Sherwin-Williams Has $3.85 Billion Of Borrowings Due Within A Year After $2.36 Billion In Buybacks
The paint maker's current ratio slipped to 0.71 as short-term debt grew alongside nine months of heavy share repurchases.
Sherwin-Williams, which makes and sells paint and coatings through more than 4,800 company-run stores, now owes $3.852 billion in borrowings due within a year, its 10-Q filed Tuesday shows. That is $2.354 billion of short-term borrowings plus a $1.499 billion current slice of long-term debt, and it arrives after the company spent $2.357 billion on buybacks in nine months.
A deficit that keeps widening
A year earlier, the same two lines were $1.847 billion and $350.5 million. Total current liabilities reached $9.849 billion at September 30, against $7.474 billion a year before and current assets of $7.027 billion.
The current ratio, current assets divided by current liabilities, fell to 0.71 from 0.82 at September 30, 2025. Net working capital is a deficit of $2.822 billion, against $1.327 billion a year earlier; the prior quarter's 10-Q showed a ratio of 0.73.
Cash was $264.2 million. Total debt stood at $11.795 billion, versus $10.871 billion at the end of 2025.
Short loans, big repurchases
In September the company signed a 364-day, $750.0 million term loan and a 364-day, €100.0 million loan. The filing says the dollar loan paid off two delayed-draw term loans and covered general corporate purposes; the euro loan carries two six-month extension options. Commercial paper, short-term IOUs, stood at $1.604 billion.
Treasury stock purchases were $2.357 billion for the first nine months, versus $1.538 billion a year earlier, for 7.1 million shares at an average $331.99. Operating cash was $2.591 billion and dividends $588.9 million. Shareholders' equity fell to $3.977 billion from $4.598 billion at year-end 2025.
The company says it has $2.322 billion of unused credit capacity, expects to stay within its financial covenants, and describes its liquidity as strong.
Margins squeezed by costs and Suvinil
Third-quarter sales rose 7.9% to $6.860 billion, helped by the October 2025 purchase of Suvinil, a Brazilian decorative paint business. Gross margin fell to 47.8% from 49.2%, which the company ties to raw-material and supply-chain costs and Suvinil's dilution. Interest expense rose $22.1 million in the quarter on higher debt.
Net income for the nine months rose 5.1% to $2.199 billion. In its earnings release, CEO Heidi G. Petz said customer sentiment and leading indicators "point to muted demand over the remainder of the year and into 2027." Shares traded at $328.72 in Tuesday trading, down 1.92%, for a market value of $81.4 billion.
The next 10-Q will show whether the two 364-day loans are extended, refinanced or repaid.
Sources
- 10-Q Filing — Sherwin-Williams (SHW) — SEC EDGAR
- 10-Q Filing — Sherwin-Williams (SHW), Q2 FY2026 filed 2026-07-28 (comparison basis) — SEC EDGAR
- Earnings release (8-K Item 2.02, shwearningsrelease3q2026.htm) — Sherwin-Williams, filed 2026-10-27 — SEC EDGAR
- Sherwin Williams reports mixed Q3 results; updates FY26 outlook (NYSE:SHW) | Seeking Alpha — seekingalpha.com
- Sherwin-Williams Reports Lower 3Q Profit, Narrows Outlook — MarketWatch
- Sherwin-Williams: Q3 Earnings Snapshot — Associated Press
- Sherwin-Williams stock drops on earnings miss; costs pressure margins (SHW:NYSE) | Seeking Alpha — seekingalpha.com
- Earnings Growth Outlook Might Change The Case For Investing In Sherwin Williams (SHW) — Yahoo Finance
