ATI (NYSE:ATI) Delivers Strong Q2 CY2026 Numbers, Stock Soars

Specialty materials manufacturer ATI (NYSE:ATI) beat Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q2 CY2026, with sales up 10.6% year on year to $1.26 billion. Its non-GAAP profit of $1.23 per share was 18.3% above analysts’ consensus estimates.

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"We delivered another solid quarter, with results above the high end of our guidance and adjusted EBITDA up 37% year-over-year on 11% sales growth. This is a clear example of the earnings potential we've been building across both of our segments. Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 440 basis points to 22.6%, and our backlog reached another record at $4.4 billion, up 18% year-over-year, as demand for our unique aerospace and defense materials continues to outpace available supply," said Kimberly A. Fields, Board Chair, President and CEO.

Company Overview

With its materials flying in nearly every commercial and military aircraft in service today, ATI (NYSE:ATI) produces highly specialized materials and components for aerospace, defense, medical, and energy applications using advanced metallurgy and manufacturing processes.

Revenue Growth

A company’s long-term performance is an indicator of its overall quality. Any business can put up a good quarter or two, but the best consistently grow over the long haul. Luckily, ATI’s sales grew at an excellent 12.9% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years. Its growth surpassed the average industrials company and shows its offerings resonate with customers, a great starting point for our analysis.

We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within industrials, a half-decade historical view may miss cycles, industry trends, or a company capitalizing on catalysts such as a new contract win or a successful product line. ATI’s recent performance shows its demand has slowed significantly as its annualized revenue growth of 5.6% over the last two years was well below its five-year trend.

This quarter, ATI reported year-on-year revenue growth of 10.6%, and its $1.26 billion of revenue exceeded Wall Street’s estimates by 3.4%.

Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 10.7% over the next 12 months, an improvement versus the last two years. This projection is commendable and implies its newer products and services will spur better top-line performance.

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Operating Margin

Operating margin is an important measure of profitability as it shows the portion of revenue left after accounting for all core expenses — everything from the cost of goods sold to advertising and wages. It’s also useful for comparing profitability across companies with different levels of debt and tax rates because it excludes interest and taxes.

ATI has been an efficient company over the last five years. It was one of the more profitable businesses in the industrials sector, boasting an average operating margin of 11.9%.

Analyzing the trend in its profitability, ATI’s operating margin rose by 10.3 percentage points over the last five years, as its sales growth gave it immense operating leverage.

This quarter, ATI generated an operating margin profit margin of 17.4%, up 3.3 percentage points year on year. This increase was a welcome development and shows it was more efficient.

Earnings Per Share

We track the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) for the same reason as long-term revenue growth. Compared to revenue, however, EPS highlights whether a company’s growth is profitable.

ATI’s full-year EPS flipped from negative to positive over the last five years. This is a good sign and shows it’s at an inflection point.

Like with revenue, we analyze EPS over a shorter period to see if we are missing a change in the business.

ATI’s EPS grew at an astounding 32.9% compounded annual growth rate over the last two years, higher than its 5.6% annualized revenue growth. This tells us the company became more profitable on a per-share basis as it expanded.

We can take a deeper look into ATI’s earnings to better understand the drivers of its performance. ATI’s operating margin has expanded over the last two yearswhile its share count has shrunk 5.3%. Improving profitability and share buybacks are positive signs for shareholders as they juice EPS growth relative to revenue growth.

In Q2, ATI reported adjusted EPS of $1.23, up from $0.74 in the same quarter last year. This print easily cleared analysts’ estimates, and shareholders should be content with the results. Over the next 12 months, Wall Street expects ATI’s full-year EPS to grow 21.9% from $4.01 to $4.89.

Key Takeaways from ATI’s Q2 Results

We were impressed by how significantly ATI blew past analysts’ EBITDA expectations this quarter. We were also glad its revenue outperformed Wall Street’s estimates. Zooming out, we think this quarter featured some important positives. The stock traded up 6.3% to $218.00 immediately after reporting.

Sure, ATI had a solid quarter, but if we look at the bigger picture, is this stock a buy? We think that the latest quarter is only one piece of the longer-term business quality puzzle. Quality, when combined with valuation, can help determine if the stock is a buy. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).