Ball (BALL) Bank of America 2026 Global Agriculture and Materials Conference summary

Strategic priorities and execution

• Focus on four pillars: execution excellence, customer proximity, driving substrate shift to cans, and leveraging network complexity for profitable growth.

• Ball Business System integrates commercial and operational excellence with a people-centric approach.

• Strong start to the year, with North America performing above expectations and Europe benefiting from recent acquisitions.

• South America experienced a strong carnival season but overall summer was challenging; still targeting 2x operating leverage.

Financial outlook and capital allocation

• Guidance for 10% earnings growth and free cash flow exceeding $900 million in 2026.

• Committed to capital spending at or below depreciation and amortization (D&A) levels over a three-year period, with $600 million budgeted for 2026.

• Share repurchases targeted at 4%-6% of outstanding shares, supporting EPS growth.

• Leverage ratio targeted to decrease to 2.7x by year-end, with a longer-term goal of 2.5x.

Operational initiatives and productivity

• Achieved $500 million in cost savings a year ahead of schedule by standardizing operations globally.

• Ongoing focus on 1%-2% annual supply chain cost savings, with productivity gains expected to continue as supply-demand balance improves.

• Plant managers incentivized on efficiency, spoilage, and output, with all employees' compensation tied to EVA (economic value added).