Masco NYSE: MAS reported first-quarter 2026 results that management said reflected strong execution amid what it repeatedly described as a “highly dynamic” macroeconomic and geopolitical environment. Net sales increased 6% year over year, or 4% in local currency, primarily driven by favorable pricing, while the company also posted what CEO Jon Nudi called its “strongest year-over-year first quarter volume performance since the end of the pandemic,” though volumes were still slightly down overall.
Adjusted operating profit rose 13% to $324 million and adjusted operating margin expanded 90 basis points to 16.9%, supported by pricing actions and cost savings initiatives, partially offset by higher tariff and commodity costs, CFO Rick Westenberg said. Adjusted earnings per share increased 20% to $1.04.
Leadership changes and restructuring actions
Nudi opened the call by outlining changes to Masco’s leadership structure. Jai Shah, Group President, Plumbing and Wellness, and Rick Marshall, Vice President of Masco Operating System, announced their intent to retire later this summer. Following Shah’s retirement, Nudi said Masco is streamlining reporting lines so that the leaders of Delta, Hansgrohe, Behr, and Watkins Wellness will report directly to him.
Nudi also said the company is adding “two new leaders to our Executive Committee with expertise in supply chain and procurement,” with the goal of driving efficiencies, leveraging scale, and improving speed of execution. In response to a question later in the call, Nudi said the company recently hired a chief procurement officer with “30 years of experience in the space.”
Masco’s restructuring actions to streamline the business, reduce headcount, and optimize operations continued in the quarter. Nudi said the company incurred approximately $8 million of restructuring charges in the first quarter and continues to expect about $50 million of total restructuring charges in 2026. Westenberg said the company is “starting to see those savings,” though he added the company does not plan to quantify savings because some will be redeployed into growth initiatives in addition to supporting margin expansion.
Segment performance: Plumbing outperformed expectations
In Plumbing Products, sales increased 9% year over year, or 7% excluding currency. Westenberg said pricing actions contributed about 6% to sales growth, while volume was “up slightly” and performed better than expected. Segment operating profit increased 10% to $250 million and operating margin expanded 10 basis points to 18.3%.
North American plumbing sales increased 9% in local currency, driven by favorable pricing and slightly higher volumes. Nudi pointed to broad-based growth at Delta Faucet across “all three channels, trade, retail, and e-commerce,” and said the business grew share across channels. When asked whether there was any one-time pull-forward in plumbing volumes, Nudi said the quarter was “pretty normalized” and that the beat versus internal expectations was driven “primarily North America plumbing,” with “the vast majority of that beat…really just volume versus expectations.”
International plumbing sales increased 1% in local currency. Nudi and Westenberg cited growth across many European markets, particularly Germany, partially offset by continued weakness in China. Nudi described Hansgrohe as “really a global business” and said Europe was “hanging in there pretty well to date,” while China remained “a challenging market.”
On demand trends, Nudi said the company had not seen a meaningful change in consumer behavior to date but was watching for potential impacts tied to the conflict in the Middle East and the ripple effects of higher oil prices. He said guidance reflects “the uncertainty that we see in the world around us.”
Decorative Architectural: flat sales, higher profit
In the Decorative Architectural segment, sales were in line with the prior year. Nudi said DIY paint sales were down low-single digits while pro paint sales grew mid-single digits, a mix Masco said it expects to continue for the full year. Segment operating profit increased 19% to $105 million, and adjusted operating margin was 19%.
Westenberg attributed the profit improvement primarily to cost savings initiatives—“inclusive of benefits from our recent restructuring actions”—and increased pricing, partially offset by higher commodity costs. He also noted that segment margin reflects Liberty Hardware now being reported in the plumbing segment and that the quarter benefited from a “more normalized first quarter for our paint business” as the company lapped inventory timing dynamics that unfavorably affected the prior-year quarter.
Both Nudi and Westenberg flagged cost pressure tied to petrochemicals, particularly for Decorative Architectural. Westenberg said the company was seeing “significant headwinds” from elevated and volatile oil prices that affect “a wide range of material as well as logistics costs,” and that resin-related inputs were facing “upward pressure in the neighborhood of mid- to high-single-digit%.” Nudi said pricing is a “last resort,” with the company first focused on negotiating with suppliers, footprint actions where possible, and cost reduction within its own operations.
Balance sheet, capital returns, and updated buyback outlook
Masco returned $267 million to shareholders during the quarter through dividends and share repurchases, including $202 million of stock repurchases, according to Westenberg. The company ended the quarter with gross debt to EBITDA of 2.1x and $1.3 billion of liquidity, including cash and revolver availability.
Westenberg said working capital was 19.5% of sales at quarter-end, elevated in the first half due to the timing of tariff implementation and tariff-related working capital dynamics, but Masco continues to expect working capital will be approximately 16.5% of sales by year-end as conditions normalize in the second half.
Masco also entered into a two-year delayed draw term loan facility of up to $500 million, which Westenberg said will be used to “opportunistically repurchase our shares.” As a result, the company now expects to deploy at least $800 million toward share repurchases or acquisitions in 2026, up from a previous expectation of about $600 million. Westenberg emphasized the move is intended to add flexibility and is expected to translate into more repurchases “absent any M&A at this point,” while Nudi said the company remains focused on bolt-on M&A if the right deal emerges.
Guidance maintained amid tariff and commodity uncertainty
Masco maintained full-year 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $4.10 to $4.30. Nudi said the company believes it is “prudent” to keep the range given uncertainty, even as Masco now expects sales to be up low-single digits for 2026. Westenberg added that the EPS outlook now assumes an average diluted share count of 200 million, down from a prior guide of 202 million, and an effective tax rate of 24.5%.
On profitability, Westenberg said Masco continues to expect 2026 margins to expand to approximately 17%, with a change in expected cadence versus prior commentary. Due to the timing of tariff impacts that weighed more heavily in the second half of last year, the company now anticipates total margin will be “relatively flat” in the first half of 2026, implying some year-over-year contraction in the second quarter after first-quarter expansion.
Tariffs and commodities were a central theme during Q&A. Westenberg said Masco previously estimated incremental tariff costs of about $200 million before mitigation for 2026, and noted that recent developments—including a ruling on IEEPA tariffs, temporary Section 122 tariffs, and changes in how Section 232 tariffs on steel, aluminum, and copper are applied—“do anticipate the impact…before mitigation to be favorable,” though he said it is difficult to quantify amid continued uncertainty. He also said any tariff tailwind is expected to be “more than offset” by higher commodity and related input costs, particularly copper and oil-based inputs.
Looking to segment expectations for 2026, Westenberg reiterated:
- Plumbing: sales up low-single digits; operating margin expanding to approximately 18%.
- Decorative Architectural: sales roughly flat; operating margin approximately 19%.
Management also pointed to longer-term repair-and-remodel fundamentals. Nudi cited record high home equity levels, aging housing stock, and pent-up demand for renovation projects, saying Masco expects those factors to become tailwinds if consumer sentiment improves, interest rates decrease, and existing-home turnover rises. The company plans to provide further detail at its Investor Day on Wednesday, May 13 in New York City.
About Masco NYSE: MAS
Masco Corporation is a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of branded home improvement and building products. Founded in 1929 and headquartered in Livonia, Michigan, the company has evolved from a small door‐bell manufacturer into a diversified enterprise serving both residential and commercial markets. Over its history, Masco has grown through a combination of organic innovation and strategic acquisitions, building a portfolio of well-recognized brands.
The company's product offerings are organized into two primary segments.
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