Sherwin-Williams delivered another strong quarterly earnings report this week, offering more evidence that demand for painting and coatings remains healthy across much of the market.

The company reported second-quarter sales of $6.79 billion, up 7.5% from a year ago, while net income climbed to $843.6 million. The results were driven by higher sales across all three of the company’s business segments, despite continued increases in raw material and labor costs.

For painting contractors, perhaps the most encouraging numbers came from the company’s Paint Stores Group, which includes many of the products sold through Sherwin-Williams retail locations. Sales in that segment rose 5.1%, while same-store sales increased 4.2%.

The company also shared more details about an upcoming price increase. Executives said an 8% price increase for the Paint Stores Group will take effect September 1, citing ongoing inflation in raw materials and other operating costs.

Based on the strong first half of the year, Sherwin-Williams raised its outlook for 2026 and now expects consolidated sales to grow at a mid- to high-single-digit rate for the full year.

PPG also delivered a generally positive second quarter, pointing to continued strength in several key coatings markets. The company reported adjusted earnings of $2.23 per share, with growth driven by solid demand for its aerospace and architectural coatings businesses.

While the results came in just below Wall Street expectations, PPG reaffirmed its full-year 2026 earnings guidance, signaling confidence that demand will remain steady through the rest of the year.

Together with Sherwin-Williams’ strong results, the earnings reports suggest that many segments of the coatings industry continue to perform well despite ongoing cost pressures and broader economic uncertainty.

Both PPG and Sherwin-Williams pointed to data centers as a strong growth driver, a trend we highlighted in this May blog post.

Analysts also asked about Sherwin-Williams withdrawing its bid for Azko-Nobel, which we discussed here. CEO Heidi Petz answered that “we are not desperate for those assets” and stressed disciplined financial allocation.