Cabot Corporation entered into an Underwriting Agreement with Citigroup, J.P. Morgan, PNC and U.S. Bancorp for the issuance and sale of $350 million aggregate principal amount of 4.950% notes due 2029. The notes will be issued under an indenture with U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association as trustee and are registered under an automatically effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3ASR filed on December 15, 2023. Cabot expects to complete the issuance and sale of the notes on or about August 21, 2026, subject to customary closing conditions. Estimated offering expenses other than underwriting discounts and commissions total $1,080,000, including a $48,332 SEC registration fee and $586,250 of rating agency fees.
American Century ETF Trust and affiliated entities reported beneficial ownership of Cabot Corporation common stock. American Century ETF Trust holds 2,640,178 shares, representing 5.1% of the outstanding common stock, with sole voting and sole dispositive power over these shares.
American Century Investment Management, Inc., American Century Companies, Inc., and the Stowers Institute for Medical Research each report beneficial ownership of 2,768,176 Cabot shares, or 5.4% of the class, also with sole voting and sole dispositive power and no shared power. Various investment companies and institutional accounts advised by American Century Investment Management have rights to dividends and sale proceeds, but no single client advised by it owns more than 5% of the Cabot common stock.
Cabot Corporation common stock is the subject of an updated ownership report by Wellington Management Group LLP and related entities. The Wellington entities report beneficial ownership of 2,416,471 shares of Cabot common stock, representing 4.68% of the class. They report shared voting power over 1,870,169 shares and shared dispositive power over 2,416,471 shares, with no sole voting or dispositive power. The shares are owned of record by clients of Wellington-affiliated investment advisers, who have rights to dividends and sale proceeds, and no single client is reported to hold more than five percent of the class.
Cabot Corporation is issuing a new series of senior unsecured notes under its automatic shelf registration. Key economic terms such as coupon, size and maturity will be set later, but the notes will rank equally with Cabot’s existing senior unsecured debt, including its 4.00% 2029 and 5.00% 2032 notes, and will be effectively subordinated to secured debt and all liabilities of subsidiaries.
Cabot plans to use the net proceeds primarily to repay its $250 million 3.40% senior notes due 2026 at maturity, with any remainder applied to working capital and other general corporate purposes, potentially including repayment of commercial paper and borrowings under its multicurrency revolving credit facility. As of June 30 2026, Cabot had $1,273 million of total debt and its subsidiaries had about $187 million of external debt.
The notes feature a make-whole optional redemption before a par call date, and a 101% repurchase right upon a defined Change of Control Triggering Event tied to both a change of control and ratings falling below investment grade. The indenture permits substantial additional indebtedness and offers limited protective covenants, and there is currently no established trading market for the notes. Cabot discloses interest-rate risk on variable borrowings and extensive risk factors, including leverage, structural subordination and potential difficulty funding any change-of-control repurchase.
CABOT CORP President and CEO Sean D. Keohane exercised an employee stock option for 91,923 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $62.24 per share on August 7, 2026. The same day, he sold 91,923 common shares at a weighted average price of $86.4053 per share in multiple transactions at prices ranging from $85.970 to $86.815. The option, which covered 91,923 shares and vested between 2018 and 2020, now has 0 options remaining. Keohane continues to hold 14,263.7411 shares of common stock indirectly through the trustee for the corporation's 401(k) plan.
Cabot Corporation reported weaker profitability for the quarter and nine months ended June 30, 2026. Net sales were $982 million for the quarter and $2,735 million year-to-date, compared with $923 million and $2,814 million a year earlier. Quarterly net income attributable to Cabot fell to $6 million, or $0.12 per diluted share, from $101 million, or $1.86, while nine-month net income declined to $147 million, or $2.77 per diluted share, from $288 million, or $5.22.
Results reflect significant non‑recurring items, including $57 million of restructuring charges, a $29 million U.K. pension settlement loss and a $4 million environmental accrual, as well as a much higher effective tax rate of 79% for the quarter. Operating cash flow was $278 million versus $446 million in the prior-year period, after $152 million of capital spending and a $66 million cash outlay to acquire Mexico Carbon Manufacturing, S.A. de C.V. Total assets were $3,975 million, with short-term borrowings of $184 million, current portion of long-term debt of $261 million, long-term debt of $828 million and stockholders’ equity of $1,734 million as of June 30, 2026.
Cabot Corporation reported third quarter fiscal 2026 net sales of $982 million, up from $923 million a year earlier. Net income attributable to Cabot fell to $6 million, or diluted EPS of $0.12 versus $1.86, as $78 million of pre‑tax “certain items,” mainly $42 million of restructuring and $30 million of employee benefit plan settlement charges, significantly reduced GAAP earnings. Adjusted EPS was $1.67, compared with $1.90 a year ago, and increased 4% sequentially.
Reinforcement Materials segment EBIT was $97 million, down 24% year over year despite a 5% volume increase, while Performance Chemicals EBIT rose 19% to $68 million on higher volumes and improved mix, including growth in battery materials. Cabot generated $75 million of operating cash flow and ended the quarter with $250 million of cash, $1.3 billion of available liquidity and a net debt to EBITDA ratio of 1.4 times. Tax expense was $46 million, an effective rate of 79%, including $19 million of discrete tax expense tied to ceasing carbon black production in Campana, Argentina. Management reaffirmed its expectation of approximately $40 million of fiscal 2026 EBITDA from battery materials and tightened full‑year Adjusted EPS guidance to $6.15–$6.45 per share. A planned leadership transition will see Erica McLaughlin become President and CEO effective October 1, 2026.
Cabot Corporation announced a planned leadership transition. Sean D. Keohane will retire as President and Chief Executive Officer and resign from the Board and its Executive Committee effective September 30, 2026, then remain a non-executive employee in an advisory role through December 31, 2026 to support the transition.
The Board has elected Erica McLaughlin, currently Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Head of Corporate Strategy, to become President and CEO and a director effective October 1, 2026, serving in the board class whose term expires at the 2029 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. She will resign as Executive Vice President on September 30, 2026, and the company has begun a search for a new CFO.
In her new role, McLaughlin’s base salary will increase to $910,000 per year from October 1, 2026, and her target award under the 2018 Short Term Incentive Compensation Plan for performance periods beginning in fiscal 2027 will be 120% of base salary. Under a transition agreement, Keohane will continue to receive his existing salary and benefits until retirement, have outstanding equity awards treated under retirement vesting provisions, and receive financial planning benefits for 24 months after retirement, subject to his release of claims and non-competition and non-solicitation commitments.
Nathoo Raffiq reported acquisition or exercise transactions in this Form 4 filing.
Cabot Corp director Raffiq Nathoo received a grant of phantom stock units as compensation. On this Form 4, he was granted 261.5064 phantom stock units tied to Cabot common stock at a reference price of $90.82 per unit. Following the award, his reported balance is 1,877.9167 phantom stock units.
The phantom stock units track Cabot’s common stock on a 1-for-1 basis and are cash-settled rather than delivering actual shares. They will be paid out in cash either when Nathoo’s service as a director ends or according to his prior distribution election, whichever happens first.