Indianapolis-based oil products company Calumet (NASDAQ: CLMT) took investors on a roller-coaster ride after earnings Friday, rising as much as 13% only to fall 6% and then come (almost) back to breakeven again.
Calumet stock was still down 2.5% at 2:20 p.m. ET.
Why all the commotion at Calumet? Obviously, it was because of the earnings released today.
Reporting Q3 2025 results, Calumet said sales declined 2%, to $1.1 billion, but earnings flipped from a year-ago Q3 loss to a big Q3 profit this time around. Q3 profits for 2025 were $3.61 per share, versus $1.18 in losses in Q3 2024, helped by “companywide cost reduction initiatives” that are on track to save $80 million in costs annually.
On the other hand, Calumet also announced today that, because of past “misclassification of certain amounts in the statement of cash flows between cash flows from operating activities and cash flows from financing activities,” the company will need to restate its Q2 financials. Management noted the restatement will have no impact on the revenue or profits it reports and will in fact increase operating cash flow by about $80 million — resulting in even better free cash flow (FCF) for the company.
To me, this sounds like a positive development, potentially erasing Calumet’s current $75 million FCF deficit and turning the company FCF-positive. Other investors may feel sufficiently uncertain that they will want to see the restated results, however, before deciding Calumet stock is safe to invest in.
If that’s their decision, I can hardly fault it. Despite the positive Q3 earnings surprise, Calumet’s still unprofitable over the last 12 months. It’s hard to recommend buying the stock until they get that fixed.
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