Low and stable interest have done little to spark a still‑soft U.S. housing market, as cut prices for raw logs, lumber, OSB and other engineered wood products, along with cost creep in operations saw Weyerhaeuser record a 52 per cent drop in its adjusted EBITDA for the final quater of 2025, with the U.S. forest giant warning of “extremely challenging conditions” as it looks ahead to 2026.
Announced on Friday, Weyerhaeuser reported adjusted EBITDA of US $140m, down from $294m in the last quarter of 2024. Net sales fell to $1.5b, compared with $1.7b a year earlier. Excluding a $141m after-tax benefit tied to a non-cash pension settlement charge, the company posted a net loss of $67m.
“We experienced extremely challenging market conditions in the fourth quarter, particularly in our wood products business,” CEO Devin Stockfish told investors during the call. He said the company continued to face inflationary pressure across its operations and that pricing across key product categories “remained under pressure as housing activity softened and mills adjusted production.”
For the full year, Weyerhaeuser reported net earnings of $324m on $6.9b in net sales, with full year adjusted EBITDA of $1.0b, a 21 per cent decline from 2024.
And whilst structural products were crunched by the housing slowdown, its strong performance in Climate Solutions – which includes carbon markets, forest carbon projects, renewable energy leases and other natural climate solutions – was very positive, with adjusted EBITDA reaching $119m, more than 42 per cent above its 2024 performance. Having comfortably exceeded its $100m EBITDA target for 2025, Weyerhaeuser said it now wants to reach $250m by 2030.
The quarter was also active on the land‑sales front. Weyerhaeuser sold 86,000 acres (about 35,000 hectares) of timberlands in Georgia and Alabama for $216m, and agreed to divest 108,000 acres (around 44,000 hectares) in Virginia for $193m, with that transaction expected to close in the first quarter of 2026. The company also transferred approximately $455m of its U.S. pension liabilities to an insurance carrier.
However, despite the challenges, Weyerhaeuser said it maintains a favourable long‑term outlook for its businesses and believes it is well positioned to benefit as market conditions improve. Shares edged lower in early Friday trading, reflecting investor caution around continued weakness in lumber and OSB markets. Analysts say elevated interest rates, subdued housing starts and ongoing price compression across North American wood products markets continue to weigh on producers, with most expecting a gradual recovery only as monetary conditions ease.
- To learn more about U.S. interest rates and their project for 2026, click here for Freddie Mac’s Primary Market Mortgage Survey published on Friday.
