Rayonier tops Q3 profit estimates on added timber volume

Rayonier (RYN) said Nov. 4 that its third-quarter pro forma earnings were 13 cents per diluted share, above the 11 cents consensus estimate, on pro forma sales of $420.60 million. Consolidated results include PotlatchDeltic's operations for the entire quarter, the company said in its press release.

Rayonier is a real estate investment trust with more than four million acres of timberland in the U.S. South and U.S. Northwest.

Here's how the company did:

• Pro forma earnings: 13 cents per diluted share vs. 11 cents expected
• Net income attributable to Rayonier: $123.3 million, or 41 cents per diluted share, vs. $43.2 million, or 28 cents, a year earlier
• Pro forma sales: $420.60 million vs. $414.25 million expected
• Sales: $565.6 million vs. $177.5 million a year earlier
• Adjusted EBITDA: $144.6 million vs. $114.3 million a year earlier

Net income included a $90.6 million after-tax gain from a Large Disposition in Washington. The company excludes that gain and $6.9 million of after-tax merger costs from its pro forma figures.

Net income swung from a loss of $12.4 million in the first quarter of 2026 to a profit of $19.1 million in the second quarter, according to its SEC filings.

Segment results

Southern Timber Adjusted EBITDA rose 23% from the prior-year quarter to $52.4 million, driven mainly by about 1.4 million tons of harvest volume from the legacy PotlatchDeltic timberlands.

Northwest Timber Adjusted EBITDA was $32.3 million, roughly five times the prior-year quarter, on 368,000 tons of incremental harvest volume from PotlatchDeltic and higher sawlog prices in Idaho.

Wood Products Adjusted EBITDA totaled $27.0 million. Real Estate Adjusted EBITDA was $48.5 million, down from $73.8 million a year earlier, and above the high end of the company's prior quarterly guidance.

CEO Mark McHugh said, “Our team continued to execute well amid a challenging market environment, while also making meaningful progress on integration initiatives that position us to create long-term value for our shareholders.”

Fourth-quarter outlook

The company expects Real Estate Adjusted EBITDA of $60 million to $70 million in the fourth quarter, based on its current transaction pipeline and sales closed quarter to date.

For 2026, the company expects Southern Timber harvest volumes of 12.2 million to 12.4 million tons and Northwest Timber harvest volumes of 2.0 million to 2.1 million tons. These figures are consistent with the initial 2026 guidance it gave in February.

Capital returns

The company closed its previously announced timberland transactions with RMS. They comprised a $145 million Large Disposition of about 36,000 acres in Washington and a $146 million acquisition of about 57,000 acres in Texas and Alabama.

Rayonier repurchased $59.8 million of shares in the quarter at an average price of $21.00 per share, bringing repurchases for the first nine months of 2026 to $163 million. Its board approved a new $300 million share repurchase authorization on Nov. 3, incremental to the $66.2 million remaining under its 2024 program.

As of Sept. 30, the company had $1.86 billion of debt outstanding and $361.4 million of cash.