenter, our chief financial officer. This evening, we will be highlighting our corporate developments for 2026. The presentation we will be going through on this call can also be found on the investor tab at our website at purecycle.com. Many of the statements made today will be forward-looking, are based on management’s beliefs, assumptions, and information currently available to management at this time. The statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which may be beyond our control, including those set forth in our safe harbor provisions and forward-looking statements that can be found at the end of our first quarter 2026 corporate update press release filed this afternoon, as well as in other reports on file with the SEC that provide further detail about the risks related to our business. Additionally, please note that the company’s actual results may differ materially from those anticipated and, except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. Our remarks today may also include preliminary non-GAAP estimates and are subject to risks and uncertainties including, among other things, changes in connection with quarter-end and year-end adjustments. Any variation between PureCycle Technologies, Inc.’s actual results and the preliminary financial data set forth herein may be material. You are welcome to follow along with our slide deck, or if joining us by phone, you can access it anytime at purecycle.com. We are excited to share updates from our previous quarter with you. With that, I will turn it over to Dustin Olson, PureCycle Technologies, Inc.’s chief executive officer. Dustin Olson: Thank you, Eric, and good afternoon, everyone. Business momentum entering 2026 is the strongest it has been. Revenues came in above budget, branded customer co…Read full document

Image source: The Motley Fool. Wednesday, May 6, 2026, at 5 p.m. ET Chief Executive Officer — Dustin Olson Chief Financial Officer — Donald Carpenter Director of Investor Relations — Eric DeNatale Need a quote from a Motley Fool analyst? Email [email protected] Eric DeNatale: Welcome to the PureCycle Technologies, Inc. first quarter 2026 corporate update conference call. I am Eric DeNatale, Director of Investor Relations for PureCycle Technologies, Inc., and joining me on the call today are Dustin Olson, our chief executive officer, and Donald Carpenter, our chief financial officer. This evening, we will be highlighting our corporate developments for 2026. The presentation we will be going through on this call can also be found on the investor tab at our website at purecycle.com. Many of the statements made today will be forward-looking, are based on management’s beliefs, assumptions, and information currently available to management at this time. The statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which may be beyond our control, including those set forth in our safe harbor provisions and forward-looking statements that can be found at the end of our first quarter 2026 corporate update press release filed this afternoon, as well as in other reports on file with the SEC that provide further detail about the risks related to our business. Additionally, please note that the company’s actual results may differ materially from those anticipated and, except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. Our remarks today may also include preliminary non-GAAP estimates and are subject to risks and uncertainties including, among other things, changes in connection with quarter-end and year-end adjustments. Any variation between PureCycle Technologies, Inc.’s actual results and the preliminary financial data set forth herein may be material. You are welcome to follow along with our slide deck, or if joining us by phone, you can access it anytime at purecycle.com. We are excited to share updates from our previous quarter with you. With that, I will turn it over to Dustin Olson, PureCycle Technologies, Inc.’s chief executive officer. Dustin Olson: Thank you, Eric, and good afternoon, everyone. Business momentum entering 2026 is the strongest it has been. Revenues came in above budget, branded customer conversions are accelerating, and our confidence in the commercial ramp over the remainder of 2026 has never been higher. The commitments we made are becoming results. The P&G ramp is underway, coffee lids are commercial with multiple customers, branded sales are converting across the portfolio, and the branded momentum is real. We continue to make progress toward our mission of transforming the global plastics industry, and the results this quarter reinforce that we are on the right path. Let me walk you through the details. Ironton produced 8.4 million pounds of Pure V in Q1, up 12% from Q4, and processed approximately 10 million pounds of feedstock input. Both of these numbers demonstrate the continued scaling of our technology. The planned turnaround at Ironton was completed ahead of schedule and is tracking approximately 15% below budget. This is significant. It is the first time we have completed a turnaround ahead of schedule. It speaks to a better understanding of our operations and our core technology, and it is a great example of how the internal improvements we have made are driving external outcomes. This is something that we are increasingly seeing across the business. It has been two years since we have taken a full shutdown across the facility. During this outage, we executed over 170 projects, which targeted capacity, reliability, and quality. This will pave the way to achieve full capacity within the facility. We also found the plant to be in much better condition than it was two years ago. The vessels that created the most challenge last time required far less intervention this time, which is another testament to our progress. The long-term resiliency of our core technology is also very strong. One of the most impactful projects is the replacement of the critical seal system. Procurement required some navigation to global supply chain conditions, but we resolved it ahead of the outage. The installation is complete and expected to materially improve reliability going forward. On-site compounding reached mechanical completion in April as well, and we are currently commissioning the asset. This is a strategically important addition to our platform. As customers scale in film and thermoform applications, we will be able to deliver a finished, application-ready product reliably and consistently without relying on third parties. The unit economics for compounded product are more attractive than the base resin, and as volumes build, this asset will be a significant contributor to our overall margin profile. Our third-party compounding volumes also ramped to approximately 1.7 million pounds in Q1 with significant month-over-month growth throughout the quarter. Let us discuss the macro environment because the shifts we are seeing are very dynamic, but also clearly positive for PureCycle Technologies, Inc. The disruption to global petrochemical supply chains helped us in several specific ways. First, it has improved the co-product pricing. Second, it has reinforced the value of a domestic, stable supply source that is independent of global petrochemical disruption. And third, it has created urgency. Brands and converters all around the world are actively looking for domestic, compliant alternatives to global supply. We are seeing this manifest in two ways. Companies that are already in our pipeline are moving faster with us, and we have received numerous inbound inquiries from the rest of the world looking to start the process of qualifying our product. Virgin polypropylene prices have risen roughly $0.25 to $0.35 per pound in the U.S. and $0.35 to $0.55 per pound in Asia and Europe. Our feedstock, waste polypropylene from more than 15 U.S. suppliers, is independent of these disruptions. Unlike virgin polypropylene, our product is sourced from domestic waste streams and priced independently of those dynamics. In the current environment, our customers increasingly value the consistency and reliability of our supply as much as the sustainability credentials. HDPE prices have roughly doubled, which will improve our co-product pricing dynamics as well. As you recall from the last call, in 2025 we faced numerous macro challenges. This has reversed. The current macro environment in 2026 is a tailwind, not a headwind. Regulatory momentum continues to build. In California, regulations for SB 54 were finalized earlier this month. Source reduction deadlines are only seven months away, and we are seeing increased urgency from brands and converters to get qualified to meet this upcoming mandate. New Jersey is stepping up to a higher minimum recycled content rate in 2027, moving from 10% currently to 20%. Additionally, while New Jersey mandated PCR content for most plastic packaging starting in 2024, it included a temporary exemption for food contact containers. This goes away in January 2027. Let us take a step back and look at this environment holistically. Three forces are converging. One, commodity pricing is extremely dynamic, creating global market uncertainty. Two, regulations across numerous segments are coming from all directions, including Europe, California, and New Jersey, as well as others. And three, consumers still want sustainable solutions. How will the brands react? Brands will lean into solutions that work, and PureCycle Technologies, Inc.’s demonstrated technical successes are a clear solution. PureCycle Technologies, Inc. offers three positive contributions to the discussion: very high-quality, FDA-grade material with demonstrated performance across a wide variety of segments; a product positively positioned as a regulatory solution; and a localized supply that is insulated from global macro disruptions. Europe-for-Europe and Asia-for-Asia are emerging themes, and we are the solution for plastic. Quality matters, and we provide uncompromised material. With regulations coming from every direction, APR-serving certifications are increasingly accepted by regulatory agencies. This macro environment highlights the need for PureCycle Technologies, Inc. It is helping in the short term, but it is also providing significant tailwinds to our long-term growth plan. Q1 marked the quarter where branded sales moved from isolated wins to a real and growing base. Donald Carpenter: We booked $4.1 million of revenue, our fifth consecutive quarter of sequential growth ahead of internal expectations, with branded mix increasing meaningfully within that number. We will be shipping this quarter to Procter & Gamble. We are converting new customers like Plastic Ingenuity, and there is more to come. We converted eight new customers across multiple product categories during Q1. Branded pricing is robust and above internal targets. As we move through Q2 and beyond, we have clear line of sight to a growing mix of branded sales and Q2 ramps. These are building a stable base of sales as the ramp becomes more meaningful, and the 40 to 50 million pounds of annual demand are starting to ramp in Q2 and Q3, and another 20 to 25 million pounds of application capacity will start to ramp in Q3 and Q4. The New Jersey regulation resolution also represents a meaningful pipeline catalyst, one we will cover in more detail when we get to the regulatory update. Our pipeline now stands at 180 active opportunities, up from over 170 at year-end and roughly 100 a year ago. We continue to be bullish about the commercial opportunities in film as we progress through 2026. During the quarter, we ran two industrial trials successfully at different film producers. Both were on Brückner’s six-meter line. We also ran two pilot lines successfully at different film producers. In all of these trials, the PCT product properties were excellent and comparable to their virgin counterparts. We continue to progress with two of the top five global food manufacturing brand owners on programs related to snack and confectionery packaging, and we will update the market as we get closer to commercialization. Our relationship with Procter & Gamble is strong, and activity is accelerating. They have among the highest standards for quality and reliability in the consumer products industry. They have done extensive testing of our product and we have passed. The metrics and processes by which Procter & Gamble evaluates suppliers are the gold standard in the industry, and the fact that we have achieved commercial qualifications with them is a powerful validation of our technology and our operations. The qualification process with Procter & Gamble took longer than anticipated. Their standards are exacting, and there are no shortcuts. But clearing those standards matters. The rigor of their approval process means that the specifications we validated now apply broadly across the brand portfolio, and we expect future application approvals to move considerably faster as a result. This quarter, we achieved final approval for commercialization of two Procter & Gamble applications. Tide caps for select bottles will begin shipping in Q2, and Vicks ZzzQuil caps will follow in 2026. We are also in the process of qualification with three additional applications, which are going well, and we look for many more beyond that. Additionally, we will be posting on our website and through social media channels that we recently achieved the highest purity grade through COSMETO’X testing. COSMETO’X is a consortium focused on the intersection of cosmetics packaging and toxicology that has formulated a standardized, voluntary safety evaluation guidance for the use of PCR in cosmetic products and detergents packaging. This milestone was the result of a collaborative effort between Procter & Gamble and PureCycle Technologies, Inc., with both teams jointly preparing and submitting samples for evaluation from the Ironton facility. Through the testing, our dissolution process produced the highest grade material. We are the first recycler to achieve this, and that means our resin is pure enough for leave-on cosmetics. Achieving the highest possible COSMETO’X grade underscores the quality and consistency of our product and reinforces its suitability for demanding cosmetic applications. We are deeply appreciative of their support, their continued partnership, and excited for the ramp ahead of us. All of these qualifications matter. They are proof points for Procter & Gamble, but also for other customers. When other brands see the product passing the highest quality standards and they see supply disruptions and they see regulations coming, they start calling. We are very excited about our recent announcement with Plastic Ingenuity. To put this in context, the market for hot lids in North America is massive. There are over 50 billion coffee cups consumed annually in the U.S. alone. Plastic Ingenuity services many of these brands, including some of the largest in the world. Part of their decision to move forward with us was the positive reception they received from numerous QSRs and restaurant chains when they showcased the sustainable lids at the SPC Impact Conference in Nashville two weeks ago. The market response validated the demand. Coffee lids are available with 25% to 100% purified ultra resin, which gives brands options to buy what they need. Beyond hot lids, we have finished trials on additional applications as well, including cold lids, which is a rapidly growing category, as well as food trays and meat trays. We are seeing significant opportunity to commercialize across their product portfolio. QSRs carry significant plastic packaging exposure in California, and with the mandate seven months away, we are seeing real urgency from a number of brands actively looking for compliant supply. We completed our first international sale in Q1. The initial purchase was over 300 thousand pounds of PureChoice resin for a product line we have sold previously into. Over 3 million items are being produced. Discussions are ongoing around additional applications and a broader relationship. Not only was this a successful project, it was also a much accelerated timeline for qualification and approval. The model here is simple and similar to what we have done successfully before: start with a qualification of a single application, demonstrate the product works, and then broaden into sustained commercial relationships. We have already seen this play out with Churchill, a very trusted partner, where we started small with shipments to events like the CFP National Championship Game and other one-off sports and entertainment venues. That success has now matured into a broader, more meaningful commercial relationship that continues to grow and mature into materially significant pounds that continue to ramp through the rest of this year. The progression with Churchill has directly led to increased brand recognition. Companies and organizations see the product working at scale in the real world, and it accelerates their decision to move forward. New Jersey remains in review, and we continue to progress positive discussions with all levels of the New Jersey government. I have personally met with numerous government officials, including the governor, the governor’s office, and the DEP, and I am very encouraged by the new administration’s drive for efficiency, efficacy, and impact. I remain very optimistic about our progress here. When this resolves, it will open a phased ramp of incremental demand as customers progress through the qualification process and prepare for 2027. Regulation changes, and this will make New Jersey a circular state. The broader regulatory landscape continues to advance and timelines are getting very real. California’s signature recycling bill called SB 54 requires 10% source reduction by 2027. That is only seven months away, with increases to 20% in 2030 and 25% in 2032. Those source reduction targets can be achieved partially through recycled content. With our APR certification, Pure5 resin qualifies as recycled content under SB 54, and we are seeing increased urgency from brands and converters who need to meet this mandate. We have had direct conversations with the governor and his office about PureCycle Technologies, Inc.’s role in meeting the state’s recycling targets and recycled content mandates. In New Jersey, the post-consumer recycle requirement increases to 20% in 2027, and the food contact exemption expires in early 2027. Both states have excluded mass balance from the definitions, which means PureCycle Technologies, Inc. is one of the only compliant suppliers at scale for food-grade recycled polypropylene. The volume contingent on New Jersey approval has increased and now stands at 25 to 50 million pounds. That number has grown since last quarter, and I believe it will continue to grow. Two large brands have moved as far as they can in the qualification approval process without regulatory clearance in hand, positioning themselves to move quickly once New Jersey resolves. Both are motivated by the same deadline: the food contact exemption sunsets in early 2027. This combination creates a powerful and near-term demand catalyst for PureCycle Technologies, Inc. It drives real demand and real urgency for the customers. A quick update on our global growth projects. As I mentioned, the Ironton turnaround was completed ahead of schedule and is tracking below budget. The improvement projects incorporated during this outage are targeting higher reliability, production rates, and product quality. Our Thailand facility remains on track for mechanical completion by 2027, operational commissioning in 2028, and production in Q2 2028. Construction is expected to break ground in 2026. The total investment is currently expected to be around $250 million. The Belgium facility also remains on track. Permits are expected near year-end 2026, construction is expected in 2027, and mechanical completion by 2028. Total investment remains in line with prior disclosure of approximately $350 million. We were also awarded a €40 million grant from the European Innovation Fund for the Belgian facility construction and finalized the documentation in April. On Gen 2, our initial design estimates continue to validate the economics, and we are working through the more advanced design work. At this time, I will turn it over to Donald, our chief financial officer, for the financial update and some commentary on our capital position. Donald? Donald Carpenter: Thank you, Dustin. This quarter, we are introducing operational KPIs alongside our financial results to give you a clearer view of how the business is performing. We will continue to refine and expand these disclosures as the business scales. For additional context to the KPIs, feedstock processed measures purification-ready material delivered into the purification process. “Other production” captures co-products one and two, and other saleable material recovered from the feedstock stream. This is an incremental revenue source that improves our overall yield per unit economics at Ironton. Together with purified production, these metrics give investors a more complete view of Ironton’s throughput. Year-over-year production grew approximately 95% while monthly operations spending grew only 6%. That divergence is operating leverage emerging in the business. As we run more pounds through a largely fixed cost base, our cost per pound falls. At the same time, branded sales are lifting revenue per pound. Those two trends are converging, and that convergence is the foundation of the unit economics improvement we expect as the commercial ramp accelerates through 2026. Net loss for Q1 was $33.4 million compared to net income of $8.8 million in Q1 2025. The prior-year period included a $56.7 million favorable change in the fair value of our warrants. Adjusted EBITDA was negative $30.9 million compared to negative $25.5 million in Q1 2025. The year-over-year change is primarily driven by approximately $3 million of higher project development costs running through the P&L. Included in adjusted EBITDA for the quarter is approximately $7 million of project development costs that were expensed through the P&L. These are primarily professional services, project team labor, and facility costs related to our Thailand, Belgium, Augusta, and prep development activities. As these projects advance toward construction authorization, a greater portion of these costs will shift to the balance sheet as they become capitalized. We have included a reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA in the press release. We ended Q1 with total liquidity of approximately $131 million, which includes $90 million of cash and cash equivalents, approximately $31 million of excess cash invested in marketable securities, and $10 million in restricted cash. That compares to approximately $182 million of total liquidity at the end of Q4. Total operation spending came in at approximately $8.8 million per month in Q1 and within our $8 million to $9 million per month expectations. Importantly, we held this monthly range for Q1 even as production volumes increased and feedstock and other variable cost growth was absorbed within our ongoing operations. This metric captures our ongoing operational run rate separately from project-related spending, much of which is largely discretionary and is shown separately. The split isolates ongoing operations from the discretionary capital deployment we are making for Thailand, Belgium, Augusta, and Gen 2 efforts. The Q1 quarterly total of $27.4 million reflects an annual incentive compensation payout of $1.3 million in addition to the ongoing monthly rate. Q2 will include the Ironton turnaround spend, which is tracking below budget and reported separately from the operations spend. Q2 will also include the scheduled SOFA bond debt service payment of approximately $9 million on June 1. We have flexibility to monetize a portion of our SOFA bond holdings to offset some of this outflow. Project spend totaled approximately $14 million for the quarter, below the $19 million to $20 million quarterly expectations primarily due to timing. Fiscal year 2026 project spend expectations of $39 million to [inaudible] are unchanged, and the majority of remaining project spend is discretionary. In April, we extended our public and private warrants to 03/17/2027 and lowered the redemption trigger price to $14.38 per share, bringing them in line with the Series A warrants. These warrants now share the same expiration date with approximately $273 million in total potential proceeds available through that date. Beyond the warrants, we have meaningful financing optionality. Our $200 million revolving credit facility remains undrawn and available through September 2027, and we have approximately $75 million in revenue bonds available to monetize. Equipment financing payments will also step down in 2026 as existing leases mature, reducing our ongoing capital costs. On Thailand, conversations with a local Thai bank continue to develop well. We are actively progressing the project financing and are encouraged by the alignment we are seeing as we work on finalizing terms and conditions. We will provide updates as appropriate. With that, operator, please open the line for questions. Operator: Thank you. We will now open the call for questions. At this time, we will conduct a question-and-answer session. As a reminder, to ask a question, you will need to press star 11 on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star 11 again. Please standby while we compile the Q&A roster. Our first question comes from the line of Andres Sheppard from Cantor Fitzgerald. Your line is now open. Hey, everyone. Andres Sheppard: Afternoon. Thanks so much for taking our questions, and congrats on all the recent progress. Dustin, I want to start on the pipeline. You mentioned the pipeline now stands at about 180 active opportunities and that branded sales are starting to convert. If you can help us understand what the commercial funnel looks like over the next three to six months, what types of applications are closest—just a little more visibility into that. Thank you. Dustin Olson: Yeah. Hey, thanks for the question, Andres. I am really excited about this. We have a lot of irons in the fire. The compounding assets that we put in place are giving us a lot of opportunity to make exactly what the customers are looking for. On the film side, if you have ever opened up a film wrapper and seen that it is white on the inside, it is called cavitated film. We can make that. In order to seal the film around a candy bar wrapper, you have to have sealant film. We have made that. We are trialing with virtually all the film producers in the U.S. at this point, and it is going well. The interesting thing about film is that brands are driving that discussion. So it is less about us pushing it to a converter to see if it works and more about brands hearing that we can do it, and they are starting to pull it through. That is very exciting. On thermoform cups, we have talked a lot about coffee lids. Those are just easy for us to make. It is hard to get to the point where we are, but that is a good product for us—the white, the brown, the black, and some of the clear cup lids. Those are all very good for us. You see this a lot in cold cups as well as hot cups, and that is an emerging trend. We have a lot of different customers testing to see if that clear cup can work with our material and if the coffee lid fits right on the container, and it is going well. For our other impact grades—things where you do not want them to break when you drop them, but you also do not want them to crush when you stack them—it is a tricky grade to make, but we are doing it. Things like butter tubs, cream cheese, and yogurt. What is really exciting about that particular grade is that we are a drop-in replacement for virgin, and customers are really excited about that. They do not have to change their supply chain. They just drop it in and go, and they have a better sustainability story. Other applications include injection grade. We talked about the Tide cap. I could not be more excited about what we are doing with Procter & Gamble. The work that we have done with them to get better at what we do—there has been a delay on the Procter side, but they made us better. We got better at our operations. They got better at the supply chain. We got better at making the product, and that is going to lead to a lot of success with other grades as well—other detergent manufacturers and other injection molded brands. The funnel, when you look at it and see all the grades that are popping through, is full of stuff that you see in the grocery store. I was walking through the grocery store the other day with my daughter and talking to her about all these different things. I got really excited. I do not think she cared at all, but if you walk through the grocery store and you see what we are able to make, it is really inspiring. Thanks for the question, Andres. Andres Sheppard: Got it. Thank you for the thorough answer. Maybe as a follow-up, a two-part question. First on Thailand—if you can give us more color on where you are in the financing process and timing. Second, around New Jersey—an update there and when we might expect a decision? Donald Carpenter: Yeah. This is Donald. I will take the first part of that question. I am really excited about the progress we have made in Thailand so far as it relates to the financing. We put together a very comprehensive data room. We have weekly dialogues with the Thai bank. They have reviewed the data room extensively and provided feedback, and we believe that the indicative conditions are achievable. We are looking forward to finalizing the terms, all while we are continuing to add to our LOIs for feed and offtake. Dustin Olson: Yeah, I think we have done a really good job here, Andres. Donald has taken a strong position on this and put together a really clean data room. The relationships in Thailand are really strong. We have met with them in person multiple times. The dialogue is strong. It is more of a relationship developing, and we are very proud of that. Getting to your second point on New Jersey, it is going really well. We have had lots of active discussions. We have good relationships. The new administration is doing all the right things. They are actively trying to improve efficiency. They are working hard to make government work for the people again. Our interests are clearly aligned. The administration just finished the first hundred days. If you think about when this really started going, we worked with the old administration in September and then late October. We had hoped to get it converted before November, but it did not happen. The election happened. There was a bit of a pause period between November and January, and then the new administration has to get started. I think it is going in the right direction. Obviously, we would all like to have that done now, but rest assured, the conversations are going well. We believe that we have clearly aligned interests, and we think it will close soon. Andres Sheppard: Great to hear. Thanks for all the color, and congrats again on the quarter. I will pass it on. Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Hassan Ahmed from Alembic Global Advisors. Your line is now open. Hassan Ahmed: Afternoon, Dustin. First question about the macro volatility we have been seeing since early March. It impacts polypropylene directly. Facilities across the Middle East have been impacted, not to mention oil prices and NGL supply. I am thinking through PDH facilities in China and their feedstock. What that does to cost curves. Polypropylene prices have reacted quite positively. With these macro puts and takes, can you drill it down to PureCycle Technologies, Inc.—what it means on the cost side and demand side? I would imagine more customers would be intrigued by your offering. Dustin Olson: I think this is a very dynamic period. There are a lot of people waiting on the sidelines and hoping it ends quickly and the impact is not extended. There is a lot of destocking happening right now, particularly in China. You have seen a lot of pricing change globally. The arb between the U.S. and Asia is either closing or closed or has reversed depending on who you talk to. It is very tight now, and there is a lot of destocking. We see that trend continuing. Oil and polyethylene have direct impacts on co-products. Our co-product one has a bit of a marker toward oil. Co-product two has a clear marker to polyethylene. In the U.S. market, polyethylene has doubled. That makes co-product two quite a bit more valuable, and customers are very excited to start pulling those co-products in as alternatives to increased pricing. For polypropylene, it is a two-sided story. Increased pricing on virgin polypropylene helps. It is an opening discussion with customers. But most of our branded customers and most of the contracts we are developing are really feedstock-plus developed—largely independent of global supply chain items—because feedstock is locally sourced and locally produced. Most customers like that hedge. They have volatility in the normal global supply chain, but with recycled content material, it is more stable. From our perspective, we are starting to see relationships we have built over the last three to four years globally start to bear fruit. We have a very strong team in both Europe and Asia, and the relationships with those customers are starting to come through. We are having discussions about shipping to both regions. That is exciting. We have the REACH certification in Europe, so the path is cleared for that. With Asia, Thailand is coming. We have started to develop relationships with Asia customers. Asian customers are nervous right now. They largely get their supply from China, but they are not sure how long that will last or what the price will be, and there is a lot of prepayment activity. They have been reaching out to us and asking if we can help—either to export now from Ironton or to accelerate the approval process for when Thailand comes on. That bodes well for us. It is definitely an exciting and dynamic time. All things are pretty positive for us. One more note about nationalism. Europe-for-Europe and Asia-for-Asia is an emerging trend. People are nervous—it started with tariffs and now it is global supply chain interruptions. If you can take a product you have consumed and turn it into a replacement for a product you used to buy, nations like that. In Thailand and in Europe, we are going to get a lot more traction over the next couple of years for replacing supply chains that would otherwise be conflicted with things like this. That is a great question, Hassan. Thank you. Hassan Ahmed: Very helpful, Dustin. As a follow-up, on a micro level, what did you accomplish during the Ironton turnaround? Scope of work, standout projects, and, with this behind you, what should we expect in terms of production rates and top-end capacity coming out of the outage? Dustin Olson: Ironton was a major activity. We opened nearly every piece of equipment. As mentioned, it was a lot cleaner than we expected, which in petrochemical complexes is a very good sign. The fact that we do not have corrosion or erosion or some of those traditional problems is a good indicator this plant is going to be able to run for long periods without outages and make the outages much more predictable. This was a very predictable outage. A lot of work. Very good execution by the site. We completed over 170 jobs focused on quality, reliability, and capacity. There are a lot of first-plant headaches that we solved. We cleaned up the plant, added many small improvements that will make the plant more reliable. The operators and the management team at the site are very excited. On capacity, we believe we are going to be increasing rates coming out of the outage. We have mentioned in the past a pump that was undersized—we upgraded that. We mentioned some heat integration that was undersized—we cleaned all of the exchangers on-site, so that is much better. We talked at length about seal problems—we put in place a lot of seal improvements during this outage that we could not do without an outage. The plant is in really good position. Every time we add something or improve something, we have to test it, see what we can ramp up to, and see if it is stable. We will do all of that. Remember, we did several rate tests over the last two years where we touched 12 thousand pounds an hour—about 75% capacity—and we touched 14 thousand pounds an hour—about 90% to 95% capacity. Those moments gave us nice insight into what to target for this outage. We took those learnings and built them into the plan, and we are excited to see what we can do in May, June, and Q3. Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Eric Stine from Craig-Hallum Capital Group. Your line is now open, Eric. Luke Persons: Hey, this is Luke on for Eric. Thanks for taking our questions. First, could you talk about any other states besides New Jersey that have potential regulatory catalysts on the horizon that you expect could unlock meaningful revenue opportunities? Dustin Olson: There is legislation in place or developing in Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts, Colorado, and New York has a lot of discussions right now as well. A lot of the traditional blue states are coming through with demand-side regulations. New Jersey and California are big players in the room, and they have helped to establish a lot of the fundamental guidelines for where things are going. Most states right now are starting to adopt the APR certification as the marker for recycled content, which we have already achieved. We are very excited about where this goes. Luke Persons: Got it. That is helpful. As a follow-up, you have opportunities in several verticals that could each drive step-change growth. If you had to force rank which applications you expect to be most meaningful in the near term, say the next 12 to 18 months, what would that list look like? Dustin Olson: There are two ways to look at that. One is what will create revenue in the near term, and the other is what we will lean into in the long term. They are a little different. In the short term, we will keep leaning into injection molded applications like the Tide caps and the ZzzQuil caps. We have demonstrated we can color, we can make, and we can do that reliably, and we are getting a lot of follow-on requests. There is a lot of demand there. Then there is one that bridges short and long term: coffee lids and cold cups. There is an enormous amount of volume in that space, and we have proven that we can make it at lots of different levels. Some people want 100%. Some are happy with 25% minimum content, and we can make it all. We are really excited about that. I think that will come on quickly and also stick around for a long time. Two other segments that I think are going to be very big: one is film. We are the only game in town when it comes to PCR content in film, and now we are doing it on six-meter lines. The Brückner six-meter lines are enormous—20 feet across with extremely thin film. It is really hard to do, and the fact that we are doing it and that film producers are testing it everywhere while brands are pulling it through is a very good sign for the long term. Our Ironton compounding asset will unlock that for us. The last one, which frankly I did not expect to be as valuable coming in but has really popped over the last three to six months, is what we call the impact grade. It is tricky to get a material that can withstand cold, drop, and crush—for butter tubs, yogurt cups, etc. We have been able to make some of those, but a lot of brands right now are held up by New Jersey in that space. We are not going to see it immediately, but it is going to come, and I think it is going to be very strong. There is another unique test called the retort test—sterilization. They test how well it sterilizes and put food in it to see how well it does over time. We are doing really well there, and I think that is a differentiator for us compared to the market because we have fewer contaminants in our product. The less contaminants you have, the better you do on these tests. That is going to be one that hits us in the long term as well. Really good question, Luke. Thank you. Operator: Thank you. Our next caller comes from the line of James Schrum from TD Cowen. Your line is now open. Analyst: Hey. Thanks. Good afternoon, guys. You have in your forward outlook some timelines for two separate ramps. I just wanted to get a better sense of what the ramp actually looks like. How long does it take to get to the full annual run rate? Is it second quarter, third quarter, fourth quarter—what does the ramp look like? Dustin Olson: It is very difficult to predict because it is largely dependent on our customers’ desired ramp timelines. What we have said previously, which I stand by now as well, is that Q1 and Q2 look largely the same. Q3 and Q4 start to ramp up in terms of volume and revenue. We have a lot of customers trialing and starting to take. It is really an average of their ramp times that we are interested in. We have enough line of sight to know that Q3 and Q4 still look really strong. Given the backdrop of regulation that they are pushing against, there is a pretty good indication that Q3 and Q4 are going to be strong quarters for us because they have to be to meet the regulations. Analyst: Okay. You noted with Procter & Gamble that they are making you better or you are getting better at making the product. What does that actually look like? Why is your product better? And what needs to happen to get some orders across the finish line with Procter or others? Dustin Olson: We do have orders across the line with Procter & Gamble. We are fully qualified on both the Tide caps and the ZzzQuil caps, so those are coming. ZzzQuil will be next in the second half of the year, but the Tide caps are happening right now. I think we have a PO in hand for a late May or early June delivery. What I mean by getting better is every time you are challenged to do something better—supply chain management, inventory management, lab testing, quality control, providing the right documentation and certifications, regulatory framework—all of these matter to customers. Procter & Gamble is the gold standard. They are thorough. They are tough. Questions you would not think would be asked, get asked. You have to answer them. Sometimes you have the answer and move on. Sometimes you do not, and you have to get it. When you develop the answer, the paperwork, the procedure, or the process, it makes you better not just for P&G, but for everybody else. When it comes to product quality and running the plant, they are not active there—they are not saying, “turn this valve” or “move that temperature.” It is more about all of the back-end and front-end stuff you have to have equally right in order to make it work. Our team is getting really good. We have now done it, and we are learning how to do it every quarter. That is something I am really proud of, and I think we will continue to improve over time. Analyst: Thanks. Lastly, you cited 180 pipeline opportunities. What is the pushback you are getting from customers? What is holding them back from placing an order? You had mentioned the New Jersey issue in the past, but what is holding them back right now? Dustin Olson: Every customer is different, so it is a bit of an average discussion. Everybody is looking for something different. They have different drivers. Some people want very thorough LCAs and a lot of discussion about how you calculated your LCA. Some want to go through and look at your GreenCircle and APR certifications to get comfortable with where you are getting your feed and how you are turning it into product. It is not about what is going wrong or holding them back; it is more about what their process is. We are not getting pushback. We are moving forward through their processes. There are a lot of steps that just take time. For food contact applications, sometimes you have to put yogurt into a cup. You make the cup—it looks great, smells great, fits great—and they say, “We love it. We have never seen something like this work as well as it is right now. Now we are going to put yogurt in it and let it sit in the refrigerator for three to six months, and we will let you know how it did.” There is nothing wrong with PureCycle Technologies, Inc. there. It is just the time it takes for some customers. This is what we have been working on the last year and a half: make the product, show we can do it, and then step it through the customers’ qualification processes. Now we are getting good at this. We know how to qualify product. We have far fewer unknown questions, and we can answer them. We have a very strong lab in Durham that helps us answer questions extremely technically, which is very valuable. We feel really good, but it still takes time for some customers to get across the line. Having said that, they are getting across the line. We are converting to branded applications. We are showing that we can make the product and that they get approved. Over the rest of the year, you will hear more about other brands getting across the line that we are starting to serve. Operator: Thank you. Our last question comes from the line of Jeffrey Campbell from Seaport Research Partners. Your line is now open. Jeffrey Campbell: Hi, Dustin, and congratulations on the continued operating success. At some point, it is projected that the EU recycling regulations are tough on paper, but enforcement confidence is questioned. What is your take on that? Dustin Olson: That is a good question. I am not going to predict which direction governments will go. Right now, there is extremely strong support for demand-side regulatory efforts. California, New Jersey, Washington, Oregon, and Colorado are all in, and that is something they put in place years ago. We do not see that changing. We see it moving forward and setting a standard for the U.S. There is a lot of bipartisan support for recycling. A bill came through Florida, a traditionally red state, that was unanimous in approval for recycling standards. That is a great example of how both blue and red states like the idea of recycling. Outside the U.S., Europe is moving fast forward toward recycling. If it was pure sustainability reasons in the past, today it is also nationalism—worry about tariffs and dependence on other countries. The more they can lean into recycling, the less dependence they have, which is good for Europe. In Asia, you see EPR legislation pop up in India, Indonesia, and Thailand—countries where you might not expect strong support for recycling—yet legislation is coming. I do not think this is a blue-versus-red thing or a fad. It is growing momentum on both sides of the aisle and globally, and I think PureCycle Technologies, Inc. is going to see a lot of tailwind from that over the next ten years. Jeffrey Campbell: Thank you. I want to close by approaching the questions about conversion of customers a little differently. Since you are noting new customers and now we have the Plastic Ingenuity interest in Pure5, is there any chance that revenue guidance could be raised as 2026 progresses? Dustin Olson: We are not going to give revenue guidance specifically today, but you have heard my comments about how we think it will shape throughout the year. It is difficult to give specific numbers at this point because it is highly variable. New Jersey has an impact. Until we get New Jersey and a little more traction there, we will probably wait. Having said that, the plan we put in place for 2026 internally is very achievable. We are starting to execute on that plan, and I feel good about it. That bodes really well for the second half of the year. Operator: This concludes our Q&A portion, and I would like to turn it back to Dustin Olson for closing remarks. Dustin Olson: Yes. Thank you, Myla. Thank you for listening in today and for all of your continued support. Overall, this is a strong quarter for PureCycle Technologies, Inc. across the organization. We exceeded our internal plan and are confident in our 2026 outlook. We know that this year is critical to unlocking the flywheel that allows us to capitalize on the immense opportunity to revolutionize plastic. The operational performance, the commercial conversions, the macro tailwinds, the regulatory momentum, and the capital access all point in the same direction. The hard work is paying off. The branded momentum is real, and we are just getting started. Thanks, everybody. Operator: Thank you for your participation in today’s conference. This concludes the program. You may now disconnect. Before you buy stock in PureCycle Technologies, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and PureCycle Technologies wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $473,985!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,204,650!* Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 950% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 203% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of May 6, 2026. This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. PureCycle (PCT) Q1 2026 Earnings Transcript was originally published by The Motley Fool

TranscriptFY2026 Q12026-05-06

FY2026 Q1 earnings call transcript

Earnings source - 92 paragraphs
Operator

Good day and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the PureCycle Technologies first quarter 2026 corporate update. At this time, all participants are in a listen only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question and answer session. To ask a question during the session, you will need to press star 11 on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising that your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press star 11 again. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would like to hand the conference over to our first speaker, Eric DeNatale, Director for Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Eric DeNatale

Thank you, Myla. Welcome to PureCycle Technologies first quarter 2026 corporate update conference call. I am Eric DeNatale, Director of Investor Relations for PureCycle. Joining me on the call today are Dustin Olson, our Chief Executive Officer, and Donald Carpenter, our Chief Financial Officer. This evening, we'll be highlighting our corporate developments for the first quarter of 2026. The presentation we'll be going through on this call can also be found on the investor tab at our website at purecycle.com. Many of the statements made today will be forward-looking and are based on management's beliefs, assumptions, and information currently available to management at this time.

Eric DeNatale

The statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which may be beyond our control, including those set forth in our safe harbor provisions and forward-looking statements that can be found at the end of our first quarter 2026 corporate update press release filed this afternoon, as well as in other reports on file with the SEC that provides further detail about the risks related to our business. Additionally, please note that the company's actual results may differ materially from those anticipated, and except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

Eric DeNatale

Our remarks today may also include preliminary non-GAAP estimates and are subject to risks and uncertainties, including among other things, changes in connection with quarter end and year-end adjustments. Any variation between PureCycle's actual results in the preliminary financial data set forth herein may be material. You're welcome to follow along with our slide deck, or if joining us by phone, you can access it anytime at purecycle.com. We are excited to share updates from our previous quarter with you. With that, I will turn it over to Dustin Olson, PureCycle's Chief Executive Officer.

Dustin Olson

Thank you, Eric. Good afternoon, everyone. Business momentum entering 2026 is the strongest it has been. Revenues came in above budget. Branded customer conversions are accelerating, and our confidence in the commercial ramp over the remainder of 2026 has never been higher. The commitments we made are becoming results. The P&G ramp is underway. Coffee lids are commercial with multiple customers. Branded sales are converting across the portfolio. The branded momentum is real. We continue to make progress toward our mission of transforming the global plastics industry, and the results this quarter reinforce that we're on the right path. Let me walk you through the details. Ironton produced 8.4 million pounds of PureFive in Q1, which is up from 12% from Q4. We processed approximately 10 million pounds of feedstock input. Both of these numbers demonstrate the continued scaling of our technology.

Dustin Olson

The planned turnaround at Ironton was completed ahead of schedule and tracking approximately 15% below budget. This is significant. It is the first time we've completed a turnaround ahead of schedule. It speaks to a better understanding of our operations and our core technology, and it's a great example of how the internal improvements we've been driving, that we've made are driving external outcomes. This is something that we are increasingly seeing across the business. It's been two years since we've taken a full shutdown across the facility. During this outage, we executed over 170 projects which targeted capacity, reliability, and quality. This will pave the way to achieve full capacity within the facility. We also found the plant to be in much better condition than it was two years ago.

Dustin Olson

The vessels that created the most challenge last time required far less intervention this time, which is another testament to our progress. The long-term resiliency of our core technology is also very strong. One of the most impactful projects is the replacement of the critical seal system. Procurement required some navigation through global supply chain conditions, but we resolved it ahead of the outage. The installation is complete and expected to materially improve reliability going forward. On-site compounding reached mechanical completion in April as well, and we're currently commissioning the asset. This is a strategically important addition to our platform. As customers scale in film and thermoform applications, we will be able to deliver a finished application-ready product reliably and consistently without relying on third parties.

Dustin Olson

The unit economics for compounded product are more attractive than the base resin, and as volumes build, this asset will be a significant contributor to our overall margin profile. Our third-party compounding volumes also ramped to approximately 1.7 million pounds in Q1 with significant month-over-month growth throughout the quarter. Let's discuss the macro environment because the shifts we're seeing are very dynamic but also clearly positive for PureCycle. The disruption to global petrochemical supply chains helped us in several specific ways. First, it has improved the co-product pricing. Second, it has reinforced the value of a domestic stable supply source that is independent of global petrochemical disruption. Third, it has created urgency. Brands and converters all around the world are actively looking for domestic compliant alternatives to global supply. We're seeing this manifest in two ways.

Dustin Olson

Companies that are ready in our pipeline are moving faster with us, and we've received numerous inbound inquiries from the rest of the world customers looking to start the process of qualifying our product. Virgin polypropylene prices have risen roughly $0.25-$0.35 per pound in the U.S. and $0.35-$0.55 per pound in Asia and Europe. Our feedstock, domestic waste polypropylene for more than 15 U.S. suppliers, is independent of these disruptions. Unlike virgin polypropylene, our product is sourced from domestic waste streams and priced independently of those dynamics. In the current environment, our customers increasingly value the consistency and reliability of our supply as much as the sustainability credentials. HDPE prices have roughly doubled, which will improve our co-product pricing dynamics as well. As you recall from the last call, in 2025, we faced numerous macro challenges. This has reversed.

Dustin Olson

The current macro environment in 2026 is a tailwind, not a headwind. Regulatory momentum continues to build. In California, regulations for SB 54 were finalized earlier this month. Source reduction deadlines are only 7 months away. We're seeing increased urgency from brands and converters to get qualified to meet this upcoming mandate. New Jersey is stepping up to higher minimum recycled content rates in 2027 also and moving from 10% currently to 20%. Additionally, while New Jersey mandated PCR content for most plastic packaging starting in 2024, it included a temporary exemption for food contact containers. This goes away in January of 2027. Let's take a step back and look at this environment holistically. Three forces are converging. One, commodity pricing is extremely dynamic, creating global market uncertainty.

Dustin Olson

Two, regulations across numerous segments are coming from all directions, including Europe, California, and New Jersey, as well as others. Three, consumers still want sustainable solutions. How will the brands react? Brands will lean into solutions that work, and PureCycle's demonstrated technical successes are a clear solution. PureCycle offers three positive contributions to the discussion. Very high-quality FDA-grade material with demonstrated performance across a wide variety of segments, a product positively positioned as a regulatory solution, and a localized supply that is insulated from global macro disruptions. Europe to Europe and Asia for Asia are emerging themes, and we are the solution for plastic. Quality matters, and we provide uncompromised material. With regulations coming from every direction, APR certifications are increasingly accepted by regulatory agencies. This macro environment highlights the need for PureCycle.

Dustin Olson

It is helping in the short term, but it is also providing significant tailwinds to our long-term growth plan. Q1 marked the quarter where branded sales moved from isolated wins to a real and growing base. We booked $4.1 million of revenue, our fifth consecutive quarter of sequential growth ahead of internal expectations, with branded mix increasing meaningfully within that number. We will be shipping this quarter to Procter & Gamble. We are converting new customers like Plastic Ingenuity, and there is more to come. We converted eight new customers across multiple product categories during Q1. Branded pricing is robust and above internal targets. As we move through Q2 and beyond, we have clear line of sight to a growing mix of branded sales and Q2 ramps.

Dustin Olson

These are building a stable base of sales as the ramp becomes more meaningful in the second half. We are reiterating that branded applications with 40-50 million pounds of annual demand are starting to ramp in Q2 and Q3, and another 20-25 million pounds of application capacity will start to ramp in Q3 and Q4. The New Jersey regulation resolution also represents a meaningful pipeline catalyst, one we will cover in more detail when we get to the regulatory update. Our pipeline now stands at approximately 180 active opportunities, up from over 170 at year-end and roughly 100 a year ago. We continue to be bullish about the commercial opportunities in film as we progress through 2026. During the quarter, we ran two industrial trials successfully at different film producers.

Dustin Olson

Both were on Brückner six-meter lines. We also ran two pilot lines successfully at different film producers. In all of these trials, the PCT product properties were excellent and comparable to their virgin counterparts. We continue to progress with two of the top five global food manufacturing brand owners on programs related to snack and confectionery packaging, and we'll update the market as we get closer to commercialization. Our relationship with Procter & Gamble is strong, and activity is accelerating. They have among the highest standards for quality and reliability in the consumer products industry. They have done extensive testing of our product, and we have passed. The metrics and processes by which Procter & Gamble evaluates suppliers are the gold standard in the industry, and the fact that we have achieved commercial qualifications with them is a powerful validation of our technology and our operations.

Dustin Olson

The qualification process with Procter & Gamble took longer than anticipated. Their standards are exacting, and there are no shortcuts. Clearing those standards matters. The rigor of their approval process means that the specifications we validated now apply broadly across the brand portfolio, and we expect future application approvals to move considerably faster as a result. This quarter, we achieved final approval for commercialization of 2 Procter & Gamble applications. Tide Caps for select bottles will begin shipping in Q2, and Vicks ZzzQuil caps will follow in the second half of 2026. We are also in the process of qualification with 3 additional applications, which are going well, and we look for many more beyond that. Additionally, we'll be posting on our website and through social media channels. We recently achieved the highest purity grade through CosPaTox testing.

Dustin Olson

CosPaTox is a consortium focused on the intersection of cosmetics, packaging, and toxicology that has formulated a standardized voluntary safety evaluation guidance for the use of PCR in cosmetic products and detergents packaging. This milestone was the result of a collaborative effort between Procter & Gamble and PureCycle, with both teams jointly preparing and submitting samples for evaluation from the Ironton facility. Through the testing, our dissolution process produced the highest grade material. We are the first recycler to achieve this, and that means our resin is pure enough for leave-on cosmetics. Achieving the highest possible CosPaTox grade underscores the quality and consistency of our product and reinforces its suitability for demanding cosmetic applications. We are deeply appreciative of their support, their continued partnership, and excited for the ramp ahead of us. All of these qualifications matter.

Dustin Olson

They are proof points for Procter & Gamble, but also for other customers. When other brands see the product passing the highest quality standards, they see supply disruptions, they see regulations coming, they start calling. We're very excited about our recent announcement with Plastic Ingenuity. To put this in context, the market for hot lids in North America is massive. There are over 50 billion coffee cups consumed annually in the U.S. alone. Plastic Ingenuity services many of these brands, including some of the largest in the world. Part of their decision to move forward with us was the positive reception that they received from numerous QSRs and restaurant chains when they showcased the sustainable lids at the SPC Impact Conference in Nashville two weeks ago. The market response validated the demand.

Dustin Olson

Coffee lids are available with 25%-100% PureFive Ultra resin, which gives brands options to buy what they need. Beyond hot lids, we have finished trials on additional applications as well, including cold lids, which is a rapidly growing category, as well as food trays and meat trays. We're seeing significant opportunity to commercialize across their product portfolio. QSRs carry significant plastic packaging exposure in California, and with the mandate 7 months away, we're seeing real urgency from a number of brands actively looking for compliance supply. We completed our first international sale in Q1. Their initial purchase was over 300,000 pounds of PureFive Choice resin for a product line we've sold previously into. Over 3 million items are being produced. Discussions are ongoing around additional applications in a broader relationship.

Dustin Olson

Not only was this a successful project, it was also a much-accelerated timeline for qualification and approval. The model here is simple to what we've done successfully before. Start with the qualification of a single application, demonstrate the product works, then broaden into sustained commercial relationships. We've already seen this play out with Churchill, a very trusted partner, where we started small with shipments to events like the College Football Playoff National Championship game and other one-off sports and entertainment venues. That success has now matured into a broader, more meaningful commercial relationship that continues to grow into materially significant pounds that continue to ramp through the rest of this year. The progression with Churchill has directly led to increased brand recognition. Companies and organizations see the product working at scale in the real world, it accelerates their decision to move forward.

Dustin Olson

New Jersey remains in review. We continue to progress positive discussions with all levels of the New Jersey government. I've personally met with numerous government officials, including the governor, the governor's office, and the NJDEP. I am very encouraged by the new administration's drive for efficiency, efficacy, and impact. I remain very optimistic about our progress here. When this resolves, it will open a phased ramp of incremental demand as customers progress through the qualification process and prepare for 2027 regulation changes. This will make New Jersey a circular state. The broader regulatory landscape continues to advance. Timelines are getting very real. California's signature recycling bill, called SB 54, requires 10% source reduction by 2027. That is only 7 months away, with increases to 20% in 2030 and 25% in 2032.

Dustin Olson

Those source reduction targets can be achieved partially through recycled content. With our APR certification, Purified resin qualifies as recycled content under SB 54, we're seeing increased urgency from brands and converters who need to make this mandate. We've had direct conversations with the governor and his office about PureCycle's role in meeting the state's recycling targets and recycled content mandates. In New Jersey, the post-consumer recycled requirement increases to 20% in 2027. The food contact exemption expires in early 2027. Both states have excluded mass balance from the definitions of recycled content, which means PureCycle is one of the only compliant suppliers at scale for food-grade recycled polypropylene. The volume contingent on New Jersey approval has increased and now stands at 25 million-50 million pounds. That number has grown since last quarter, I believe it will continue to grow.

Dustin Olson

2 large brands have moved as far as they can through the qualification approval process, without regulatory clearance in hand, positioning themselves to move quickly once New Jersey resolves. Both are motivated by the same deadline. The food contact exemption sunsets in early 2027. This combination creates a powerful and near-term demand catalyst for PureCycle. It drives real demand and real urgency for the customers. A quick update on our global growth projects. As I mentioned, the Ironton turnaround was completed ahead of schedule and is tracking below budget. The improvement projects incorporated during this outage are targeting higher reliability, production rates, and product quality. Our Thailand facility remains on track for mechanical completion by the end of 2027, operational commissioning in Q1 of 2028, and production in Q2 through Q4 of 2028.

Dustin Olson

The construction expected to break ground in the second half of 2026. The total investment is currently expected to be around $250 million. The Belgian facility also remains on track. Permits are expected near year-end 2026, construction expected in Q1 of 2027, and mechanical completion by the end of 2028. Total investment remains in line with prior disclosure of approximately $350 million. We are also awarded a EUR 40 million grant from the European Innovation Fund for the Belgian facility construction and finalized the documentation in April. On Gen 2, our initial design estimates continue to validate the economics. We're working through the more advanced design work. At this time, I'll turn it over to Donald, our Chief Financial Officer, for the financial update and some commentary on our capital position. Donald?

Donald Carpenter

Thank you, Dustin. This quarter, we are introducing operational KPIs alongside our financial results to give you a clearer view of how the business is performing. We will continue to refine and expand these disclosures as the business scales. For additional context to the KPIs, feedstock process measures purification-ready material delivered into the purification process. Other production captures co-products 1 and 2 and other sellable material recovered from the feedstock stream. This is an incremental revenue source that improves our overall yield and per-unit economics at Ironton. Together with purified production, these metrics give investors a more complete view of Ironton's throughput. Year-over-year production grew approximately 95%, while monthly operation spending grew only 6%. That divergence is operating leverage emerging in the business. As we run more pounds through a largely fixed cost base, our cost per pound falls.

Donald Carpenter

At the same time, branded sales are lifting revenue per pound. Those two trends are converging, that convergence is the foundation of the unit economics improvement we expect as the commercial ramp accelerates through 2026. Net loss for Q1 was $33.4 million, compared to net income of $8.8 million in Q1 2025. The prior year period included a $56.7 million favorable change in the fair value of our warrants. Adjusted EBITDA was negative $30.9 million, compared to negative $25.5 million in Q1 2025. The year-over-year change is primarily driven by approximately $3 million of higher project development costs running through the P&L. Included in Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter is approximately $7 million of project development costs that were expensed through P&L.

Donald Carpenter

These are primarily professional services, project team labor, and facility costs related to our Thailand, Belgium, Augusta, and prep development activities. As these projects advance toward construction authorization, a greater portion of these costs will shift to the balance sheet as they become capitalized. We've included a reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA in the press release. We ended Q1 with total liquidity of approximately $131 million, which includes $90 million of cash and cash equivalents, approximately $31 million of excess cash invested in marketable securities, and $10 million in restricted cash. That compares to approximately $182 million of total liquidity at the end of Q4. Total operation spending came in at approximately $8.8 million per month in Q1 and within our $8 million-$9 million per month expectations.

Donald Carpenter

Importantly, we held this monthly range through Q1 even as production volumes increased and feedstock and other variable cost growth was absorbed within our ongoing operations. This metric captures our ongoing operational run rate separately from project-related spending, much of which is largely discretionary and is shown separately. The split isolates ongoing operations from the discretionary capital deployment we're making for Thailand, Belgium, Augusta, and Gen 2 efforts. The Q1 quarterly total of $27.4 million reflects an annual incentive compensation payout of $1.3 million in addition to the ongoing monthly rate. Q2 will include the irons and turnaround spend, which is tracking below budget and reported separately from the operation spend. Q2 will also include the scheduled SOPA bond debt service payment of approximately $9 million on June first. We have flexibility to monetize a portion of our SOPA bond holdings to offset some of this outflow.

Donald Carpenter

Project spend totaled approximately $14 million for the quarter, below the $19 million-$20 million quarterly expectations, primarily due to timing. Fiscal year 2026 project spend expectations of $39 million-$45 million are unchanged, and the majority of remaining project spend is discretionary. In April, we extended our public and private warrants to March 17, 2027 and lowered the redemption trigger price to $14.38 per share, bringing them in line with the Series A warrants. These warrants now share the same expiration date with approximately $273 million in total potential proceeds available through that date. Beyond the warrants, we have meaningful financing optionality. Our $200 million revolving credit facility remains undrawn and available through September 2027, and we have approximately $75 million in revenue bonds available to monetize.

Donald Carpenter

Equipment financing payments will also step down in the second half of 2026 as existing leases mature, reducing our ongoing capital costs. On Thailand, conversations with a local Thai bank continue to develop well. We are actively progressing the project financing and are encouraged by the alignment we are seeing as we work on finalizing terms and conditions. We will provide updates as appropriate. With that, operator, please open the line for questions.

Operator

Thank you. At this time, we will conduct a question and answer session. As a reminder again, to ask a question, you will need to press star 11 on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star 11 again. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. Our first question comes from the line of Andres Sheppard from Cantor Fitzgerald. Your line is now open.

Andres Sheppard

Hey, everyone. Good afternoon. Thanks so much for taking our questions and congrats on all the recent progress. Dustin, I want to start maybe, you know, on the call you mentioned the pipeline now stands at about 180 active opportunities and that branded sales are starting to convert. Curious if you can maybe help us understand what the commercial funnel looks like maybe over the next 3-6 months, what type of customers and applications are closest, just a little more visibility into that. Thank you.

Dustin Olson

Hey, thanks. Thanks for the question, Andres. I'm really excited about this. I mean, we've got a lot of irons in the fire. The compounding assets that we put in place are really, let's say, giving us a lot of opportunity to make exactly what the customers are looking for. You know, on the film side, you know, if you've ever opened up a film, you know, a film wrapper, and you've seen that it's white on the inside, that's called cavitated film. We can make that. In order to seal the film around a candy bar wrapper, you have to have sealant film. We've made that. We're trialing with virtually all the film producers in the U.S. at this point, and it's just going well, okay?

Dustin Olson

The interesting thing about film is that brands are driving that discussion. It's less about us pushing it to converter to see if it works. It's more about brands hearing that we can do it, and they're starting to pull it through. That's very exciting. On thermoform cups, you know, we've talked a lot about coffee lids. I mean, those are just easy. Those are easy for us to make. It's hard to get to the point where we are, but that's a good product for us, both the white, the brown, the black, some of the clear cup lids. Those are all very good for us. You see this a lot in cold cups as well as hot cups, and that's kind of an emerging trend.

Dustin Olson

We've got a lot of different customers that are testing to see if that clear cup can work with our material and if the coffee lid, you know, fits right on the container, and it's going well. You get to some of our other impact grades. Impact grades are things where you don't want them to break when you drop them, but you also don't want them to crush when you stack them. It's a tricky grade to make, but we're doing it. Things like butter tubs and cream cheese and yogurt and different things like that, what's really exciting about that particular grade is that we are a drop-in replacement for virgin, and customers are really excited about that. They don't have to change their supply chain.

Dustin Olson

They just drop it in, they go. They've got a better sustainability story. There's a lot of other applications. Injection grade, we talked about the Tide cap. I mean, like, I couldn't be more excited about what we're doing with Procter. I mean, the work that we've done with them to get better at what we do, I mean, there's been a delay on the Procter side, but they made us better. I mean, we got better at our operations. They got better at the supply chain. We got better at making the product. That's gonna lead to a lot of success with other grades as well, other detergent manufacturers and other injection molded brands like that. I think that we're in really good shape there.

Dustin Olson

The funnel is when you look at the funnel and you see all the grades that are popping through, it's like stuff that you see in the grocery store. I was walking through the grocery store the other day with my daughter and talking to her about all these different things, and I got really excited. I got really excited about it. I don't think she cared at all. If you walk through the grocery store and you see what we're able to make, it's really inspiring. Thanks for the question, Andres.

Andres Sheppard

Got it. No, thank you for the answer. Very thorough. Appreciate it. Maybe as a follow-up, if I could, maybe a two-part question. First one on Thailand, if you can just give us maybe a bit more color on where you are in the financing process and how you're thinking about the timing. The second part of the question was just around New Jersey. I know you alluded it to it on the call. Just look for an update there. You know, when might we expect a decision sooner rather than later? Thank you.

Donald Carpenter

This is Donald. I'll take the first part of that question. I'm really excited about the progress we've made in Thailand so far as it relates to the financing. We put together a very comprehensive data room. We have weekly dialogues with the Thai bank. They have reviewed the data room extensively and provided feedback. We believe that the indicative conditions are achievable. We're looking forward to finalizing the terms, all while we're continuing to add to our LOIs for feed and offtake.

Dustin Olson

I think that we've done a really good job here, Andres. Donald's really taken a strong position on this and put together a really clean data room. The relationships in Thailand are really strong. Okay? We've met with them in person multiple times. The dialogues are strong.

Dustin Olson

It's more of a relationship developing, and we're very proud of that. Getting to your second point on New Jersey. Look, I mean, New Jersey is, it's going really well. Okay. We've had lots of active discussions. We have good relationships. The new administration's doing all the right things. I mean, they're actively trying to improve the efficiency. They're working hard to make government work for the people again. Our interests are clearly aligned. The administration just finished the first 100 days. If you think about when this really started going, we worked with the old administration in September and into late October. We had hoped to get it converted before November, it didn't happen. The election happened. There's a bit of a pause period between November and January.

Dustin Olson

The new administration's got to get started. I think it's going in the right direction. Obviously, we would all like to have that done now. Rest assured, the conversations are going well. We believe that we have really clearly aligned interests, and we think it'll close soon.

Andres Sheppard

Great. Great to hear. Thanks for all the color, and congrats again on the quarter. I'll pass it on.

Dustin Olson

Thanks, Andres.

Operator

Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Hassan Ahmed from Alembic Global Advisors.

Hassan Ahmed

Afternoon, Dustin. You know, first question obviously about the macro volatility that we've been seeing since early March. I mean, you know, obviously, it impacts polypropylene directly. I mean, you know, a lot of facilities across the Middle East have been impacted. Not to mention what, you know, is going on with oil prices, with, you know, NGL supply. You know, I'm sort of sitting there thinking through PDH facilities in China, whether they may be getting their feedstock or not, what that does to the cost curves. Obviously, polypropylene prices, you know, have reacted quite positively to these developments.

Hassan Ahmed

Just, you know, with all of these sort of macro puts and takes, would love to hear your views, you know, if you could drill it down to PureCycle, what it means to you guys, what does it mean from the cost side to you guys, and also from the demand side. I mean, you know, I would imagine that, you know, more and more customers would be intrigued by your product offering. Would love to hear your views about all of this.

Dustin Olson

I mean, this is obviously a very dynamic period. I think there's a lot of people kind of waiting on the sidelines and hoping that it ends quickly and hoping that the impact isn't extended. I think there's a lot of destocking happening right now, particularly in China. You've definitely seen a lot of pricing change globally. The arb between the U.S. and Asia is either closing or closed or has reversed, depending on who you talk to. It's very tight now. There's a lot of destocking, we see that trend continuing. Getting to PureCycle in particular, you know, oil and oil and polyethylene have direct impacts on co-products.

Dustin Olson

If you think about our co-product 1, I would say that has a bit of a marker toward oil. If you look at our co-product 2, it has a clear marker to polyethylene. Like we said, in the U.S. market, polyethylene has doubled. That makes co-product 2 quite a bit more valuable. You're right, customers are very excited to start pulling those co-products in as alternatives to increased pricing. When it comes to polypropylene, it's kind of a two-sided story. One, for sure, increased pricing on the virgin polypropylene helps. Okay. That's a tailwind. It gives, it's an opening discussion always when you're dealing with customers. Most of our branded customers and most of the contracts that we're developing, they're really feedstock plus development, okay.

Dustin Olson

Largely independent of global supply chain items because feedstock is locally sourced, locally produced. Most of the customers we see right now, they kind of like that hedge. They've got, you know, extreme, let's say, volatility toward the normal global supply chain, but with recycled content material, it's a bit more stable. We see that as a good thing. I think from our perspective also, we're starting to see the relationships that we've seeded the last three to four years globally start to bear some fruit. We've got a very strong team in both Europe and Asia, and the relationships that we have with those customers are starting to come through. We're having discussions about shipping to both regions. I think that's very exciting.

Dustin Olson

We have the REACH certification in Europe. The path is cleared for that. With Asia, Thailand's coming, we really started to do a lot of work to develop relationships with Asia customers. Asian customers are just very nervous right now. They largely get their supply from China, but they're not sure how long that will last or what the price will be, and there's a lot of prepayment activity with that. They've been reaching across the aisle to us and saying, "Hey, can you help us either to export now from Ironton or at least to accelerate the approval process to get it going for when Thailand comes on?" I think that that bodes well for us.

Dustin Olson

It's definitely an exciting and dynamic time. I think all things are pretty positive for us. There's one more note maybe, that's about nationalism. I mentioned this in the script, Europe for Europe and Asia for Asia is an emerging trend. Okay. People are very nervous. It started with tariffs, wondering what the tariff was gonna be month to month. Now it's global supply chain interruptions. If you can take a product that you've consumed into a replacement for a product that you used to buy, nations like that. I think that in Thailand and in Europe, we're gonna get a lot more traction over the next couple of years for replacing supply chains that would otherwise be conflicted with things like this. That's a great question, Hassan. Thank you.

Hassan Ahmed

It was very helpful, Dustin. You know, as a follow-up, more on a micro level, would love to hear, you know, what you guys accomplished during the Ironton turnaround. You know, would love to hear about the scope of the work, the standout projects. You know, with this behind us, you know, looking ahead, what should we be expecting in terms of production rates and, you know, top-end capacity coming out of the outage?

Dustin Olson

Yeah, look, I mean, Ironton was a major activity. It was a major event. We opened nearly every piece of equipment. Like I mentioned in the script, it was a lot cleaner than what we expected, to be quite frank. I mean, you know petrochemical complexes as well as anybody, Hassan. I mean, this is a very good sign, okay? The fact that we don't have corrosion or erosion or some of those traditional problems is a pretty good indicator that this plant's gonna be able to run for long periods of time without outages, and also make the outages much more predictable. This is a very predictable outage. No surprises. A lot of work. Very good execution by the site. Really came in with a good plan, improved our positioning in and out of that outage.

Dustin Olson

We completed over 170 jobs. They really focused on quality, reliability, and capacity. There are a lot of things with this first plant that we've built that are just headaches that we solved. We just cleaned up the plant quite a lot, added a lot of small improvements that will make the plant more reliable. The operators and the management team at the site are very excited about that. We mentioned about capacity. You asked about what would the rates look like. We certainly believe that we're going to be increasing rates coming out of the outage. We've mentioned in the past this pump that was undersized. We upgraded that. We mentioned some heat integration that was undersized. We cleaned all of the exchangers on site, that's much better.

Dustin Olson

We've talked at length about seal problems. We've put in place a lot of seal improvements during this outage that we couldn't do without an outage. Like, I think the plant's in really good position. I mean, every time we add something or improve something, we've got to test it. We've got to test the legs, see what we can ramp up to, see if it's stable. We'll do all of that. Remember we did several rate tests over the last 2 years where we touched 12,000 pounds an hour, which is like 75% capacity, and we touched 14,000 pounds an hour, which is like 90%, 95% capacity. Those moments gave us nice insight into what to target for this outage. We took those learnings and built it into the plan best we can, and we're excited to see what we can do in May, June, and Q3.

Hassan Ahmed

Super helpful, Dustin. Thank you so much.

Operator

Our next question comes from the line of Eric Stine from Craig-Hallum Capital Group. Your line is now open, Eric.

Speaker 8

Hey, this is Luke on for Eric. Thanks for taking our question. I guess first, could you just talk about any other states besides New Jersey and California that have potential regulatory catalysts on the horizon that you expect could unlock meaningful revenue opportunities?

Dustin Olson

Yeah, I mean, there's already some legislation in place for Washington, Oregon. There's work coming through with Massachusetts, Colorado. New York's got a lot of discussions right now as well. I think a lot of the traditional blue states are coming through with some demand-side regulations. You know, New Jersey and California are big players in the room, and they've helped to establish a lot of the fundamental guidelines for where things were going. Most of the states right now are starting to adopt the APR certification as the marker for recycled content, which we have already achieved. We're very excited for where this goes.

Speaker 8

Got it. That's helpful. Thank you. I guess just as a follow-up, I mean, you obviously have opportunities in several verticals that could drive, you know, step change growth themselves alone. If you had to force rank which applications you expect to be the most meaningful in the near term, say the next 12 to 18 months, I guess what would that list look like?

Dustin Olson

Well, there's kind of two ways to look at that, Luke. One is what's gonna create the revenue in the near term, and then what is going to be what we lean into in the long term. I think they're a little bit different. I think in the short term, we're gonna keep leaning into injection molded applications like you see with the Tide caps and the ZzzQuil caps. I mean, we've demonstrated we can color, we can make, we can do that pretty reliably, and we're getting a lot of follow on requests for that. There's a lot of demand there. I also think that, then there's one that bridges the short term and the long term. That's coffee lids and cold cups and things like this.

Dustin Olson

There is just an enormous amount of volume in that space. We've proven that we can make it, okay? At lots of different levels. Some people want 100%, some people are happy with the minimum content at 25, but we can make it all, and so we're really excited about that. I think that is one that will come on pretty quickly, and it will also stick around for a long time. If I had to add to that, two other segments that I think are going to be very big, we see a lot of interest in, one is film. Again, we are the only game in town when it comes to PTR content to film, and now we're doing it on 6-meter lines. 6-meter lines, the Brückner 6-meter lines are enormous.

Dustin Olson

That's 20 feet across with extremely thin film. It's really hard to do, the fact that we're doing it and the fact that film producers are kind of testing it everywhere, and also brands are pulling it through, that is a really good sign for the long term. That is, I'm very, very excited about film. Our Ironton compounding asset will unlock that for us. The last thing which quite frankly I didn't expect to be as valuable coming in, but over the last, let's say 3 to 6 months, it's really popped up, is this we call it the impact grade, okay. This is where it's very tricky to get a material that can withstand cold, that can withstand drop, that can withstand crush, like butter tubs and yogurt cups and stuff like that.

Dustin Olson

That's really hard to do, and we've been able to make some of those things. There's a lot of brands right now that are held up from New Jersey in that space, so we're not gonna see it, like, immediately, but it's gonna come, and I think it's gonna be very strong. I didn't mention this in the call, but there's another test out there, it's very unique. It's called the retort test. This is like a sterilization test, and they basically test it to see how well it sterilizes and put food in it to see how well it does over time. We're doing really well there, and I think that's a differentiator for us, very much so compared to the market, because we've just got less contaminants in our product.

Dustin Olson

The less contaminants you have in your product, the deep molecular washing machine that we put it through means the better you're gonna do on all these tests. I think that's gonna be one that hits us in the long term as well. It's a really good question, Luke. Thank you for that.

Speaker 8

Thank you for all the color. I'll turn it over.

Operator

Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of James Schram from TD Cowen. Your line is now open.

James Schumm

Hey, thanks. Good afternoon, guys. You have in your forward outlook, you have some timelines for the ramp, two separate ramps. I just wanted to get a better sense of what does the ramp actually look like? Like, how long does it take to get to the full run rate, that annual run rate? Is it like on the second quarter, third quarter, fourth quarter? Like, what does the ramp look like?

Dustin Olson

Yeah. It's a very difficult thing to predict because it's largely dependent on our customers' desire for the ramp timeline. I think that what we've said previously, which I stand by it now as well, that Q1 and Q2 look largely the same. Q3 and Q4 start to ramp up in terms of volume and revenue. You know, we've got a lot of customers that are trialing and a lot of customers that are starting to take, and so it's really kind of an average of their ramp time that we're interested in. I think that we've got enough line of sight to know that Q3, Q4 still look really strong. Given the, kind of the backdrop of regulation that they're pushing against, I think there's pretty good indication that Q3, Q4 are gonna be pretty strong quarters for us because they have to be to meet the regulations.

James Schumm

Okay. Then you noted with Procter that they're making you better, or you're getting better at making the product as you work with Procter. What does that actually look like? Like, why is your product better? Then what needs to happen to get some orders across the finish line with some, whether it's Procter or some other customers?

Dustin Olson

Well, we've got orders across the line with Procter. I mean, we're fully qualified on both the Tide caps and the ZzzQuil, those are coming. ZzzQuil will be next, second half of the year, the Tide caps are happening right now. I think we have a PO in hand actually right now for a late May or early June delivery. We've crossed the line there and it's happening. What I mean by getting better is every time you are challenged to, you know, to do something better, okay? Supply chain management, inventory management, lab testing, quality control, providing the right documentation, providing the right certifications for regulatory framework. All of these different things matter to customers. Now look, the Procter & Gamble is just the gold standard.

Dustin Olson

I mean, they're thorough. They're tough. Like, questions that you wouldn't think that would be asked get asked, and you gotta answer them. Sometimes you have the answer, and then you move on, and sometimes you don't have the answer, and you've got to get it. When you go and develop the answer or the paperwork or the procedure or the process, it makes you better, not just for what you're doing with Procter & Gamble, but with everybody else. When it comes to product quality and running the plant, they're not active there, okay? They're not, like, saying, "Turn this valve or move that temperature to improve your quality." That's not what I'm talking about.

Dustin Olson

It's more of all of the stuff on the back end and the front end that you have to have equally right in order to make it work, and our team's getting really good, okay? We've now done it, and we're learning how to do it every quarter. You know, that's something I'm really proud of, and I think we'll continue to improve over time.

James Schumm

Okay, thanks. Lastly from me, like, what I think you cited 180 customers or, you know, pipeline opportunities. Like, what is the, what is the pushback that you're getting from the customers from those 180 opportunities? Like, what is, what's holding them back from placing an order? I think you had mentioned the New Jersey issue in the past, what is holding them back right now?

Dustin Olson

I mean, every customer is different, it's a bit of an average discussion. Everybody's looking for something different. They have different drivers. Some people wanna have, you know, very thorough LCAs, they wanna have a lot of discussion about how did you calculate your LCA. Some people wanna go through and look at your GreenCircle and APR certifications to get comfortable with where you're getting your feed and how you're turning it into product. But it's really not what's going wrong or what's holding them back, it's more about what is their process. Like, we're not getting pushed back on these processes. We're just moving forward through the process. There's a lot of steps in these processes that just take time.

Dustin Olson

I mean, when you get into food contact applications, sometimes you've got to put yogurt into a cup. You know, you make the cup, it goes great, looks great, smells great, fits great. Everything's great about the product, and they say, "Wow, we love it. We've never seen something like this work as well as it is right now. Now we're gonna put yogurt in it, and then we're gonna let it sit in the refrigerator for 3 to 6 months, and we'll let you know how it did." That's not anything wrong with PureCycle. It's not anything wrong with the process. It's just the time it takes for some customers. Like, this is what we've been working on the last year and a half.

Dustin Olson

One is to make the product so we can show that we can actually do it, and then step it through the different customers' qualification processes. We're getting good at this, okay? We know how to qualify product. We have much fewer unknown questions that come our way, we're able to answer them. We've got a very strong lab in Durham that helps us answer questions extremely technically, which is really valuable for us. So we feel really good there, still, it takes time for some of the customers to get across the line. Having said that, they're getting across the line, okay? We are converting to brands, to branded applications. We are showing that we can make the product and that they get approved.

Dustin Olson

What you're going to see over the rest of the year is more and more discussion in the quarterly calls like this, where we talk about other brands that have gotten across the line that we're starting to serve.

James Schumm

Okay, great. Thanks for the color. Appreciate it.

Dustin Olson

Thanks, James.

Operator

Thank you. Our last question comes from the line of Jeffrey Campbell from Seaport Research Partners. Your line is now open.

Jeffrey Campbell

Hi, Dustin, and congratulations on the continued operating success. Some pundits have projected that the EU recycling regulations are tough on paper, but enforcement confidence is questioned. Just wondered what your take was on that.

Dustin Olson

I think that's a good question. Well, I'm not gonna get in the business of trying to predict which direction the government's gonna go on different things. Right now, there's extremely strong support for demand-side regulatory efforts. You know, California, New Jersey, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, states like this are all in, and that's something that they put in place years ago, so we don't see that changing. We see that moving forward and, quite frankly, setting a standard for the U.S. There's a lot of bipartisan support for recycling. I mean, there was a bill that came through Florida, traditionally red state, that was unanimous in approval for recycling standards. Like, that's a great example of how both blue and red states like the idea of recycling.

Dustin Olson

I think that's gonna move forward pretty well. When you start getting outside of the U.S., look, I mean, Europe is moving fast forward toward recycling. If it wasn't for pure sustainability reasons today, it was for pure sustainability reasons in the past, but today it's also for nationalism reasons. They're worried about tariffs, and they're worried about being dependent on other countries to deliver them goods. The more that they can lean into recycling, I think the less dependence they have on others, which is good for Europe. Then when you look to Asia, I mean, you start to see EPR legislation pop up in India, Indonesia, Thailand. I mean, these are not countries where you would expect to have strong support for recycling, and yet you see legislation coming.

Dustin Olson

Look, I don't think this is a blue versus red thing. I don't think this is a fad. I think this is something that's growing momentum on both sides of the aisle and globally. I think that PureCycle is gonna see a lot of tailwind from that over the next 10 years.

Jeffrey Campbell

Okay. Thank you. I'll close with just approaching the questions about conversion of customers and so forth in a little bit different way. Since you're noting new customers as you did in the presentation, and now we have the plastics, the PI interest in PureFive, is there any chance that revenue guidance could be raised as 2026 progresses?

Dustin Olson

I think that we're not gonna give revenue guidance specifically today. You've heard my comments about kind of how we think it will shape throughout the year. It's difficult to give specific numbers at this point because it's highly variable. I mean, New Jersey has an impact in that. Until we get New Jersey, and we get a little bit more traction there, we're probably gonna wait. Having said that, I think the plan that we put in place for 2026 internally is very achievable. We're starting to execute on that plan, and I feel good about it. I think that bodes really well for the second half of the year.

Jeffrey Campbell

Okay, great. Thank you.

Dustin Olson

Thanks, Jeff.

Operator

This concludes our Q&A portion, and I would like to turn it back to Dustin Olson for closing remarks.

Dustin Olson

Thank you, Myla. Thank you for listening in today and for all of your continued support. Overall, this is a strong quarter for PureCycle across all aspects of the organization. We exceeded our internal plan and are confident in our 2026 outlook. We know that this year is critical to unlocking the flywheel that allows us to capitalize on the immense opportunity to revolutionize plastic. The operational performance, the commercial conversions, the macro tailwinds, the regulatory momentum, and the capital access all point in the same direction. The hard work is paying off, the branded momentum is real, and we're just getting started. Thanks, everybody.

Operator

Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This does conclude the program. You may now disconnect.

As of 2026-08-15 • Updated weeklySource: Earnings sourceIngestion runbook