Boise Cascade NYSE: BCC executives told investors on the company’s fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call that the business delivered “strong operating results” for the full year despite housing-related headwinds, while also continuing to invest in distribution expansion and engineered wood products (EWP) capacity.
For 2025, the company reported net income of $132.8 million, or $3.53 per share, retiring CEO Nate Jorgensen said. Jorgensen highlighted the opening of a greenfield distribution center in Conroe, Texas, and the acquisition of Holden Humphrey in the fourth quarter, along with progress on multi-year investments in EWP production in the Southeast. He also noted shareholder returns that included a 5% increase in the quarterly dividend and more than $180 million of share repurchases during 2025.
Fourth-quarter results and market conditions
In the fourth quarter, Jorgensen said total U.S. housing starts and single-family housing starts increased 4% and 7%, respectively, versus the prior-year quarter. Boise Cascade reported consolidated sales of $1.5 billion, down 7% from the fourth quarter of 2024, and net income of $8.7 million, or $0.24 per share, compared with $68.9 million, or $1.78 per share, a year earlier.
Management attributed part of the quarter’s weakness to seasonality, with sequential volume declines in both divisions. The quarter also included an approximately $6 million accrual tied to legal proceedings in the Building Materials Distribution (BMD) segment, which CFO Kelly Hibbs said reduced earnings by about $0.16 per share after tax.
Segment performance: BMD and Wood Products
BMD sales were $1.4 billion, down 5% year over year. BMD segment EBITDA was $56.4 million, compared with $84.5 million in the prior-year quarter. Hibbs said BMD’s year-over-year sales decline reflected a 4% decrease in sales prices and a 1% decrease in volumes. By product line, commodity sales decreased 9%, general line product sales increased 3%, and EWP sales decreased 14%.
BMD gross margin was 15.1%, flat sequentially and down 70 basis points year over year. Hibbs cited commodity price headwinds and EWP competitive pricing pressures, while noting general line product margins were stable. BMD’s EBITDA margin was 4.1%, down from 5.9% a year ago and 4.5% in the third quarter, and below what Hibbs described as the segment’s “typical earnings power.”
Wood Products fourth-quarter sales, including sales to the distribution segment, were $354 million, down 16% year over year. Segment EBITDA was $12.3 million, compared to $56.6 million in the year-ago quarter. Hibbs said the decline was driven primarily by lower EWP prices and volumes, lower plywood prices, and higher per-unit conversion costs influenced by decreased production rates.
EWP volumes declined in the quarter, with I-joist and LVL volumes down 16% and 7% year over year, respectively. Hibbs said EWP sales prices declined about 10% year over year but were flat sequentially, and incoming CEO Jeff Strom later said management was “pleased that EWP price erosion abated in the fourth quarter.”
Plywood sales volume was 354 million feet, compared with 371 million feet in the prior-year quarter. Average plywood net sales price was $329 per thousand, down 6% year over year and up modestly versus the third quarter. Hibbs said tariffs contributed to a “notable decrease” in South American plywood imports, with Brazilian shipments down over 40% year over year in the latter half of 2025, supporting recent pricing gains for Southern Plywood, while also noting trade policy uncertainty following a recent Supreme Court decision.
Legal accrual tied to Lacey Act investigation
Hibbs said the $6 million charge relates to a Lacey Act investigation involving plywood purchases at the company’s Pompano, Florida distribution facility. He described it as a legacy matter tied to certain hardwood plywood purchases made between 2017 and 2021 that were sourced from a former U.S.-based supplier and that supplier’s importation of plywood.
Hibbs said Boise Cascade received a subpoena for documents in 2024 and has “fully cooperated” with the U.S. Department of Justice. He also said the company had taken steps years earlier to enhance compliance, including new oversight programs, enhanced supplier due diligence policies, and mandated education and training. He emphasized that the matter pertains to transactions at one facility and “does not impact our operations.”
Capital spending, shareholder returns, and first-quarter 2026 outlook
Boise Cascade reported $241 million of capital expenditures in 2025, including $105 million in BMD and $136 million in Wood Products. For 2026, Hibbs said the company expects capital spending of $150 million to $170 million, with roughly one-third of BMD spending tied to growth projects and the remainder largely for replacement, efficiency, and environmental compliance projects.
On capital returns, management said it paid $35 million in regular dividends in 2025 and the board approved a $0.22 per share quarterly dividend to be paid in mid-March. The company repurchased about $181 million of stock in 2025 (including $70 million in the fourth quarter) and an additional $39 million in the first quarter of 2026 to date, leaving about $200 million authorized under the existing repurchase program.
For the first quarter, Hibbs said Winter Storm Fern disrupted operations across the Eastern U.S., closing nearly 20 BMD branches for at least one day and resulting in approximately 30 lost sales days, while Southeast manufacturing facilities experienced multi-day closures. The company guided to first-quarter EBITDA ranges of $45 million to $55 million for BMD and $25 million to $35 million for Wood Products. Hibbs said BMD daily sales pace was about 6% below the fourth-quarter pace of $22 million per day, and gross margins are expected between 14.25% and 15%.
In Wood Products, management expects sequential volume increases driven by seasonal strengthening and restocking ahead of spring building season, with EWP pricing expected to be flat to down low single digits sequentially. The company expects its first-quarter effective tax rate to be between 26% and 27%.
During the Q&A, leaders highlighted growth initiatives within general line products—citing continued growth with James Hardie, Trex, and Huber—along with a focus on home center programs, door and millwork improvements, and leveraging the Holden Humphrey acquisition (now the Chicopee location) to expand product categories and access “one-step” customers in the Northeast.
Jorgensen said he will retire the following week after 10 years with the company, including six as CEO, and will remain on the board. Strom said the company plans to continue its strategy of leveraging its integrated model, pursuing efficiencies and technology investments, and maintaining a balanced approach to capital allocation.
About Boise Cascade NYSE: BCC
Boise Cascade Company operates as a leading manufacturer and distributor of wood products and building materials in North America. The company's operations are organized into two primary segments: wood products manufacturing and building materials distribution. In its manufacturing segment, Boise Cascade produces a wide array of engineered wood products, including plywood, oriented strand board (OSB), lumber, particleboard and laminated veneer lumber (LVL), serving residential, commercial and industrial customers.
In its distribution segment, Boise Cascade sources and delivers building materials through an extensive network of distribution centers, servicing professional builders, remodelers, contractors and industrial customers.
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