Earnings

Americold Lifts 2026 Outlook To $1.31–$1.33 Per Share As Warehouse Occupancy Improves

Adjusted funds from operations stayed at $0.35 per share, while the EQT partnership enabled a $1.15 billion debt reduction.

Matteo Parrino Jonathan Ponciano

Matteo Parrino, Jonathan Ponciano

— 3 min read
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Americold Lifts 2026 Outlook To $1.31–$1.33 Per Share As Warehouse Occupancy Improves

Americold Realty Trust, which stores and transports frozen and perishable food, raised its 2026 adjusted funds from operations forecast to $1.31–$1.33 per share Thursday, from $1.26–$1.32, according to results accompanying its 8-K. The second consecutive outlook increase came as fuller warehouses, higher goods volumes and pricing, and cost savings improved operations.

Fuller Warehouses, Better Services Margins

Third-quarter unaudited revenue was $691.6 million, up from $663.7 million a year earlier. Growth was 4.2% as reported and 3.3% excluding currency movements; transportation revenue, partnership management fees and reimbursed costs, and favorable exchange rates contributed, partly offset by properties transferred to EQT.

Across 194 comparable warehouses excluding the EQT sites, physical occupancy reached 70.0%, against 65.4% a year earlier. Pallet throughput increased 4.1%, while services margins reached 15.9%, compared with 13.6%. Comparable warehouse revenue grew 5.7% as reported, or 4.9% excluding currency movements.

The improvement was uneven. Comparable rent-and-storage margins fell to 58.3% from 60.5%, with power costs up 13.0% as reported and 12.9% excluding currency movements. Comparable warehouse contribution—revenue less operating costs—grew 6.0% as reported and 5.5% excluding currency movements.

Americold CEO Rob Chambers acknowledged the limits of the recovery: “While the operating environment remains challenging, our efforts are yielding visible results, and we have seen a multi-quarter improvement in key metrics across the business.”

Property Gain Dominates Reported Profit

Americold earned $683.4 million, or $2.38 per diluted share, primarily because of a $714.1 million after-tax gain from properties contributed to the EQT partnership. A year earlier, the company lost $11.4 million, or $0.04 per share.

Adjusted funds from operations, a supplemental operating measure that excludes the property contribution gain and makes other adjustments, told a steadier story: $101.3 million versus $100.7 million a year earlier, with diluted per-share results unchanged at $0.35. The measure is neither standard-accounting net income nor operating cash flow.

The real estate investment trust earns storage fees and rent, handles tasks including freezing and order fulfillment, and arranges or operates transportation. Its Thursday release described 208 operating facilities with approximately 1.2 billion refrigerated cubic feet across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and South America. Americold's market value was $4.5 billion in Friday trading as of 3:53 p.m. ET.

EQT Frees Cash For Debt Repayment

The EQT venture closed on August 31, 2026, enabling a $1.15 billion reduction in outstanding debt. Americold kept a 30% interest in the partnership's 12 North American cold-storage facilities and continues running their daily operations.

At quarter-end, Americold had approximately $950.4 million of liquidity, including cash and borrowing capacity, and approximately $3.3 billion of net debt. About 86.6% of outstanding debt carried fixed rates, including hedged debt.

The higher outlook also includes company-wide contribution of $800 million–$830 million excluding currency movements, versus the prior $775 million–$815 million range. The Fit for Purpose cost-cutting program is expected to deliver approximately $25 million in additional savings by the first quarter of 2027.

The warehouse recovery improved the quarter, but the year-to-date comparison remains tighter: diluted adjusted funds from operations for the first nine months were $0.99 per share, against $1.05 a year earlier.

Sources

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