BOISE, Idaho (News release) -- Boise Cascade Company reported net income of $21.8 million, or $0.58 per share, on sales of $1.7 billion for the third quarter ended September 30, 2025, compared with net income of $91.0 million, or $2.33 per share, on sales of $1.7 billion for the third quarter ended September 30, 2024.

"In the face of subdued demand and commodity pricing headwinds, we were able to post good earnings for the third quarter of 2025," said Nate Jorgensen, CEO. "We have great clarity on our business model, and the strength of our financial position and unwavering commitment to our core values enable Boise Cascade to remain focused on the execution of our strategic priorities. As we move through 2025 and into 2026, our two-step distribution model, in tandem with our market leading EWP and plywood franchises, will continue to deliver exceptional value to both our customers and vendor partners, providing reliable access to products, responsive service, and operational flexibility that are vital in dynamic markets."

Third Quarter 2025 Highlights

September 2025 U.S. housing starts, as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau, have yet to be published. However, when comparing July 2025 and August 2025 housing starts to the same periods in 2024, total U.S. housing starts increased 2%, while single-family housing starts decreased 3%. On a year-to-date basis through August 2025, total U.S. housing starts increased 1%, while single-family housing starts decreased 5%, compared to the same period in 2024. Single-family housing starts are the key demand driver for our sales.

Wood Products

Wood Products' sales, including sales to Building Materials Distribution (BMD), decreased $57.5 million, or 13%, to $396.4 million for the three months ended September 30, 2025, from $453.9 million for the three months ended September 30, 2024. The decrease in sales was driven by lower sales prices and sales volumes for LVL and I-joists (collectively referred to as EWP), as well as lower plywood sales prices and sales volumes.

For the three months ended September 30, 2025, Wood Products' segment loss was $12.1 million compared to segment income of $53.9 million for the three months ended September 30, 2024. The decrease in segment income was due to lower EWP and plywood sales prices and sales volumes, as well as higher per-unit conversion costs.

Comparative average net selling prices and sales volume changes for EWP and plywood are as follows:

Building Materials Distribution

BMD's sales decreased $11.3 million, or 1%, to $1,556.2 million for the three months ended September 30, 2025, from $1,567.5 million for the three months ended September 30, 2024. Compared with the same quarter in the prior year, the decrease in sales was driven by a sales price decrease of 1%, as sales volumes were flat. By product line, commodity sales decreased 3%, general line product sales increased 6%, and EWP sales (substantially all of which are sourced through our Wood Products segment) decreased 11%.

BMD segment income decreased $20.5 million to $54.3 million for the three months ended September 30, 2025, from $74.8 million for the three months ended September 30, 2024. The decrease in segment income was driven by a gross margin decrease of $10.6 million, resulting primarily from decreased margins on commodity and EWP products, offset partially by increased margins on general line products. In addition, selling and distribution expenses and depreciation and amortization expense increased $7.8 million and $2.6 million, respectively.

Balance Sheet and Liquidity

Boise Cascade ended third quarter 2025 with $511.8 million of cash and cash equivalents and $395.2 million of undrawn committed bank line availability, for total available liquidity of $907.0 million. The Company had $450.0 million of outstanding debt at September 30, 2025.

Capital Allocation

We expect capital expenditures in 2025, excluding potential acquisition spending, to total approximately $230 million to $250 million. In addition, we expect capital expenditures in 2026, excluding potential acquisition spending, to total approximately $150 million to $170 million. These levels of capital expenditures could increase or decrease as a result of several factors, including efforts to further accelerate organic growth, exercise of lease purchase options, our financial results, future economic conditions, availability of engineering and construction resources, and timing and availability of equipment purchases.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2025, the Company paid $26.6 million in common stock dividends. On October 30, 2025, our board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share on our common stock, payable on December 17, 2025, to stockholders of record on December 1, 2025.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2025, the Company paid $111.0 million for the repurchase of 1,128,752 shares of our common stock. In October 2025, the Company repurchased an additional 120,000 shares of our common stock at a cost of approximately $9 million. On October 30, 2025, our board of directors authorized the repurchase of up to $300.0 million of our outstanding common stock. This authorization replaced the prior repurchase authorization.

Outlook

Demand for the products we manufacture, as well as the products we purchase and distribute, is closely tied to new residential construction, residential repair-and-remodeling activity, and light commercial construction. Residential construction, particularly new single-family construction, remains a key driver of demand for the products we manufacture and distribute. During 2025, the housing market has been shaped by policy uncertainty, low consumer confidence, elevated interest rates, and affordability challenges for prospective homebuyers. Early industry projections for 2026 are consistent with 2025 housing start levels. Demand expectations are characterized by a cautious market in the first half of the year, with gradual improvement expected later in the year. This improvement is expected to be driven by the continuation of interest rate cuts and normalized homebuilder inventory levels. Near term demand will continue to be influenced by factors such as mortgage rates, home affordability, home equity levels, home sizes, new and existing home inventory levels, unemployment rates, and consumer confidence. However, long-term demand drivers for residential construction, including generational tailwinds and an undersupply of housing units, remain strong, while elevated levels of homeowner equity and an aging U.S. housing stock support robust repair-and-remodel spending and reinforce the industry's solid fundamentals.

As a manufacturer of plywood, a commodity product, we remain subject to fluctuations in product pricing and input costs. Our distribution business, which purchases and resells a diverse range of products, experiences opportunities for increased sales and margins during periods of rising prices, while periods of declining prices may present challenges. Future product pricing, particularly for commodity products, is expected to remain dynamic, influenced by economic conditions, industry operating rates, supply disruptions, duties, tariffs, transportation constraints, inventory levels, and seasonal demand patterns. With seasonally slower activity expected in the fourth quarter, we anticipate taking capital project and maintenance-related downtime at certain of our manufacturing facilities, and may also take periodic market-related downtime across our manufacturing system in order to align production rates and inventory stocking positions with end market demand signals.