POSCO Holdings (PKX) Crushes Q2 2026 EPS by 536% on Energy and Battery Materials Gains
As seen on the 24/7 Wall St. homepage on July 30, 2026.
POSCO Holdings crushed Q2 earnings with a 536% EPS beat as record energy profits and a battery materials turnaround offset weakness in core steel. The diversified steelmaker is now racing to commercialize LFP cathode production by late 2027 and deploy direct lithium extraction in Utah, positioning itself as a green materials supplier rather than a legacy commodity producer.
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POSCO Holdings reported Q2 2026 earnings per share of $5.41 against a Wall Street estimate of just $0.85, a beat of more than 536%. That extraordinary gap stands out even more against the company's recent history: PKX missed badly in Q4 2024 and Q4 2025, both of which produced negative EPS, and came in well below expectations in Q2 2025 when it reported $0.36 against a $0.91 estimate. The Q2 2026 result represents the strongest reported EPS in at least the past eight quarters.
The driver behind the outperformance was a combination of record energy profits and a turnaround in the battery materials segment, which together more than compensated for ongoing softness in POSCO's core steel business. Steel remains a drag, but the company is clearly leaning into its diversification story — it is targeting commercialization of LFP cathode production by late 2027 and is working to deploy direct lithium extraction technology in Utah, moves designed to reframe POSCO as a green materials supplier rather than a conventional commodity steelmaker.
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Revenue for the quarter came in at roughly $13.4 billion, which fell well short of the analyst consensus estimate. That gap between a dramatic EPS beat and a revenue miss suggests investors will want to look closely at the underlying margin and segment mix when the full filing detail becomes available. The tension between strong profitability and weaker top-line results will likely define how the market prices PKX's transition strategy in the quarters ahead.
Mentioned: PKX