Key Highlights

  • BCC reported third quarter 2026 sales of $1,802.2 million, up 8.1% from $1,667.8 million a year earlier.
  • Net income reached $36.4 million, or $1.04 per diluted share, compared with $21.8 million, or $0.58, in the prior-year quarter.
  • Wood Products posted segment income of $16.1 million versus a $12.1 million segment loss a year ago.
  • Building Materials Distribution segment income slipped to $51.3 million from $54.3 million.
  • BCC ended September with $385.1 million of cash and $780.3 million of total available liquidity.

Plywood Pricing Turns Wood Products Around as Sales Climb 8%

Boise Cascade (NYSE:BCC) reported results for the third quarter ended Sep 30, 2026, in its quarterly filing dated Nov 2, 2026. Sales rose 8.1% to $1,802.2 million, and income from operations climbed to $55.8 million from $32.3 million, lifting the Operating Margin to 3.1% from 1.9%.

Net income was $36.4 million, up from $21.8 million, and Diluted Earnings per Share reached $1.04 against $0.58. For the first nine months of 2026, Net Income was $111.6 million, or $3.15 per diluted share, compared with $124.1 million, or $3.28, a year earlier.

Boise Cascade is a building materials distributor and wood products manufacturer based in Idaho, with a network of U.S. branches and one Canadian plant. Its products serve new single-family and multi-family construction, remodeling and light commercial projects.

Housing Starts Slide While Distribution Margins Narrow

The sales gain came even as U.S. housing starts fell 4% in the quarter to 340,900 units, with single-family starts down 2%. The company said high fuel prices and higher benchmark interest rates deepened affordability pressure on buyers, pushing builders toward build-to-order construction.

Building Materials Distribution sales rose 7% to $1,669.5 million, helped by a 5% increase in net prices and a 2% increase in volume. Commodity product sales jumped 15%, while general line sales rose 4%.

Segment income still fell $3.0 million to $51.3 million, as selling and distribution costs rose $6.9 million and gross margin eased to 14.3% of sales from 15.1%. The mix shift toward lower-margin commodity products weighed on the margin rate.

Wood Products Swings to a $16.1 Million Profit on Plywood and Engineered Lumber

Wood Products sales rose 16% to $461.2 million, and segment income was $16.1 million after a $12.1 million loss in the third quarter of 2025. Plywood prices increased 31%, averaging $425 per thousand square feet versus $325, while plywood volumes slipped 7%.

Laminated veneer lumber volumes grew 18% and I-joist volumes rose 10%, with engineered wood prices holding flat from last year. Higher per-unit conversion costs partly offset the gains.

Cash from operations totaled $146.3 million for the nine months, up from $123.1 million. Capital spending for the period was $90.4 million versus $187.4 million, and management expects full-year 2026 capital expenditures of about $120 million to $140 million, excluding acquisitions.

Dividend of $0.23 Due Dec 16 as Seasonal Slowdown and Softer 2027 Starts Loom

The board declared a quarterly Dividend of $0.23 per share on Oct 29, 2026, payable Dec 16, 2026, to holders of record on Dec 1. The company repurchased and retired 1,466,250 shares for $112.8 million in the nine months, leaving roughly $120 million of authorization after October purchases. It held $452.5 million of Debt at quarter end.

Management expects fourth quarter activity to decelerate with typical winter seasonality. Early industry projections point to 2027 housing starts declining by a mid-single-digit percentage from 2026 levels.