Tecnoglass trims outlook
Tecnoglass cut its 2026 guidance after new U.S. aluminium duties disrupted shipments and raised costs for exporters, showing tariffs are already affecting suppliers’ forecasts. The company said the tariff changes hit Colombian window exports and pushed down expected EBITDA for the year. (markets.financialcontent.com) (financecolombia.com)
Tecnoglass had just told investors on February 26 that 2026 would be another growth year, then reversed course six weeks later after a new United States tariff hit one of its core products: finished aluminum windows shipped in from Colombia. The company said first-quarter 2026 results were still tracking to plan and demand was still strong, but its full-year adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization outlook fell to $225 million to $245 million. That cut is roughly $50 million at the midpoint, and Tecnoglass tied it directly to a new 10% tariff on certain finished aluminum window imports into the United States. Tecnoglass is unusually exposed to any change in United States trade rules because the United States accounts for about 95% of its revenue, even though its main manufacturing complex sits in Barranquilla, Colombia. The business it sells is not abstract finance. Tecnoglass makes architectural glass plus aluminum and vinyl windows for apartment towers, office buildings, and single-family homes, so a tariff on finished window units lands right on the product leaving its factory. (www.tecnoglass.com/) This tariff story started before April. A February 10, 2025 presidential proclamation imposed aluminum duties, and a March 2025 federal notice said a 25% import duty on certain aluminum articles and derivative aluminum products from all countries would take effect on March 12, 2025. Then on April 2, 2026, the White House said it was strengthening steel, aluminum, and copper tariffs and expanding coverage to more derivative and finished goods, which is the policy shift Tecnoglass says changed its math. What makes the update striking is that Tecnoglass did not say orders were drying up. It said backlog was at a record level, first-quarter performance was in line with expectations, and it still expects strong double-digit revenue growth for 2026. So the problem is margin, not volume. If you sell the same number of windows but each shipment now carries a new border tax, the factory can stay busy while profit shrinks. Tecnoglass says it has already raised prices on orders placed beginning in early May 2026, and it is also trying logistics changes, more automation, and workforce adjustments to claw back some of the lost profit in the second half of the year. That leaves builders and buyers with a lagged effect. A tariff announced in Washington on April 2 showed up in a Colombian exporter’s forecast by April 9, and the higher prices meant to offset it do not start showing up until orders booked in May and later.
