Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.47 EPS

Key Points

• Green Plains reported quarterly EPS of $1.03, beating the $0.56 consensus and rising from $0.17 a year earlier. Revenue was $496 million, below estimates of $509 million and down 2.5% year over year.
• Third-quarter adjusted EBITDA reached a record $118 million, compared with $53 million a year earlier; $65 million came from 45Z credits, with operational improvements also supporting margins.
• The company raised its 2026 carbon-platform adjusted EBITDA outlook to $230 million–$250 million and expects at least $250 million in 2027. Management expects seasonal softness in fourth-quarter ethanol demand, but anticipates margins to remain above historical averages.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.47, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $495.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $509.04 million. Green Plains had a net margin of 6.78% and a return on equity of 14.52%. Green Plains's revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.17 earnings per share.

Here are the key takeaways from Green Plains' conference call:

• Green Plains reported record third-quarter adjusted EBITDA of $118 million, up from $53 million a year earlier; $65 million came from 45Z credits and $53 million from the base business. Production utilization reached about 95%, with record ethanol and renewable corn oil yields, and management attributed most of the sequential crush-margin improvement to operational and commercial execution.
• The company raised its 2026 carbon-platform adjusted EBITDA outlook to approximately $230 million–$250 million and expects at least $250 million in 2027. A signed agreement will monetize 2026 credits, providing a path to convert receivables into cash; management noted that transfer proceeds are discounted and gross credit face value is not equivalent to EBITDA.
• Green Plains ended the quarter with $160 million in cash and $210 million in 45Z receivables, and expects growth capital spending to increase from the $20 million–$25 million range in 2026. Planned projects include grain storage, energy-efficiency improvements, and additional oil recovery, while management said debt reduction, strategic investments, and potential share repurchases will compete for capital.
• Management expects seasonal softness in fourth-quarter ethanol demand, with somewhat weaker renewable corn oil values, and flagged delayed harvest and farmer reluctance to sell as potential corn-availability concerns. It nevertheless expects fourth-quarter gross margins to remain above historical averages and described the base-business outlook as constructive.

Green Plains Trading Down 3.4%

GPRE stock traded down $0.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $13.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,126,907 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,292,738. Green Plains has a 12 month low of $9.29 and a 12 month high of $19.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The business's 50 day moving average price is $14.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.24. The company has a market cap of $927.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.26 and a beta of 1.11.

Key Green Plains News

Here are the key news stories impacting Green Plains this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Green Plains earned $1.03 per diluted share, topping the cited analyst consensus of $0.56 and rising from $0.17 a year earlier. Net income increased to $85.4 million from $11.9 million. Green Plains Q3 results
• Positive Sentiment: A results deep dive highlighted operational gains and the company’s carbon strategy as drivers of margin expansion, supporting the improvement in profitability. Q3 operational and carbon strategy analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly revenue was $496.0 million, below analysts’ estimate of about $509 million and down 2.5% from the prior-year quarter. The revenue miss and year-over-year decline may have tempered the positive earnings surprise. Green Plains misses Q3 revenue estimates

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPRE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Green Plains in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Zacks Research upgraded Green Plains from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Green Plains from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Green Plains in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Green Plains from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $18.75.

Green Plains Company Profile

Green Plains Inc is a renewable fuels and agricultural technology company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. The company operates biorefineries in the central United States that convert corn into renewable, low-carbon products, including ethanol, animal feed ingredients and corn oil.

Its product portfolio includes fuel-grade ethanol for blending into gasoline, distillers grains and other feed products for livestock and aquaculture, and corn oil used in feed and renewable fuel applications.

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