Alpha Metallurgical's preliminary third-quarter loss widens to $9.3 million as costs climb

Alpha Metallurgical Resources (NYSE: AMR) said Friday it expects to report a net loss of $9.3 million, or $0.73 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2026, wider than the $5.5 million loss it recorded a year earlier but narrower than the $12.3 million loss reported for the second quarter. Preliminary Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure, is expected to be $29.4 million, down 29.5% from $41.7 million in the third quarter of 2025, while non-GAAP cost of coal sales climbed 9.93% to $106.93 per ton. The Bristol, Tennessee-based met coal producer will publish definitive results on November 6.

The exhibit Alpha filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday is a preliminary release, not a full quarterly report. It carries a four-line summary table, a pricing breakdown by mechanism, a cost table and the Adjusted EBITDA reconciliation, but no complete income statement, no cash flow statement and no balance sheet beyond debt and liquidity. Alpha's own caveat is blunt: "The financial results presented in this release are preliminary and may change." Definitive third-quarter figures are scheduled for release before the market opens on November 6, with a conference call at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time that day.

Price gains arrive more slowly than cost increases

Tons sold rose to 3.9 million tons from 3.5 million tons in the second quarter, and met segment coal revenues, which include freight and handling, reached $560.6 million. Stripping out freight, non-GAAP coal revenues were $474.1 million, up 7.07% from $442.8 million a year earlier and 12.53% from $421.3 million in the second quarter. Realization did improve: $121.09 per ton against $114.94 in the third quarter of 2025, a 5.35% gain, and 2.0% above the second quarter's $118.71.

Costs moved faster. Non-GAAP cost of coal sales averaged $106.93 per ton, up 9.93% from $97.27 a year earlier and 3.75% from $103.07 in the prior quarter. That gap is the quarter in one line: non-GAAP coal margin was $14.16 per ton, and on a GAAP basis it was $2.45 per ton. On the pricing table the company published, domestic sales realized $136.17 per ton on 27% of met tons, below the $150.46 per ton on the 22% sold as "Export - Australian indexed" and above the $107.03 per ton on the 51% that moved through "Export - other pricing mechanisms".

Liquidity absorbs a quarter of very small buybacks

Total liquidity was $443.4 million at September 30, down 22.01% from $568.5 million a year earlier, built from $334.1 million of cash and $184.3 million of unused availability under the asset-based revolver, less a $75.0 million minimum liquidity requirement. Alpha carried no revolver borrowings, had $40.7 million of letters of credit outstanding and reported $10.6 million of total long-term debt including the current portion.

The share repurchase program all but stalled: Alpha spent about $3.0 million on roughly 18,000 shares in the third quarter, against 7.1 million shares bought for about $1.2 billion since the $1.5 billion authorization. Shares outstanding were 12,667,855 at quarter end.

The August cost range still frames the fourth quarter

Friday's release contains no update to the 2026 ranges published with second-quarter results: met segment shipments of 14.2 million to 15.4 million tons and met segment cost of coal sales of $103.00 to $107.00 per ton. Third-quarter cost of $106.93 per ton sits near the top of that band, and nine-month shipments of 11.0 million tons leave the full-year range in reach only if fourth-quarter volumes hold near the third quarter's pace.

What the November 6 filing must resolve

Three things the preliminary exhibit cannot answer: whether the figures survive closing adjustments, what the quarter's cash flow and capital spending were, and how much of the cost pressure is structural rather than timing. Andy Eidson, the chief executive, framed the quarter around volume and cost, saying "our preliminary third quarter results reflect stronger volumes than in the first half but continued cost pressure" and adding that the company would provide more information about its results and outlook for 2027 when it announces the definitive figures. Until then these are management's internal calculations rather than complete statements, and Alpha warns that any changes "could be material."