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Westminster, Colorado-based Ball Corporation (BALL) supplies aluminum packaging products for the beverage, personal care, and household products industries. With a market cap of $14.3 billion, Ball’s operations span various countries in the Americas, Indo-Pacific, and EMEA.
Companies worth $10 billion or more are generally described as "large-cap stocks," Ball fits right into that category, with its market cap exceeding this threshold, reflecting its substantial size and influence in the packaging & containers industry. It is a key supplier of beverage containers, extruded aluminum aerosol containers, reclosable aluminum bottles, and more.
Despite its notable strengths, Ball stock has tanked 28.9% from its two-year high of $71.32 touched on Apr. 4, 2024. Furthermore, the stock has plunged 9.2% over the past three months, underperforming the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s ($DOWI) 2% dip during the same time frame.
Ball’s performance looks even grimmer over the longer term. Ball has plummeted 23.6% over the past six months and 22.7% over the past 52 weeks, significantly underperforming Dow’s marginal 19 bps dip over the past six months and 5.5% gains over the past year.
To confirm the bearish trend, Ball has traded consistently below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages since late October 2024.
Ball’s stock fell by 6.9% following the release of its disappointing Q4 results on Feb. 4. After accounting for the impact of Ball’s divestitures, the company’s topline declined by 79 bps year-over-year to $2.88 billion, significantly missing Street’s expectations. Despite a reduction in the cost of sales, the company reported a $1 million net loss from continuing operations, a sharp decline from the $102 million earnings recorded in the year-ago quarter.
In four of the past five years, Ball has incurred more than $100 million annually in expenses related to business consolidation and other activities. These costs surged to $420 million in FY 2024, including $249 million in Q4 alone, further eroding profitability. Although these expenses are aimed at enhancing efficiency and profitability, the company has experienced a declining topline for three consecutive years and reduced earnings from continuing operations for the past four years, which has consistently eroded investor wealth.
Meanwhile, Ball has significantly underperformed its peer Crown Holdings, Inc. (CCK) 12.8% gains over the past 52 weeks and a 6.4% dip over the past six months.
Among the 14 analysts covering the BALL stock, the consensus rating is a “Moderate Buy.” Its mean price target of $63.38 suggests a 25% upside potential from current price levels.
