Interfor Corporation (TSX: IFP) will announce its third quarter financial results on November 5, 2026. The forest products company plans to host an analyst conference call the following day to discuss performance.

Conference call details

Management will provide a brief summary of the financial results during the call, followed by a question and answer session with analysts. The event is scheduled for Friday, November 6, 2026, at 8:00 am Pacific Time (10:00 am Eastern Time).

Participants can join via toll-free number or webcast. A recording will be available for playback until December 6, 2026.

Company profile

Interfor operates in Canada and the United States with an annual lumber production capacity of approximately 4.5 billion board feet. The company offers a diverse line of lumber products to global customers. Detailed information regarding the third quarter results will be accessible on the company's investor relations website.

Interfor Corporation reported second-quarter 2026 earnings per share (EPS) of $0.02, missing the analyst consensus estimate of $0.11 by 81.82%. Despite the earnings miss, the company’s revenue performance exceeded expectations, with quarterly sales reaching $804.4 million, beating the consensus estimate of $767.767 million by 4.77%. This represents a 3.06% year-over-year increase from $780.5 million in Q2’25. The divergence between the earnings miss and sales beat highlights margin pressures and one-time factors affecting net income, even as operational fundamentals improved significantly.

The company generated net earnings of $1.0 million, or $0.02 per share, a sharp decline from net earnings of $11.1 million, or $0.22 per share, in the prior year’s second quarter. However, adjusted EBITDA surged 437% year-over-year to $92.3 million, up from $17.2 million in Q2’25. This marks a substantial turnaround from the net loss of $63.3 million incurred in Q1’26. The strong adjusted EBITDA growth underscores the impact of rising lumber prices and successful cost-reduction initiatives across Interfor’s North American operations, even though these gains did not fully translate to bottom-line profitability due to other expenses and charges.

Financial performance was driven by robust pricing power and operational efficiency. Interfor’s average selling price for lumber reached $739 per mfbm, an increase of $73 per mfbm or 11% compared to Q1’26. This price strength was observed across all operating regions, driven by industry-wide production curtailments over recent years combined with seasonal demand. Concurrently, production costs per mfbm decreased versus the preceding quarter, marking the third sequential quarterly decline. Production costs in Q2’26 stood at $41 per mfbm, which is 6% lower than full-year 2025 levels, reflecting meaningful progress in portfolio optimization and productivity initiatives.

Operational volumes expanded during the quarter, with lumber production totaling 927 million board feet, up 71 million board feet from Q1’26. This increase was primarily driven by the ramp-up of the recently rebuilt Thomaston, GA sawmill, which contributed significant positive adjusted EBITDA in Q2’26 after recording a negative contribution during its final construction phase in Q1’26. Higher operating rates at the U.S. Northwest and British Columbia operations further bolstered output following temporary curtailments earlier in the year. Shipments of 941 million board feet exceeded production, leading to a reduction in inventory volume by 14 million board feet.

Trade Dynamics and Tariff Exposure

Interfor addressed ongoing trade complexities affecting Canadian lumber exports to the United States. The anti-dumping (AD) duty rates for administrative reviews covering 2017 to 2019 have been finalized. The U.S. Department of Commerce liquidated AD duties for a specific gap period in the first review, resulting in Interfor receiving US$4.6 million in Q2’26 and an additional US$1.0 million in July 2026.

Looking ahead, the Department of Commerce issued preliminary AD and countervailing (CV) duty rates for the seventh administrative review covering shipments through December 31, 2024. On June 30, 2026, the preliminary CV duty rate was increased by 0.35%, bringing the combined all others rate to 25.18%. Based on this preliminary rate, Interfor expects to record a non-cash incremental expense, inclusive of interest, of approximately US$76.0 million in the second half of 2026. Final rate determinations are expected later in the year.

Recent tariff actions by the U.S. government include Section 338 tariffs of 50% on certain Canadian goods effective August 19, 2026, and Section 301 tariffs of 10% or 12.5% effective July 24, 2026. Interfor clarified that neither the Section 338 nor Section 301 tariffs apply to its products exported to the U.S. Only about 20% of the company’s total lumber production is exported from Canada to the U.S. and exposed to duties, while approximately 65% is produced and sold within the U.S.

What the Numbers Show

The divergence between the top-line growth and bottom-line recovery highlights the leverage Interfor has gained through cost discipline, yet also reveals sensitivity to non-operational items. While sales rose modestly by 3.1% year-over-year to $804.4 million, beating analyst estimates, adjusted EBITDA surged by 437% to $92.3 million. This disproportionate expansion in operating profit was driven not just by the 11% increase in average selling prices, but critically by the 6% reduction in production costs compared to full-year 2025 levels. The completion of the Thomaston sawmill rebuild appears to be a key catalyst, shifting the asset from a cost center in Q1’26 to a significant contributor in Q2’26. However, investors should note the impending US$76.0 million non-cash expense related to updated duty rates, which will weigh on reported earnings in the second half of 2026 despite the current operational strength. The miss on EPS estimates suggests that analysts may have anticipated a faster translation of EBITDA growth into net income, or underestimated the impact of other charges.