Loss-making GrafTech shifts volumes to US amid global price pressure

GrafTech reported higher shipments and sales in the third quarter, but continued to lose money. It attributed the continued losses to persistent pricing pressure and global trade uncertainty.

The Brooklyn Heights, Ohio-based graphite electrode producer grew Q3’25 sales volumes by 9% year over year (y/y) to 28,800 metric tons. Net sales reached $144 million, up 10% from a year earlier. Still, GrafTech posted a narrower net loss of $28.5 million in Q3’25 vs. the loss of $36.1 million in Q3’24.

Q3’25 production totaled 26,600 mt with a capacity utilization rate of ~63%.

CEO Timothy Flanagan said the company’s team “delivered solid sales volume growth, particularly in the United States, and meaningful reductions in our production costs.”

The company framed recent results around trade policy and shifting steel dynamics. Management said they are actively moving volume into the US to capture better pricing and to blunt tariff risk. This was reflected with a 53% y/y surge in GrafTech’s Q3’25 US shipments.

The company’s weighted-average realized price in the quarter was roughly $4,200/mt, down ~7% from a year earlier, even as higher shipment volumes bolstered sales. It blamed the price drop on the expiration of long-term legacy contracts and “persistent competitive pressures across all of our principal commercial regions.”

GrafTech continues to characterize the current pricing environment as “unsustainably low.”

“As we look ahead to 2026, we are encouraged to see signs of improving steel industry trends in our key regions,” said Flanagan. “Specifically, in the United States, the landscape for the steel industry remains supportive and steel output is expected to increase further in the coming year.”

He added, “In Europe, where the steel industry has been more challenged, we anticipate the recently announced trade policy measures will support a path to recovery.”

The company now expects full-year 2025 sales volume to grow 8-10% y/y, a slight change from its previous guidance of 10%. This “reflects our disciplined approach of foregoing volume opportunities where margins are unacceptably low,” the company said.

Tariff impact

“Regarding the impact of tariffs,” Graftech stated, “We believe we are well-positioned to minimize the potential impacts imposed by current trade policies, reflecting our integrated and global production network that provides us manufacturing flexibility, along with proactive measures we have taken across our supply chain.”

Output at its facility in Monterrey, Mexico, remains valuable for USMCA/tariff positioning, the company noted.