Icahn Enterprises Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Icahn Enterprises (NASDAQ:IEP) reported third-quarter financial results on Tuesday. The transcript from the company’s third-quarter earnings call has been provided below.

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Summary

Icahn Enterprises L.P. reported a Q3 NAV increase of $865 million, driven by a $1.7 billion rise in the value of its subsidiary CVI, offset by losses on refining hedges.

CVI’s acquisition of two refineries and a marketing platform for $4.2 billion is expected to significantly boost EBITDA and EPS, with Icahn Enterprises providing a $500 million backstop.

The company reported a Q3 2026 net loss of $225 million compared to a net income of $287 million in the prior-year quarter, with an adjusted EBITDA loss of $214 million.

The Energy segment’s adjusted EBITDA increased considerably to $404 million, attributed to strong refining operations and favorable market conditions.

The Automotive segment sold Pep Boys for $645 million, contributing a pre-tax gain of $215 million, but saw a decrease in automotive service revenues.

Real Estate and Food Packaging segments reported increased adjusted EBITDA, while Pharma faced challenges due to generic competition and increased R&D expenses.

The company maintains substantial liquidity with $2.3 billion in cash and investments and plans to address senior notes maturing in 2027 with flexible liquidity strategies.

Full Transcript

OPERATOR

Good morning and welcome to the Icahn Enterprises L.P. third quarter 2026 earnings call with Ted Papapostolou, President and Chief Executive Officer; Robert E. Flint, Chief Financial Officer; and Joseph Pesetti, Director of SEC Reporting. I would now like to hand the call over to Joseph Pesetti, who will read the opening statement.

Joseph Pesetti (Director of SEC Reporting)

Thank you, operator. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a safe harbor for forward-looking statements we make in this presentation, including statements regarding our future performance and plans for our businesses and potential acquisitions. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as expects, anticipates, intends, plans, believes, seeks, estimates, will, or words of similar meaning and include, but are not limited to, statements about expected future business and financial performance of Icahn Enterprises L.P. and its subsidiaries.

Actual events, results, and outcomes may differ materially from our expectations due to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that are discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including economic, competitive, legal, and other factors. Accordingly, there is no assurance that our expectations will be realized. We assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements should circumstances change, except as otherwise required by law.

This presentation also includes certain non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted EBITDA. A reconciliation of such non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures can be found in the back of this presentation. We also present indicative net asset value. Indicative net asset value includes, among other things, changes in fair value of certain subsidiaries which are not included in our GAAP earnings. All net income and EBITDA amounts we discuss are attributable to Icahn Enterprises unless otherwise specified.

I’ll now turn it over to Ted.

Ted Papapostolou (President and Chief Executive Officer)

Thank you, Joe. Q3 NAV increased by $865 million compared to Q2. The increase was primarily driven by a $1.7 billion increase in the value of our long position in our subsidiary CVI, partially offset by a $522 million decrease related to losses on refining hedges within our funds. The month of October has started Q4 positively with NAV increasing as a result of a $525 million increase in CVI and approximately a $60 million increase from the funds.

CVI announced the transformative $4.2 billion acquisition of two refineries and a marketing platform at a purchase price of less than 3.5 times management’s estimate of 2026 EBITDA for the nine months ended September 30, 2026. The transaction would have increased CVR’s EBITDA by over $1 billion and increased EPS by more than 105% on a pro forma basis. We believe the transaction is highly accretive and adds two strong cash-generating assets at an attractive valuation.

In the current favorable refining environment, we expect these assets to generate substantial cash flow over the next 12 months and beyond. IEP strongly supports the transaction and has committed to provide a $500 million backstop which will be reduced dollar for dollar by the CVI equity offering announced earlier today. As a result, we do not expect that our commitment will be needed. As part of the broader strategy, the CVI secondary equity transaction announced earlier today is intended to increase the liquidity and trading volume of CVI shares while providing additional liquidity to IEP.

We have senior notes maturing in May of 2027 that may become callable at par beginning November 15th. We expect to address these notes in the coming months as we continue to evaluate the most effective use of our liquidity. With liquidity across our cash and investment in the funds, we have significant flexibility in how and when we address these notes. The Board declared an unchanged distribution of $0.50 per depository unit. Turning to our top positions in our investment segment, Century reported strong double-digit growth in both pipeline and sales in Q2. The stock was down approximately 34% for Q3. IFF continued to execute on its plan and announced the sale of its food ingredients business. The company also authorized an enhanced $2.5 billion share repurchase program. IFF shares increased approximately 5% during Q3. Caesars reported Q3 results with continued positive performance in its regional and digital businesses.

Caesars shares declined approximately 2% during Q3. I will now pass it to Rob to talk about the financial results.

Robert E. Flint (Chief Financial Officer)

Thank you, Ted. For the third quarter of 2026, net loss attributable to IEP was $225 million, or a loss of $0.31 per unit. Net income attributable to IEP was $287 million, or income of $0.49 per unit, in the prior-year quarter. Q3 2026 adjusted EBITDA loss attributable to IEP was $214 million, compared to adjusted EBITDA attributable to IEP of $75 million for the prior-year quarter. I’ll now provide more detail regarding the performance of our individual segments. The investment funds had a negative return of 5.5% for the quarter excluding the refining hedges. Including the refining hedges, the funds had a negative return of 31.3% for the quarter. Long positions had a net negative performance attribution of 7.8%, and short positions had a negative performance attribution of 24.3%. The funds had a net short notional exposure of 7% at quarter end, compared to net short of 30% as of prior quarter end.

Excluding our refining hedges, the funds had a net long notional exposure of 57% as of quarter end, compared to net long of 23% as of prior quarter end. Our investment in the funds was approximately $1.4 billion as of quarter end and had approximately $334 million in cash. Moving to our Energy segment, Energy segment adjusted EBITDA attributable to IEP was $404 million for Q3 2026, compared to $98 million in Q3 2025. CVR recognized record earnings for the second quarter, driven by strong refining operations and record crack spreads in the Mid-Con. We were pleased with the 100% small refiner waiver received at the Wynnewood refinery during the quarter. The fertilizer business results were negatively impacted by the East Dubuque turnaround, but with the facility back online, they’re now positioned to benefit from tight nitrogen supplies and the fall ammonia application season.

We are pleased with CVR’s announcement of a $0.10 dividend and continue to believe that CVI’s assets are well positioned to benefit from global tightness in refined product and nitrogen fertilizer. Now turning to our Automotive segment, during Q3 2026 we closed on the sale of Pep Boys and received $645 million in proceeds and recognized a pre-tax gain of $215 million for the quarter. The Automotive segment includes Pep Boys operating results through the closing date of August 19. In Q3 2026, automotive service revenues decreased by $175 million compared to the prior-year quarter, primarily as a result of the sale of Pep Boys. Revenue from the retained automotive businesses, which primarily comprise royalty income from the franchising businesses, was flat in comparison to the prior quarter.

Now turning to all other operating segments, Real Estate’s Q3 2026 adjusted EBITDA increased by $11 million compared to the prior-year quarter. The increase is primarily driven by income from the assets that were transferred from the Automotive segment during the quarter in connection with the sale of Pep Boys. The Real Estate segment assumed certain operating leases previously held in the Automotive segment. The majority of these assumed leases were supercenter leases where Pep Boys occupied a portion of the space and the remaining space is either occupied by other tenants or is currently vacant.

The Real Estate segment will continue leasing up vacant space, which would improve cash flows and results going forward. Food Packaging’s adjusted EBITDA attributable to IEP increased by $2 million for Q3 2026 as compared to the prior-year quarter. The increase was primarily due to volume-related increases and an increase in price and product mix driven by reduced waste. Home Fashion’s adjusted EBITDA remained consistent when compared to the prior-year quarter, despite softening demand in our hospitality business and continued supply chain disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.

Pharma’s adjusted EBITDA decreased by $4 million when compared to the prior-year quarter, primarily due to reduced sales resulting from generic competition in our anti-obesity drug therapy and increased R&D expenses related to our ongoing pivotal drug trials. The Transcend trial preparation for our PAH drug remains on schedule, with four sites active and patient screening underway. Now turning to our liquidity, we maintain liquidity at the holding company and at our operating subsidiaries to take advantage of attractive opportunities. As of quarter end, the holding company had cash and investment in the funds of $2.3 billion, and our subsidiaries had cash and revolver availability of $582 million. We continue to focus on building asset value and maintaining liquidity to enable us to capitalize on opportunities within and outside our existing operating segments.

This concludes our presentation of third quarter results, and we look forward to our update next quarter. Thank you.

Disclaimer: This transcript is provided for informational purposes only. While we strive for accuracy, there may be errors or omissions in this automated transcription. For official company statements and financial information, please refer to the company’s SEC filings and official press releases. Corporate participants’ and analysts’ statements reflect their views as of the date of this call and are subject to change without notice.