Westlake Chemical Partners LP Stock price
Compare with Peer Group
📊 Peer Group
📈 What is it?
The peer group consists of the companies with the most similar business model. They serve as a benchmark for putting a stock into context.
🧮 How is it selected?
Based on similarity of business model, meaning companies from the same industry with comparable products and a similar customer base. That's the only way to compare apples to apples.
🏛️ Why does it matter?
Whether a stock is cheap or expensive is best judged by comparison. A P/E of 18 or an EV/FCF of 20 can look cheap or expensive depending on the yardstick. The peer group gives you the most accurate one: companies with a similar business model that operate under the same conditions.
🎯 What does it mean for investors?
When a metric sits below the peer average, the stock is valued more cheaply relative to its competitors, and above the average more expensively. A discount to the peer group can be an opportunity, but it can also have a reason (for example lower growth). The comparison is a starting point, not a verdict.
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Key metrics
📘 Market Capitalization
📈 What is it?
Market capitalization shows how much a company is currently worth on the stock market.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It helps classify companies by size (Large, Mid, Small Cap) and indicates their market presence and relative stability.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Large-cap companies tend to be more stable, often pay dividends, but may grow more slowly.
- Smaller firms may offer higher growth potential but come with more volatility.
- Market capitalization is a useful indicator of company size — but not a measure of whether a stock is undervalued or overvalued.
📘 Enterprise Value (EV)
📈 What is it?
Enterprise Value represents the total cost to acquire a company — including its debt and excluding its cash reserves.
🧮 How is it calculated?
(= Market Cap + Net Debt)
🏛️ Why is it important?
EV gives a more complete picture of a company's value than market cap alone and is used in key valuation ratios like EV/FCF or EV/Sales.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Enterprise Value shows the true cost of buying a company, including all financial obligations.
- It is more accurate than just looking at market cap, especially when comparing companies with different levels of debt or cash.
- Professional investors prefer EV-based multiples because they better reflect the company’s full financial footprint.
📘 Net Debt
📈 What is it?
Net Debt shows how much debt remains after subtracting a company’s available cash reserves.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It indicates how dependent a company is on borrowed money and how easily it can service its debt in the short term.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Low or negative net debt signals financial strength and flexibility.
- Companies with strong cash positions are better positioned in crises.
- High net debt increases financial risk — especially in environments with rising interest rates or economic downturns.
📘 Cash
📈 What is it?
Cash represents all liquid assets a company can access immediately — including cash, bank deposits, and short-term investments.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It reflects a company’s financial flexibility and resilience — enabling investments, buybacks, or buffer in downturns.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A strong cash position means greater room for maneuver and crisis resistance.
- Cash-rich companies can invest, pay down debt, or repurchase shares.
- But excess idle cash might indicate a lack of growth opportunities.
📘 Shares Outstanding
📈 What is it?
Shares outstanding represent the total number of a company’s shares currently held by investors — excluding treasury stock.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It’s the basis for key metrics like Earnings Per Share (EPS), Market Capitalization, or the Price/Earnings ratio (P/E).
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Fewer shares in circulation typically increase earnings per share — making each share more valuable.
- Share buybacks reduce the number of shares and boost per-share metrics.
- Issuing new shares does the opposite — diluting shareholder value and lowering per-share figures.
📘 Price-to-Earnings Ratio (P/E)
📈 What is it?
The P/E ratio shows how many times a company's earnings per share are reflected in its current share price — in other words, how "expensive" the stock appears relative to its profits.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
The P/E ratio is one of the most widely used valuation metrics. It helps investors assess whether a stock appears cheap or expensive compared to its earnings power.
🧮 Calculation
📊 P/E (TTM) = Based on earnings from the last 12 months (Trailing Twelve Months):🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A low P/E may indicate undervaluation — or signal underlying issues.
- A high P/E may reflect strong growth expectations — or an overvalued stock.
📘 Price-to-Sales Ratio (P/S)
📈 What is it?
The P/S ratio shows how much investors are paying for $1 of the company’s revenue – regardless of profitability.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
P/S is especially useful for evaluating growth companies or businesses not yet profitable. It reflects how the market values the company’s sales.
🧮 Calculation
Market Cap = $758.49m | Revenue (TTM) = $1.23b
Market Cap = $758.49m | Estimated Revenue = $1.39b
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A low P/S may indicate undervaluation — or low profitability.
- A high P/S can reflect strong growth expectations — or excessive optimism.
- Especially helpful when evaluating companies where profits are low, volatile, or negative.
📘 Enterprise Value to Sales (EV/Sales)
📈 What is it?
EV/Sales shows how much investors are paying for $1 of revenue — considering not just equity, but also debt and cash. It’s the capital structure–adjusted version of the P/S ratio.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It’s ideal for comparing companies with different levels of debt. It reflects a company's true cost relative to its revenue.
🧮 Calculation
Enterprise Value = $1.11b | Revenue (TTM) = $1.23b
Enterprise Value = $1.11b | Forward Revenue = $1.39b
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- EV/Sales allows for capital structure–neutral company comparisons.
- A lower ratio may indicate undervaluation; a higher one may signal strong growth expectations or overvaluation.
- Especially helpful when evaluating high-growth companies with low or negative earnings.
📘 Enterprise Value to Free Cash Flow (EV/FCF)
📈 What is it?
EV/FCF shows how many years it would take for a company to "pay back" its enterprise value using its free cash flow.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It focuses on real cash generation, ignoring accounting noise — ideal for assessing profitability and value based on liquidity, not earnings.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A low EV/FCF may signal undervaluation and strong cash generation.
- A high EV/FCF might reflect weak recent cash flow or aggressive growth expectations.
- Best suited for stable, mature businesses with predictable free cash flows.
📘 Price-to-Book Ratio (P/B)
📈 What is it?
The P/B ratio compares a company’s market value to its book value — showing how much investors are paying for each dollar of net assets.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
P/B is commonly used for asset-heavy industries like banks or industrials. It helps assess whether a stock is trading above or below its net asset value.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A P/B below 1 may signal undervaluation — or weak profitability.
- A P/B above 1 implies the market expects future value creation (e.g., brand, IP, growth).
- Best used for companies with tangible assets and strong balance sheets.
📘 Dividend per Share (DPS)
📈 What is it?
Dividend per Share shows how much cash a company pays out to shareholders for each share they own – usually on an annual or quarterly basis.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
DPS is the absolute value of the payout per share – crucial for income-focused investors and dividend strategies.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A stable or growing DPS often signals a strong, shareholder-friendly business.
- DPS alone doesn’t tell you how attractive the payout is – the stock price also matters (→ see Dividend Yield).
- Long-term dividend growth is often a hallmark of high-quality companies – like the dividend aristocrats.
📘 Dividend Yield
📈 What is it?
Dividend yield shows how large a company’s dividend is in relation to its current share price.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It allows investors to compare dividend payouts across stocks, regardless of price or payout size.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A stable yield can reflect reliable distributions.
- Comparing 1Y and 5Y yield shows whether dividend growth keeps pace with stock price appreciation.
- A low yield isn’t always negative – it can signal strong past performance or growth focus.
📘 Dividend Growth
📈 What is it?
Dividend growth shows how much a company has increased its dividend per share over time.
🧮 How is it calculated?
5Y: Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
🏛️ Why is it important?
Consistently rising dividends are often a sign of financial strength and shareholder orientation – especially relevant for long-term investors.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Stable dividend growth is a sign of sustainable earning power.
- High dividend growth can significantly boost your total return:
- If a company pays $1 in dividends and increases it by 15% annually over 5 years, you’ll receive $2 per share in year 5 – twice as much as at the start!
📘 Payout Ratio
📈 What is it?
The payout ratio shows what percentage of a company’s earnings (per share) is distributed to shareholders as dividends.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It helps assess whether the dividend is sustainable – especially in relation to the company’s profitability.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A low payout ratio means the company retains more earnings for reinvestment – typical for growth companies.
- A moderate payout (e.g. 25–50%) indicates a healthy balance between returns and reinvestment.
- High payout ratios may seem attractive but can carry risk if earnings decline.
📘 Consecutive Dividend Increases
📈 What is it?
This metric shows how many consecutive years a company has raised its dividend per share – without any cuts or pauses.
🧮 How is it calculated?
(Special dividends are not considered.)
🏛️ Why is it important?
A long track record of increases reflects financial strength, consistency, and shareholder commitment.
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A long dividend increase streak builds confidence – especially in volatile markets.
- Such companies are seen as reliable and income-friendly investments.
- The longer the streak, the stronger the company’s dividend discipline.
📘 Revenue
📈 What is it?
Revenue shows how much a company earns in total from selling its products and services – the gross income before any costs are deducted.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
Revenue is one of the key figures to assess a company’s size, market position, and growth potential.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Growing revenue indicates rising demand and can be an early signal of future earnings growth.
- Comparing actual and expected revenue reveals trends in the market environment and analyst sentiment.
- Note: Strong revenue alone isn’t enough – margins and profitability matter just as much.
📘 EBITDA
📈 What is it?
EBITDA stands for “Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization.” It reflects a company’s operating profit before the effects of financing, taxes, and accounting depreciation.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
EBITDA is widely used to evaluate a company’s operating performance – especially across capital-intensive sectors or international comparisons.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high or growing EBITDA indicates strong operational profitability – independent of taxes, interest, or accounting methods.
- It’s especially useful for comparing companies across sectors or geographies.
- Important: EBITDA is not a net income figure – it excludes key costs like depreciation and interest.
📘 EBIT
📈 What is it?
EBIT stands for “Earnings Before Interest and Taxes.” It reflects a company’s operating profit after depreciation, but before interest and tax expenses.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
EBIT is a core profitability metric that shows how well the company performs in its main business operations – independent of capital structure and tax environment.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high EBIT indicates strong profitability from the company’s core business – before financial and tax effects.
- It allows better comparison between companies with different debt levels or tax structures.
- Compared to EBITDA, EBIT already accounts for depreciation and reflects capital intensity more clearly.
📘 Net Income
📈 What is it?
Net income is the company’s total profit – the amount left after all expenses, taxes, interest, and depreciation have been deducted.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
Net income is the most comprehensive measure of a company’s profitability – showing how much actual profit remains after all business and financing costs.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Growing net income indicates that the company is managing all of its costs efficiently.
- It directly influences valuation metrics like P/E ratio and the company’s dividend capacity.
- Over time, net income trends reveal how resilient and profitable the business model really is.
📘 Free Cash Flow (FCF)
📈 What is it?
Free Cash Flow shows how much actual cash remains after a company covers its operating expenses and capital expenditures.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
FCF reflects a company’s real financial strength – regardless of accounting profits. It shows how much flexibility a company has for dividends, share buybacks, or debt reduction.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- High free cash flow means the company generates real, usable cash – independent of reported net income.
- It’s often the most reliable base for sustainable dividends and buybacks.
- Declining FCF can be an early warning sign – even when profits appear stable.
📘 Revenue Growth
📈 What is it?
Revenue growth shows how much a company’s sales have changed compared to the previous year – both on a trailing basis (TTM) and based on forward projections.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Forward = (Expected revenue ÷ Revenue in prior year − 1) × 100
Forward growth is based on analyst estimates for the current fiscal year.
🏛️ Why is it important?
Rising revenue signals growing demand, business expansion, and market share gains – especially important for growth-oriented companies.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Growth is the engine of long-term value creation – especially in tech and growth sectors.
- What matters is not just current growth, but its sustainability.
- Forward projections reflect whether analysts expect continued momentum – or a slowdown.
📘 EBITDA Growth
📈 What is it?
EBITDA growth shows how much a company’s operating profit (before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) has increased or decreased compared to the previous year.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Forward = (Expected EBITDA ÷ EBITDA from prior year − 1) × 100
The forward estimate is based on analyst projections for the current fiscal year.
🏛️ Why is it important?
Growing EBITDA indicates improving operational profitability – regardless of financing or accounting effects.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Strong EBITDA growth signals operational efficiency and scalability – especially during growth phases.
- EBITDA growth can be an early indicator of margin and earnings expansion – but should be assessed alongside revenue and EBIT.
📘 EBIT Growth
📈 What is it?
EBIT growth shows how much a company’s operating profit (after depreciation, but before interest and taxes) has increased compared to the previous year.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Forward = (Expected EBIT ÷ EBIT from prior year − 1) × 100
The forward estimate is based on analyst projections for the current fiscal year.
🏛️ Why is it important?
EBIT growth is a direct indicator of a company’s business performance – taking into account capital intensity through depreciation.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Rising EBIT signals improving operating profitability – even after accounting for depreciation.
- It’s especially important for evaluating companies with significant capital expenditures.
- Combined with revenue and EBITDA growth, EBIT growth provides a well-rounded view of operational progress.
📘 Net Income Growth
📈 What is it?
Net income growth shows how much a company’s bottom-line profit has increased or decreased compared to the previous year – both on a trailing basis (TTM) and based on analyst projections.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Forward = (Expected net income ÷ Net income from prior year − 1) × 100
The forward estimate reflects analysts’ expectations for the current fiscal year.
🏛️ Why is it important?
Net income is the ultimate measure of profitability. Growing net income signals stronger efficiency, cost control, and sustainable earnings power.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Stronger net income boosts valuation, dividend potential, and investor confidence.
- If profits stall while revenue grows, it may signal margin pressure.
📘 Free Cash Flow Growth
📈 What is it?
Free cash flow (FCF) growth shows how a company’s available cash – after covering operating expenses and capital expenditures – has changed compared to the previous year.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
Free cash flow reflects real financial strength. Growing FCF indicates more flexibility for dividends, share buybacks, and reinvestment.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Declining FCF may point to rising investments, increasing costs, or weaker operating performance.
- Especially for dividend investors, FCF growth is critical – since dividends are paid from actual available cash.
- A negative trend isn't always bad, but it deserves closer attention.
📘 Gross Margin
📈 What is it?
Gross margin shows how much of a company’s revenue remains after deducting the direct costs of goods sold (like materials and production). It represents the company’s “raw profit” before fixed costs, taxes, and interest.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Or simply: Gross Margin = Gross Profit ÷ Revenue × 100
🏛️ Why is it important?
Gross margin indicates how efficiently a company can produce or procure what it sells. It is a key measure of product-level profitability and pricing power.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high gross margin suggests strong pricing power and efficient production.
- Falling margins may signal rising input costs or competitive pressure.
- Compared to peers, gross margin offers insights into the quality of a business model.
📘 EBITDA Margin
📈 What is it?
The EBITDA margin shows how much of a company’s revenue remains as operating profit before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.It reflects operating efficiency without being distorted by financing or accounting factors.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
The EBITDA margin reveals how much operating income a company generates per dollar of revenue – independent of capital structure and tax effects.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high EBITDA margin reflects strong core profitability – before accounting distortions.
- It allows for effective comparisons across companies and sectors.
- A stable or growing margin signals efficient cost control and business scalability.
📘 EBIT Margin
📈 What is it?
The EBIT margin shows what percentage of revenue remains as operating profit after depreciation but before interest and taxes.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
The EBIT margin reflects a company’s core profitability while accounting for capital intensity (e.g. machinery, infrastructure). It’s especially useful for comparing businesses with different levels of depreciation.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high EBIT margin shows that the company remains efficient even after factoring in depreciation.
- It’s especially relevant for capital-intensive industries.
- Stable or rising EBIT margins over time are a strong indicator of pricing power and business quality.
📘 Net margin
📈 What is it?
Net margin shows how much of a company’s revenue remains as bottom-line profit after deducting all costs, interest, taxes, and depreciation.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
Net margin reflects a company’s overall efficiency – across operations, financing, and taxation. It shows how much actual profit is generated from each dollar of revenue.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high net margin means the company is not only strong operationally but also manages financing and taxes efficiently.
- Peer comparisons reveal business quality and competitiveness.
- Declining margins despite revenue growth can be a red flag for rising costs or inefficiencies.
📘 Free cash flow margin
📈 What is it?
The free cash flow (FCF) margin shows how much of a company’s revenue remains as actual free cash after covering all operating expenses and capital expenditures.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
This margin reflects the true liquidity generated by the business – independent of accounting rules or depreciation. It’s especially relevant for dividends, buybacks, and reinvestment decisions.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high FCF margin means a company consistently generates strong cash flow.
- It’s a positive signal for financial stability and shareholder returns.
- The long-term trend is key – a declining margin may indicate rising investments or weakening operating efficiency.
📘 Equity Ratio
📈 What is it?
The equity ratio indicates what portion of a company’s total assets is financed by shareholders’ equity – in other words, how much it relies on its own capital.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
A high equity ratio reflects financial strength and stability, especially during downturns. It’s a key indicator of a company’s solvency and long-term risk profile.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Companies with high equity ratios are generally more resilient and less dependent on external debt.
- Low equity ratios can signal higher risk or aggressive financial strategies.
- Important: Always assess the equity ratio in combination with the return on equity (ROE). This shows not just how stable the company is – but also how efficiently it uses shareholder capital.
📘 Return on Equity (ROE)
📈 What is it?
Return on equity (ROE) shows how efficiently a company uses its shareholders’ equity to generate profit. In other words: how much net income is earned per dollar of equity.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
ROE is a core profitability metric. It helps investors understand whether a company delivers attractive returns on the capital provided by its shareholders.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high ROE indicates that the company is using its capital efficiently and profitably.
- It’s especially meaningful for capital-intensive businesses or firms with high equity bases.
- Important: A very high ROE can also result from high debt levels – always interpret it alongside the equity ratio to assess financial health.
📘 Return on Capital Employed (ROCE)
📈 What is it?
ROCE measures how efficiently a company generates profits from its total capital – including both equity and interest-bearing debt.
🧮 How is it calculated?
It evaluates the return on all capital employed, regardless of how it’s financed.
🏛️ Why is it important?
ROCE is ideal for comparing companies with different financing structures. It shows how well management uses capital to create value for both shareholders and creditors.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high ROCE means the company uses its capital efficiently – regardless of whether it's funded by debt or equity.
- The higher the ROCE compared to peers, the more value the company creates with its invested capital.
- Especially relevant for capital-intensive sectors like industrials, energy, or infrastructure.
📘 Return on Invested Capital (ROIC)
📈 What is it?
ROIC measures how efficiently a company generates returns from the capital invested in its core operations – regardless of whether the capital comes from equity or debt.
🧮 How is it calculated?
- NOPAT = Net Operating Profit After Taxes
- Invested Capital = Operating assets minus non-interest-bearing liabilities
🏛️ Why is it important?
ROIC is one of the most accurate indicators of capital efficiency. Unlike return on equity, it is not distorted by leverage and shows how much value is created for all capital providers.
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high ROIC shows how effectively a company uses the capital that is truly invested in its core operations.
- Unlike ROCE, ROIC focuses only on the capital that is actively used to run the business – and that requires a return (i.e. interest-bearing).
- Especially useful when comparing companies with large amounts of excess cash or non-interest-bearing liabilities – giving a more realistic picture of capital efficiency.
📘 Leverage Ratio (Debt-to-Equity)
📈 What is it?
The leverage ratio indicates how much a company relies on interest-bearing debt (such as loans and bonds) relative to its shareholders’ equity.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
This ratio helps assess a company’s financial structure and risk profile. High leverage can enhance returns – but also increases exposure to interest rate changes and financial stress.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A low leverage ratio signals financial strength and independence.
- A higher ratio can improve returns in good times but increases risk during downturns or rising interest rate periods.
- 👉 Always interpret in the context of industry, capital intensity, and interest rate environment.
📘 Earnings per share (EPS)
📈 What is it?
Earnings per Share (EPS) shows how much profit is attributable to a single share – and is one of the most important metrics for evaluating a company's performance.
🧮 How is it calculated?
The diluted share count reflects potential new shares that could be issued through options, convertible bonds, or other rights.
🏛️ Why is it important?
EPS is the basis for many key valuation metrics like P/E ratio, PEG ratio, or payout ratio. It enables comparisons of profitability across companies, regardless of their size.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- EPS captures per-share profitability and is especially useful for comparisons over time or with analyst estimates.
- Rising EPS may signal consistent growth or share buybacks.
- Important: Always use diluted EPS for more realistic valuations – especially in companies with stock-based compensation.
📘 Free cash flow per share (FCF per share)
📈 What is it?
Free Cash Flow per Share shows how much free cash flow a company generates per outstanding share – after investments, but before dividends or debt repayments.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Free cash flow is calculated as operating cash flow minus capital expenditures (CapEx).
🏛️ Why is it important?
FCF per Share reveals how much real cash is available per share – useful for dividends, buybacks, or reducing debt. Unlike net income, free cash flow is harder to manipulate and often seen as a more reliable metric.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- High FCF per share signals strong financial flexibility.
- It shows how much capital the company can effectively reinvest or return to shareholders.
- Particularly relevant for dividend payers and capital-efficient businesses.
📘 Short interest
📈 What is it?
Short interest indicates how many shares of a company are currently sold short – that is, borrowed and sold by investors who expect the price to decline.
🧮 How is it calculated?
It reflects the percentage of a company’s shares that are being shorted relative to the total shares available.
🏛️ Why is it important?
Short interest serves as a sentiment indicator: A high value may signal skepticism or bearish expectations – but also increases the potential for a short squeeze if prices rise unexpectedly.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Low short interest usually indicates market confidence in the company.
- High short interest can be a warning sign – or an opportunity if sentiment shifts.
- Especially relevant in volatile markets or ahead of key earnings releases.
📘 Employees
📈 What is it?
The employee count shows how many people a company employs worldwide – offering insights into its size, structure, and business model.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It helps assess operational scale, labor intensity, and cost structure. Combined with revenue and profit, it enables key metrics like revenue per employee or productivity.
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high headcount can signal operational complexity – but also significant growth capacity.
- Revenue per employee is a key indicator of efficiency.
- Especially useful for comparing tech, industrial, or service-heavy companies.
📘 Turnover per employee
📈 What is it?
Revenue per employee indicates how much revenue a company generates on average per employee – a key measure of efficiency and productivity.
🧮 How is it calculated?
The employee count is typically taken from the most recent annual report.
🏛️ Why is it important?
This metric helps compare business models – especially between labor-intensive and technology-driven companies. A high value suggests automation, operational efficiency, or strong value creation per head.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high revenue per employee indicates a scalable and margin-strong business model.
- A low figure may reflect labor-intensive operations or lower value-add.
- Especially helpful when comparing tech companies to industrial or service sectors.
Westlake Chemical Partners LP Stock Analysis
Analyst Opinions
7 Analysts have issued a Westlake Chemical Partners LP forecast:
Analyst Opinions
7 Analysts have issued a Westlake Chemical Partners LP forecast:
Westlake Chemical Partners LP Events
Past Events
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AUG
4
Q2 2026 Earnings Call
about 2 months ago
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MAY
5
Q1 2026 Earnings Call
5 months ago
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FEB
24
Q4 2025 Earnings Call
7 months ago
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OCT
30
Q3 2025 Earnings Call
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Westlake Chemical Partners LP — Q2 2026 Earnings Call
1. Management Discussion
Thank you. Good afternoon. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Westlake Chemical Partners Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. During the presentation, all participants will be in a listen-only mode. After the speaker's remarks, you will be invited to participate in a question and answer session. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded today, August 4, 2026. I would now like to turn the call over to today's host, Jeff Hawley, Wesley Chemical Partners Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer. Sir, you may begin.
Thank you. Good afternoon everyone and welcome to the Westlake Chemical Partners second quarter 2026 conference call. I'm joined today by Albert Chow, our Executive Chairman, John Mark Gilson, our President and CEO, John Bocht, our Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Steve Bender, our Special Advisor to the President, and other members of our management team. During this call, we refer to ourselves as Westlake Partners or the Partnership, References to Westlake refer to our parent company, Westlake Corporation, And references to OPCO refer to Westlake Chemical OPCO LP, a subsidiary of Westlake and a partnership which owns certain olefin assets. Additionally, when we refer to distributable cash flow, we are referring to Westlake Chemical Partners MLP Distributable Cash Flow. Definitions of these terms are available on the partnership's website. Today, management is going to discuss certain topics that will contain forward-looking information that is based on management's beliefs. as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to management. These forward-looking statements suggest predictions or expectations, and thus are subject to risks or uncertainties.
We encourage you to learn more about the factors that could lead our actual results to differ by reviewing the cautionary statements in our regulatory filings, which are also available on our investor relations website. This morning, Westlake Partners issued a press release with details of our second quarter 2026 financial and operating results. This document is available in the press release section of our webpage at wlkpartners.com. A replay of today's call will be available beginning two hours after the conclusion of this call. The replay can be accessed via the Partnership's website. Please note that information reported on this call speaks only as of today, August 4, 2026, and therefore you are advised that time-sensitive information may no longer be accurate as of the time of any replay. I would finally advise you that this conference call is being broadcast live through an Internet webcast system that can be accessed on our webpage at WLKPartners.com.
Now, I would like to turn the call over to Jean-Marc Gilson. Jean-Marc? Thank you, Jeff, and good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us to discuss our second session.
quarter 2026 results. In this morning's press release, we reported Westlake Partners second quarter 2026 net income of $14 million or 40 cents per unit. which was in line with our net income in the first quarter. The stability of Westlake Partners' business model is consistently demonstrated through our fixed-margin E-TLN sales agreement, which minimizes market volatility and other production risks. The high degree of stability in cash flow, when paired with the predictability of our business, has enabled us to deliver the long history of reliable distributions and coverage. This quarter distribution is the 48th consecutive quarterly distribution since our IPO in July of 2014, without any reductions. Before I turn the call over to John, I want to take this opportunity to thank Steve Bender for all of his many contributions to the partnership as our CFO since its formation over a decade ago and wish him the best of luck with his upcoming retirement.
Thank you, Jean-Marc, and it's been a pleasure working with you, Albert, and James Chow, and the entire Westlake Chemical Partners team for many years. I leave for retirement next month knowing that the partnership is on very firm financial footing, having recently renewed both its revolver and the ethylene supply agreement with Westlake. And with that, I'll turn the call over to the partnership's new chief financial officer, John Markston.
John? Thank you, Steve. Your contributions to the partnership will be missed, and we all wish you the best of luck in your retirement. In this morning's press release, we reported Westlake Partners' second quarter 2026 net income of $14 million, or 40 cents per unit. Consolidated net income, including OPCO's earnings, was $82 million on consolidated net sales of $297 million. the partnership had distributable cash flow for the quarter of $18 million or 50 cents per unit. Second quarter 2026 net income for Westlake Partners of $14 million was essentially in line with the second quarter 2025 partnership net income. Distributable cash flow of $18 million for the second quarter of 2026 increased by $3 million compared to the second quarter of 2025 due to the higher production and sales volume and lower maintenance capital expenditures as a result of last year's Petro-1 plan termination. turnaround. On a sequential basis, net income for Westlake Partners of $14 million in the second quarter of 2026 was in line with the first quarter on relatively stable production and sales volume. Sequentially, our trailing 12-month coverage ratio improved to 1.04 times from 1.0 times, reflecting the aging out of the impact of the Petra 1 turnaround that occurred in the first half of 2025. turning our attention to the balance sheet and cash flows.
At the end of the second quarter, we had consolidated cash balance and cash investments with Westlake through our investment management agreement, totaling $93 million. Long-term debt at the end of the quarter was $400 million, of which $377 million was at the partnership, and the remaining $23 million was at OPCO. In the second quarter of 2026, Opco spent $12 million on capital expenditures. We maintained our strong leverage metrics with a consolidated leverage ratio of approximately one time. Last month, both OPCO and the Partnership extended their existing revolver agreements with Westlake for an additional four years through 2031. Additionally, we successfully negotiated a 10 basis point reduction in the associated interest rate. As was the case earlier this year when Westlake extended our ethylene supply agreement, we believe that the revolver extension demonstrates the critical nature of OPCO's supply of ethylene to their operations and their commitment to support OPCO's continued safe, reliable operations through stable, predictable, cash-free operations. cash flows.
On August 3, 2026, we announced a quarterly distribution of 47.14 cents per unit with respect to the second quarter of 2026. Since our IPO in 2014, the partnership has made 48 consecutive quarterly distributions to our unit holders, and we have grown distributions 71% since the partnership's original minimum quarterly distribution of 27.5 cents per unit. The partnership's second quarter distribution will be paid on August 28, 2026 to unit holders of record on August 13, 2026. The partnership's predictable fee-based cash flow continues to prove beneficial in today's economic environment and is differentiated by the consistency of our earnings and cash flows. Looking back, since our IPO in July of 2014, we have maintained a cumulative distribution coverage ratio in excess of one times, and with the partnership's stability in cash flows, we were able to sustain our current distribution without the need to access the capital markets. For modeling purposes, we have no plan turnaround in 2026. Now I'd like to turn the call back over to Jean-Marc to make some closing comments.
Jean-Marc? Thank you, John.
We are pleased with the partnership's financial and operational performance during the second quarter. Solid operating rates at OPCOS ETLN facilities during the quarter resulted in a quarterly coverage ratio of 1.0 times. Turning to our outlook, the conflict in the Middle East has created increased volatility in chemical prices, including SELNs. However, the partnership's Ethylene margins remain largely immune to the heightened market price volatility. Thanks to its Ethylene supply agreement with Westlake, that provides for a fixed margin of 10 cents per pound on 95% of our Ethylene production. Turning to our capital structure, we maintain a strong balance sheet with conservative financial and leverage metrics. As we continue to navigate market conditions, we will evaluate opportunities via our four levels of growth in the future, including increases of our ownership interest of OPCO, acquisitions of other qualified income streams, Organic growth opportunities, such as expansions of our current land facilities, and negotiation of a higher fixed margin in our SEL and SACE agreement with Westlake.
We remain focused on our ability to continue to provide long-term value and distributions to our unit holders. As always, we will continue to focus on safe operations, along with being good stewards of the environment where we work and live as part of our broader sustainability efforts. Thank you very much for listening to our second quarter earnings call. Now I will turn the call back over to Jeff.
Thank you, John Mark. Before we begin taking questions, I would like to remind you that a replay of this teleconference will be available two hours after the call has ended. We'll provide instructions to access the replay at the end of the call. Ari, we will now take questions.
Thank you. At this time, we will conduct the question and answer session. As a reminder, to ask a question, you will need to press star 1-1 on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star 1-1 again. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. I'm showing no questions at this time, so I will turn the call back over to Jeff Holley.
Thanks. Thank you again for participating in today's call. We hope you'll join us for our next conference call to discuss our third quarter 2026 results.
Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This does conclude the program. You may now disconnect.
This live transcript is auto-generated without human intervention or review.
[Call has ended.]
Westlake Chemical Partners LP — Q1 2026 Earnings Call
1. Management Discussion
Good afternoon. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Westlake Chemical Partners First Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, this conference is being recorded today, May 5, 2026. I would now like to turn the call over to today's host, Jeff Holy, Westlake Chemical Partners' Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer. Sir, you may begin.
Thank you, Kelly. Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the Westlake Chemical Partners First Quarter 2026 Conference Call. I'm joined today by Albert Chao, our Executive Chairman; Jean-Marc Gilson, our President and CEO; Steve Bender, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; and other members of our management team. During this call, we refer to ourselves as Westlake Partners or the Partnership. References to Westlake refer to our parent company, Westlake Corporation, and references to OpCo refer to Westlake Chemical OpCo LP, a subsidiary of Westlake and the Partnership, which owns certain olefins assets.
Additionally, when we refer to distributable cash flow, we are referring to Westlake Chemical Partners MLP distributable cash flow. Definitions of these terms are available on the Partnership's website.
Today, management is going to discuss certain topics that will contain forward-looking information that is based on management's beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to management. These forward-looking statements suggest predictions or expectations and thus are subject to risks or uncertainties. We encourage you to learn more about the factors that could lead our actual results to differ by reviewing the cautionary statements in our regulatory filings, which are also available on our Investor Relations website.
This morning, Westlake Partners issued a press release with details of our first quarter 2026 financial and operating results. This document is available in the Press Release section of our web page at wlkpartners.com. A replay of today's call will be available beginning 2 hours after the conclusion of this call. The replay can be accessed via the partnership's website. Please note that information reported on this call speaks only as of today, May 5, 2026, and therefore, you are advised that time-sensitive information may no longer be accurate as of the time of any replay.
I would finally advise you that this conference call is being broadcast live through an Internet webcast system that can be accessed on our web page at wlkpartners.com.
Now I would like to turn the call over to Jean-Marc Gilson. Jean-Marc?
Thank you, Jeff, and good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us to discuss our first quarter 2026 results. In this morning's press release, we reported Westlake Partners' first quarter 2026 net income of $14 million or $0.40 per unit.
Compared to the fourth quarter of 2025, our first quarter sales and earnings benefited from a higher third-party average sales price that was offset by slightly lower production and sales volume. The stability of Westlake Partners' business model is consistently demonstrated through our fixed margin ethylene sales agreement, which minimizes market volatility and other production risks.
The high degree of stability in cash -- in cash flow when paired with the predictability of our business has enabled us to deliver the long history of reliable distribution and coverage. This quarter's distribution is the 47th consecutive quarterly distribution since our IPO in July 2014 without any reductions.
Before I turn the call over to Steve, I want to provide some thoughts on our CFO transition. As you may have read, on April 20, we announced that on June 15, Jon Baksht will join Westlake Corporation and Westlake Partners LP as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Jon brings experience from the oil and gas, packaging and building product industries as well as investment banking to Westlake, and we look forward to him joining the partnership.
On June 15, Steve Bender will transition to the role of Special Adviser and will continue to report to me as he supports the transition. We anticipate that Steve will participate in the second quarter earnings call in August. And with that, I would like to turn our call over to Steve to provide more detail on the financial and operating results for the quarter. Steve?
Thank you, Jean-Marc, and good afternoon, everyone. In this morning's press release, we reported Westlake Partners' first quarter 2026 net income of $14 million or $0.40 per unit. Consolidated net income, including OpCo's earnings, was $82 million on consolidated net sales of $306 million.
The Partnership had distributable cash flow for the quarter of $18 million or $0.51 per unit. First quarter 2026 net income for Westlake Partners of $14 million was $9 million above the first quarter of 2025 Partnership net income due primarily to higher production and sales volumes as a result of last year's planned turnaround at Petro 1. Distributable cash flow of $18 million for the first quarter of 2026 increased by $13 million when compared to the first quarter of 2025 due to higher production and sales volumes and lower maintenance capital expenditures as a result of last year's Petro 1 planned turnaround.
As compared to the fourth quarter of 2025, net income for Westlake Partners in the first quarter of 2026 declined by less than $1 million due to lower production and sales volumes that was mostly offset by higher third-party average sales price. Sequentially, our trailing 12-month coverage ratio improved to 1x from 0.8x, reflecting the aging out of the impact of the Petro 1 turnaround that occurred in the first quarter of 2025. Additionally, our operating surplus improved by $1 million as we achieved a coverage ratio above 1 in the first quarter.
Turning our attention to the balance sheet and cash flows. At the end of the first quarter, we had consolidated cash and cash investments with Westlake through our investment management agreement totaling $81 million. Long-term debt at the end of the quarter was $400 million, of which $377 million was at the Partnership and the remaining $23 million was at OpCo.
In the first quarter of 2026, OpCo spent $6 million on capital expenditures. We maintained our strong leverage metrics with a consolidated leverage ratio of approximately 1x. On May 4, 2026, we announced a quarterly distribution of $0.4714 per unit with respect to the first quarter of 2026. Since our IPO in 2014, the Partnership has made 47 consecutive quarterly distributions to unitholders. We have grown distributions 71% since the Partnership's original minimum quarterly distribution of $0.275 per unit.
The Partnership's first quarter distribution will be paid on June 1, 2026, to unitholders of record on May 14, 2026. The Partnership's predictable fee-based cash flow continues to prove beneficial in today's environment and is differentiated by consistency of our earnings and cash flows.
Looking back since our IPO in July of 2024 (sic) [ 2014 ], we have maintained a cumulative distribution coverage ratio of approximately 1x and the Partnership's stability in cash flows, we were able to sustain our current distribution without the need to access capital markets. For modeling purposes, we have no planned turnarounds in 2026.
I'd like to turn the call back over to Jean-Marc to make some closing comments. Jean-Marc?
Thank you, Steve. We are pleased with the Partnership's financial and operational performance during the first quarter. Solid operating rate at OpCo's ethylene facilities during the quarter resulted in a quarterly coverage ratio of 1.0x.
Turning to our outlook. The conflict in the Middle East has significantly disrupted the global supply of oil, chemical feedstocks and polymers. Resulting supply concerns are prompting global chemical customers to source more material from North America in response to the conflict, which is supporting higher demand and prices for North American ethylene.
While most of OpCo's ethylene volume is contracted to Westlake at a fixed margin of $0.10 per pound, margin for the approximately 5% of production that OpCo typically sells to third parties is benefiting from higher selling prices as a result of the factors I just discussed.
Turning to our capital structure. We maintain a strong balance sheet with conservative financial and leverage metrics. As we continue to navigate market conditions, we will evaluate opportunities via our 4 levers of growth in the future, including increases of our ownership interest of OpCo, acquisitions of other qualified income streams, organic growth opportunities such as expansions of our current ethylene facilities and negotiation of a higher fixed margin in our ethylene sales agreement with Westlake.
We remain focused on our ability to continue to provide long-term value and distribution to our unitholders. As always, we will continue to focus on safe operations, along with being good stewards of the environment where we work and live as part of our broader sustainability efforts. Thank you very much for listening to our first quarter earnings call. Now I will turn the call back over to Jeff.
Thank you, Jean-Marc. Before we begin taking questions, I would like to remind you that a replay of this teleconference will be available 2 hours after the call has ended. We'll provide instructions to access the replay at the end of the call. Kelly, we will now take questions.
[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from the line of James Altschul of Aviation Advisory Service, Inc.
2. Question Answer
In your prepared remarks, you mentioned that you anticipate or I don't know if you anticipate, you're seeing, I believe, increased margins on the 5% of your sales to third parties as a result of the war and thus the increased interest in sourcing your products from a North American-based supplier. Did we really see the impact of that in the first quarter because the war started at the end of February and the -- I'm not remembering exactly when the price of oil started to jump and the shipping was intercepted. Are we going to see a more significant impact in the second quarter?
Yes, it's a very good question. And I will say that as a result of the run-up in ethylene pricing, we did take the opportunity in the first quarter, in March to actually sell more third-party ethylene volumes than would be normally the case. We typically try to take opportunities to maximize the margin in this business when we see opportunities like this. And we did sell more volume in the first quarter than might be typically done as an example, last year's first quarter.
And it did improve the margins associated with the business as a result of doing so. As we look into the -- I was going to say, as we look into the second quarter, if we see opportunities of this nature and continue to see elevated ethylene, we'll continue to do so.
Okay. But I'm looking at the income statement and it says on the revenue, the figure for third-party sales is a few million less than the comparable quarter last year. But of course, that's sales, not margin.
Yes. And so again, just the impact of only 1 month of activity. I do expect that if the ethylene remains as elevated as it has been recently, you'll see more of a positive impact in the second quarter.
I am showing no questions at this time. I will now turn the call back over to Jeff Holy.
Thank you, Kelly. Thanks, everyone, for participating in today's call. We hope you'll join us for our next conference call to discuss our second quarter 2026 results.
Thank you again for your participation in today's Westlake Chemical Partners First Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. As a reminder, this call will be available for replay beginning 2 hours after the call has ended and may be accessed until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, May 19, 2026. The replay can be accessed via the Partnership's website. Goodbye.
Westlake Chemical Partners LP — Q4 2025 Earnings Call
1. Management Discussion
Good afternoon. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Westlake Chemical Partners Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, this conference is being recorded today, February 24, 2026.
I would now like to turn the call over to today's host, Jeff Holy, Westlake Chemical Partners' Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer. Sir, you may begin.
Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the Westlake Chemical Partners fourth quarter and full year 2025 conference call. I'm joined today by Albert Chao, our Executive Chairman; Jean-Marc Gilson, our President and CEO; Steve Bender, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; and other members of our management team.
During this call, we refer to ourselves as Westlake Partners or the partnership. References to Westlake refer to our parent company, Westlake Corporation; and references to OpCo refer to Westlake Chemical OpCo LP, a subsidiary of Westlake and the partnership which owns certain olefins assets. Additionally, when we refer to distributable cash flow, we are referring to Westlake Chemical Partners' MLP distributable cash flow. Definitions of these terms are available on the Partnership's website.
Today, management is going to discuss certain topics that will contain forward-looking information that is based on management's beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to management. These forward-looking statements suggest predictions or expectations and thus are subject to risks or uncertainties. We encourage you to learn more about the factors that could lead our actual results to differ by reviewing the cautionary statements in our regulatory filings, which are also available on our Investor Relations website.
This morning, Westlake Partners issued a press release with details of our fourth quarter and full year 2025 financial and operating results. This document is available in the Press Release section of our web page at wlkpartners.com. A replay of today's call will be available beginning 2 hours after the conclusion of this call. The replay can be accessed via the Partnership's website. Please note that information reported on this call speaks only as of today, February 24, 2026, and therefore, you are advised that time-sensitive information may no longer be accurate as of the time of any replay. I would finally advise you that this conference call is being broadcast live through an internet-webcast system that can be accessed on our web page at wlkpartners.com.
Now I would like to turn the call over to Jean-Marc Gilson. Jean-Marc?
Thank you, Jeff, and good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us to discuss our fourth quarter and full year 2025 results. In this morning's press release, we reported Westlake Partners' full year 2025 net income of [ $49 million ] or $1.38 per unit. Consolidated net income including OpCo was $299 million for the full year 2025. Westlake Partners' financial results continue to demonstrate the stability generated from our fixed margin Ethylene Sales Agreement for 95% of annual plant production each year, insulating us from market volatility and other production risk.
This structure, combined with our investment-grade sponsor, Westlake, produces predictable earnings and stable cash flows. This was evident in 2025 as we delivered another year of solid results and sustained distributions to our unit holders. The stable fee-based cash flow generated by our fixed margin ethylene sales contract with Westlake forms the foundation for us to deliver long-term value to our unit holders. This quarter's distribution is the 46 consecutive quarterly distribution since our IPO in July of 2014 without any reductions.
I would now like to turn our call over to Steve to provide more detail on the financial and operating results for the quarter and full year. Steve?
Thank you, Jean-Marc, and good afternoon, everyone. In this morning's press release, we reported Westlake Partners' fourth quarter 2025 net income of $15 million or $0.41 per unit, consolidated net income, including OpCo's earnings, was $84 million on consolidated net sales of $323 million. The partnership had distributable cash flow for the quarter of $19 million or $0.53 per unit. Fourth quarter 2025 net income for Westlake Partners of $15 million was in line with the fourth quarter of 2024 partnership net income. Distributable cash flow of $19 million for the fourth quarter of 2025 increased by $4 million compared to the fourth quarter of 2024 distributable cash flow of $15 million due primarily to lower maintenance capital expenditures due to the shift in the timing of these cash flows to earlier in the year.
For the full year of 2025, net income of $49 million or $1.38 per unit decreased by $13 million compared to full year 2024 net income of $62 million. The decrease in net income attributable to the partnership was due to lower production and sales volumes as a result of the planned Petro 1 turnaround. Our full year 2025 MLP distributable cash flow of $53 million decreased by $14 million compared to MLP distributable cash flow of $67 million for the full year of 2024 due to lower net income. Our distribution coverage for the full year of 2025 was 0.8x.
During 2025, OpCo successfully renewed its Ethylene Sales Agreement with Westlake through 2027 with no changes to the contract terms or conditions. We believe that Westlake's decision to renew the Ethylene Sales Agreement under the same terms that have been in place since its origination demonstrates the critical nature of OpCo's supply of ethylene to their operations and their commitment to support OpCo's continued safe, reliable operations through stable, predictable cash flows.
Turning our attention to the balance sheet and cash flows. At the end of the fourth quarter, we had consolidated cash balance and cash investments with Westlake through our investment and management agreement totaling $68 million. Long-term debt at the end of the quarter was $400 million, of which $377 million was at the Partnership, and the remaining $23 million was at OpCo. In 2025, OpCo spent $79 million in capital expenditures. We maintained our strong leverage metrics with a consolidated leverage ratio below 1x.
On January 27, 2026, we announced a quarterly distribution of $0.4714 per unit with respect to the fourth quarter of 2025. Since our IPO in 2014, the Partnership has made 46 consecutive quarterly distributions to our unitholders, and we've grown distributions 71% since the partnership's original minimum quarterly distribution of $0.275 per unit. Partnership's fourth quarter distribution was paid on February 23, 2026 to unitholders of record February 6, 2026. The partner's predictable fee-based cash flow continues to provide beneficial -- benefits to today's economic environment and is differentiated by consistency of our earnings and cash flows.
Looking back since our IPO in July of 2014, we have maintained a cumulative coverage ratio of approximately 1.1x, and with the partnership stability and cash flows, we are able to sustain our current distribution without the need to access the capital markets. For modeling purposes, we have no planned turnarounds in 2026.
Now I'd like to turn the call back over to Jean-Marc to make some closing comments. Jean-Marc?
Thank you, Steve. We are pleased with the Partnership's financial and operational performance during the fourth quarter and the year as a whole. The stability of our business model and associated cash flows demonstrate the benefit that our Ethylene Sales Agreement and its protective provisions provide the Partnership to predictable, long-term earnings and cash flows.
During 2025, we successfully completed the planned turnaround at our Petro 1 ethylene facility in Lake Charles, Louisiana. As expected, our coverage ratio for 2025 dipped below 1x as it typically does during years where we conduct a turnaround. As we look ahead, we expect the absence of any turnarounds in 2026 to result in solid production and sales volume growth that should drive a recovery in our distributable cash flow and coverage ratio back to historical levels.
Turning to our capital structure. We maintain a strong balance sheet with conservative financial and leverage metrics. As we continue to navigate market conditions, we will evaluate opportunities via our 4 levers of growth in the future, including increases of our ownership interest of OpCo; acquisitions of other qualified income streams, organic growth opportunities such as expansions of our current ethylene facilities, and negotiation of a higher fixed margin in our Ethylene ales Agreement with Westlake. We remain focused on our ability to continue to provide long-term value and distributions to our unitholders. As always, we will continue to focus on safe operations, along with being good stewards of the environment where we work and live as part of our broader sustainability efforts. Thank you very much for listening to our fourth quarter and full year 2025 earnings call.
Now I will turn the call back over to Jeff.
Thank you, Jean-Marc. Before we begin taking questions, I'd like to remind you that a replay of this teleconference will be available 2 hours after the call has ended. We will provide instructions to access the replay at the end of this call.
Jill, we'll now take questions.
[Operator Instructions] First question comes from the line of James Altschul with Aviation Advisory Service.
2. Question Answer
I got a couple of questions. First of all, looking at the balance sheet and the cash flow statement, I'm reading them right, it appears that in the past year, you -- in order to pay the distribution, you drew down on the item receivable under the investment management agreement, Westlake. And it looks like you don't have too much in that category left.
First of all, am I reading that right? And second, you did say in your remarks and in the release that you're expecting that the distribution coverage ratio will improve in the new year -- in this year. But is that how you expect to be able to cover the distributions from operations, you won't have to draw down under the receivable anymore?
Yes. And so the investment balance you see there at the beginning of the year of 2025 that was drawn down reflects the cost of the maintenance turnaround. Just to remind you that every month, we invoice Westlake Corporation for planned turnaround expenses and that cash is received and invested in that investment management account. Over the course of the year, we accumulate cash balances in that investment account and then we'll spend those funds to undertake a planned turnaround activity, which occur every 5 to 8 to 9 years, depending on the performance of that particular operating unit.
Because that unit was down for maintenance over the course of a period of 2025, there is no production out of that unit. So therefore, it does have an impact in production and therefore, income generated as a result of that loss of production. But we have the ability to pull on our operating reserves and the operating reserves in the year 2025 were strong enough that we had strong enough balances in that operating reserve to continue to pay distributions. And so when you think about the operating surplus we had at the end of 2025, it was approximately $74 million. So that well covers any current or actually future expected annual distributions by the partnership.
Because in our prepared remarks, we commented we have no planned turnaround in 2026. Therefore, we expect our coverage ratio to rise above 1.1x, which is our target ratio. And because it should rise with no planned turnarounds, it will continue to replenish the operating surplus and build cash in that investment account that we also use to pay distributions to unitholders. So as we look forward, I do expect that operating surplus to build and that investment balance to also build.
In a year when we undertake planned turnarounds, it is very typical that our cash balances will diminish because of the planned maintenance and also the payments of those distributions to unitholders. But given the many years going back to the IPO in 2014, we've seen this play through over many years, and we do expect those operating surplus balances to build as well as cash investments and that operating investment account to build.
Well, that's an excellent answer. And if I may ask one more. In his prepared remarks, the CEO talked about various opportunities for expansion growth, such as increasing the percentage ownership of the OpCo or organic growth. How would you anticipate financing any of these initiatives if you decide to pursue them?
Yes. Should we decide to undertake any of those growth opportunities, we would undertake what we'd characterize as a drop-down where a party would monetize a portion of OpCo interest and contribute that down, and we would finance that with external funding, whether it be debt or equity or some combination. That's how we've undertaken the multiple drop-downs in growth over the course of the years, which represents the ownership today that we've monetized out of OpCo. So should we take any of those actions, that's really how we would finance it through a combination of issuance of new units as well as potential leveraging the balance sheet.
At this time, as I'm seeing no other questions in the queue. The Q&A session has ended. I will now turn the call back over to Jeff Holy.
Thank you again for participating in today's call. We hope you'll join us for our next conference call to discuss our first quarter 2026 results.
Thank you for participating in today's Westlake Chemical Partners fourth quarter and full year 2025 earnings conference call. As a reminder, this call will be available for replay beginning 2 hours after the call has ended, and may be accessed until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, March 3, 2026. The replay can be accessed via the Partnership website. Goodbye.
Westlake Chemical Partners LP — Q3 2025 Earnings Call
1. Management Discussion
Good afternoon, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Westlake Chemical Partners Third Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded today, October 30, 2025.
I would now like to turn the call over to your host, Jeff Holy, Westlake Chemical Partners' Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer. Sir, you may begin.
Thank you, Gerald. Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the Westlake Chemical Partners Third Quarter 2025 Conference Call. I'm joined today by Albert Chao, our Executive Chairman; Jean-Marc Gilson, our President and CEO; Steve Bender, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; and other members of our management team. During this call, we refer to ourselves as Westlake Partners or the Partnership. References to Westlake refer to our parent company, Westlake Corporation, and references to OpCo refer to Westlake Chemical OpCo LP, a subsidiary of Westlake and the Partnership, which owns certain olefins assets.
Additionally, when we refer to distributable cash flow, we are referring to Westlake Chemical Partners' MLP distributable cash flow. Definitions of these terms are available on the Partnership's website.
Today, management is going to discuss certain topics that will contain forward-looking information that is based on management's beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to management. These forward-looking statements suggest predictions or expectations and thus are subject to risks or uncertainties. We encourage you to learn more about the factors that could lead our actual results to differ by reviewing the cautionary statements in our regulatory filings, which are also available on our Investor Relations website.
This morning, Westlake Partners issued a press release with details of our third quarter 2025 financial and operating results. This document is available in the Press Release section of our web page at wlkpartners.com. A replay of today's call will be available beginning 2 hours after the conclusion of this call. The replay can be accessed via the Partnership's website. Please note that information reported on this call speaks only as of today, October 30, 2025, and therefore, you are advised that time-sensitive information may no longer be accurate as of the time of any replay. I would finally advise you that this conference call is being broadcast live through an Internet webcast system that can be accessed on our web page at wlkpartners.com.
Now I would like to turn the call over to Jean-Marc Gilson. Jean-Marc?
Thank you, Jeff. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us to discuss our third quarter 2025 results. In this morning's press release, we reported Westlake Partners' third quarter 2025 net income of $15 million or $0.42 per unit. Compared to the second quarter of 2025, our third quarter sales and earnings benefited from the completion of the planned turnaround at our Petro 1 ethylene unit in Lake Charles, Louisiana during the second quarter.
I would now like to turn our call over to Steve to provide more detail on the financial and operating results for the quarter. Steve?
Thank you, Jean-Marc, and good afternoon, everyone. In this morning's press release, we reported Westlake Partners' third quarter 2025 net income of $15 million or $0.42 per unit. Consolidated net income, including OpCo's earnings was $86 million on consolidated net sales of $309 million. The Partnership had distributable cash flow for the quarter of $15 million or $0.42 per unit.
Third quarter 2025 net income for Westlake Partners of $15 million was lower than the third quarter 2024 Partnership net income, partially due to lower margins on sales of ethylene to third parties. Distributable cash flow of $15 million or $0.42 per unit for the third quarter of 2025 decreased by $3 million compared to the third quarter of 2024 due to higher maintenance capital expenditures as a result of changes in the timing of maintenance activities in 2025 as compared to 2024.
Turning our attention to the balance sheet and cash flows. At the end of the third quarter, we had consolidated cash and cash investments with Westlake through our Investment Management Agreement totaling $51 million. Long-term debt at the end of the quarter was $400 million, of which $377 million was at the Partnership and the remaining $23 million was at OpCo. In the third quarter of 2025, OpCo spent $30 million on capital expenditures. We maintained our strong leverage metrics with a consolidated leverage ratio of approximately 1x.
On October 28, 2025, we announced a quarterly distribution of $0.4714 per unit with respect to the third quarter of 2025. Since our IPO in 2014, the Partnership has made 45 consecutive quarterly distributions to unitholders, and we have grown distributions 71% since the Partnership's original minimum quarterly distribution of $0.275 per unit. Partnership's third quarter distribution will be paid on November 26, 2025, to unitholders of record November 10, 2025. The Partnership's predictable fee-based cash flow continues to prove beneficial in today's economic environment and is differentiated by the consistency of our earnings and cash flows.
Looking back, since the IPO in July of 2014, we've maintained a cumulative distribution coverage ratio of approximately 1.1x. And with the Partners stability in cash flows, we were able to sustain our current distribution without the need to access capital markets at all. For modeling purposes, we have no planned turnarounds for the remainder of 2025 or in 2026.
Now I'd like to turn the call back over to Jean-Marc to make some closing comments. Jean-Marc?
Thank you, Steve. The stability of Westlake Partners business model is consistently demonstrated through our fixed margin ethylene sales agreement, which minimizes market volatility and other production risk. The high degree of stability in cash flow when paired with the predictability of our model has enabled us to deliver a long history of reliable distributions and coverage. As a result of its importance to the stability of our cash flows, I'm pleased that earlier this week, OpCo and Westlake agreed to renew the Ethylene Sales Agreement through the end of 2027 with no changes to the contract terms or conditions.
The renewed Ethylene Sales Agreement maintains the same pricing formula and sales volume protections that have provided the Partnership with a distributable cash flow to make 45 consecutive quarterly distributions to unitholders since its IPO in 2014.
Furthermore, we believe that Westlake's decision to renew the Ethylene Sales Agreement under the same terms that have been in place since its origination demonstrates the critical nature of OpCo's supply of ethylene to their operations and their commitment to support OpCo's continued safe, reliable operations through stable, predictable cash flows.
Turning to our outlook. Global industrial and manufacturing activity remains soft in 2025, which is broadly impacting the global chemical industry. Despite the challenging global macroeconomic backdrop, the Partnership financial performance and distributions will continue to be supported by our Ethylene Sales Agreement which provides a predictable fee-based cash flow structure from our take or pay contract with Westlake for 95% of OpCos production. As has been the case since our IPO over 10 years ago, this Ethylene Sales Agreement has delivered stable and predictable cash flow to economic ups and downs, as well as planned and unplanned turnarounds.
Turning to our capital structure. We maintain a strong balance sheet with conservative financial and leverage metrics. As we continue to navigate market conditions, we will evaluate opportunities via our 4 levers of growth, in the future, including increases of our ownership interest of OpCo, acquisitions of other qualified income streams, organic growth opportunities such as expansion of our current ethylene facilities, and negotiation of a higher fixed margin in our Ethylene Sales Agreement with Westlake.
We remain focused on our ability to continue to provide long-term value and distribution to our unitholders. As always, we will continue to focus on safe operations along with being good stewards of the environment where we work and live as part of our broader sustainability efforts.
Thank you very much for listening to our third quarter earnings call. Now I will turn the call back over to Jeff.
Thank you, Jean-Marc. Before we begin taking questions, I'd like to remind you that a replay of this teleconference will be available 2 hours after the call has ended. We will provide instructions to access the replay at the end of the call. Gerald, we will now take questions.
[Operator Instructions] Our first question will come from James Altschul from Aviation Advisory Services, Inc.
2. Question Answer
I noticed that the distributable cash flow for the quarter was less than the amount of distribution per unit. What is the outlook for getting the distributable cash flow up to a level, again, where the distribution will be covered?
Yes. The entire reason for that was the planned turnaround. And when we have planned turnarounds, it does impact, of course, production and therefore, sales. And so it's not unusual when we have these planned turnaround events for our coverage ratio to dip below the 1.1 target and to have some impact on those -- on that cash flows. But we have an operating surplus that is quite robust, and we'll continue and have continued to pay those distributions out of that operating surplus. And now that we've completed that turnaround successfully and back in full production, that operating surplus should continue to build, and I would fully expect that distribution to continue to be well covered by the cash flows of the business.
Okay. So is it reasonable to assume on a pro forma basis, if we -- you would not have the impact of the turnaround that distributable cash flow would have been in excess of the distribution?
Yes, it would have.
Just give me a second to see if anyone else would like a question. So at this time, I'm showing no further questions. And I'd like to hand it back to Jeff for closing remarks. The floor is yours, Jeff.
Thank you. Thanks again for participating in today's call. We hope you'll join us for our next conference call to discuss our fourth quarter 2025 results.
Thank you for participating in today's Westlake Chemical Partners Third Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call. As a reminder, this call will be available for replay beginning 2 hours after the call has ended and may be accessed until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, November 13, 2025. The replay can be accessed via the Partnership website. Goodbye. This does conclude the program. You may now disconnect.
Westlake Chemical Partners LP — Q3 2025 Earnings Call
Financial data from Westlake Chemical Partners LP
Revenue
Revenue is the sum of all sales generated by a company, e.g. for its products or services.
Revenue (TTM) metric explainedDirect Costs
Direct costs are the costs incurred directly in connection with the manufacture of the product or service.
Gross Profit
Gross Profit indicates how much of the revenue remains in the company after deducting direct production costs. If the percentage share of sales is calculated, this is referred to as the gross margin.
Gross Profit metric explainedSelling and Administrative Expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses (SG&A) include all expenses for marketing and sales as well as the general administration of the company.
Research and Development Expense
Research and development costs (R&D) provide information on how much the company invests in the research and development of its products. The costs are particularly interesting as a percentage of revenue and in comparison to direct competitors.
EBITDA
EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) is the company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. The EBITDA margin is calculated as a percentage of sales.
Depreciation and Amortization
Depreciation represents reductions in the value of the company's assets (e.g. due to wear and tear on machinery).
EBIT (Operating Income)
EBIT (Earnings Before Interest and Taxes) is the company's profit before interest and taxes, also known as the operating income. The EBIT Margin is calculated as a percentage of sales at
.
Net Profit
Net Profit represents the profit or loss after deduction of all costs.
Net Profit metric explainedStocksGuide Premium
| Jun '26 |
+/-
%
|
||
| Revenue | 1,235 1,235 |
12%
12%
100%
|
|
| - Direct Costs | 850 850 |
16%
16%
69%
|
|
| Gross Profit | 385 385 |
5%
5%
31%
|
|
| - Selling and Administrative Expenses | 29 29 |
6%
6%
2%
|
|
| - Research and Development Expense | - - |
-
-
|
|
| EBITDA | 493 493 |
9%
9%
40%
|
|
| - Depreciation and Amortization | 138 138 |
20%
20%
11%
|
|
| EBIT (Operating Income) EBIT | 356 356 |
5%
5%
29%
|
|
| Net Profit | 58 58 |
9%
9%
5%
|
|
In millions USD.
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Westlake Chemical Partners LP Stock News
Company Profile
Westlake Chemical Partners LP engages in the operation, acquisition and development of ethylene production facilities and related assets. It also involves in the manufacture and marketing of basic chemicals, polymers, and fabricated building products. The company was founded on March 14, 2014 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.
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| Head office | United States |
| CEO | Mr. Gilson |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Website | wlkpartners.com |
