2Q26 Earnings Heat Map: High Yield Metals & Mining, Paper & Packaging, and Housing - Week 2

Research evidence excerpt

2Q26 Earnings Heat Map: High Yield Metals & Mining, Paper & Packaging, and Housing - Week 2

J P M O R G A N North America Credit Research

31 July 2026

2Q26 Earnings Heat Map

High Yield Metals & Mining, Paper & Packaging, and

Housing - Week 2

Over the second quarter earnings season, we will keep a running list of HY earnings North America Corporate Credit –

across our coverage. We are ~60% through our HY public corporate reporting Basics (IG), Metals & Mining,

season and have seen earnings thus far come in ahead of expectations. In the tables Building and Paper & Packaging

(HY)

below, revenues and Earnings percentages represent the magnitude of a beat or

miss vs consensus estimates. Arjun Chandar AC

(1-212) 834-4047

arjun.c.chandar@jpmorgan.com

HY Metals/Mining Earnings Recap and Report Links J.P. Morgan Securities LLC

In Metals/Mining we’ve seen more beats than misses with higher realized

commodity pricing, better-than-expected costs and resilient end market demand

driving solid performance. Steel prices have been elevated over the last several

months thanks to tariff protection and a more favorable domestic operating

environment. Global aluminum prices have been lifted by tight supply as a result

of the Middle East conflict. Downstream aluminum companies like KALU have

benefited from a sizeable metal price lag in the first half of the year and while we’d

expect ultimate normalization, we are encouraged by follow through in conversion

revenue reflective of improved mix and strong end market demand. Copper prints

this week were largely down the fairway and we didn’t see any real evidence of

meaningfully more pressure on the cost side after a challenging Q1. FMCN

acknowledged that sales hedges on the copper side were complete as of the end of

June.

• CMC

• AA

• KALU