How does the 12% net earnings margin compare to Owens Corning's historical performance and peer averages?

Short answer:

Based solely on the press‑release excerpt you’ve provided, we only know that Owens Corning’s net‑earnings margin for Q2 2025 (continuing operations) was 12 %. The release does not contain any historical‐margin figures for Owens Corning nor does it include comparable figures for its peer group. Consequently, we cannot calculate a precise “how‑does‑it‑compare” answer without pulling in additional data sources.

What the news tells us

The 12 % net‑earnings margin is presented as a positive result, especially when paired with a 26 % adjusted‑EBITDA margin and double‑digit sales growth. In typical building‑products and construction‑materials industries, a net‑margin in the low‑teens is generally considered “solid,” but the significance of 12 % depends on:

1. Owens Corning’s own historical trends (e.g., where the margin was in 2023, 2022, etc.).
   
2. Peer‑group performance (e.g., other major insulation‑ or building‑products manufacturers such as Saint‑Gobain, Johns Manville, PPG, etc.)—typically these peers range from 8 %‑14 % net margins, but the exact range varies by company and cycle.

How to assess the 12 % figure in context

Below is a step‑by‑step framework you can use to gauge how the 12 % margin stacks up against Owens Corning’s own history and against peers:

What the resulting analysis might look like (illustrative):

If the numbers above were true, Owens Corning would be *~3‑4 percentage points above** the peer average, indicating a strong relative position.*

Why the 12 % figure matters (without historical data)

Even without historical benchmarks, you can infer the significance of the 12 % margin by looking at a few key signals:

How to get the exact historical and peer‑average numbers

1. Company filings:

   • Form 10‑K (annual) and Form 10‑Q (quarterly) for Owens Corning’s net‑income‑to‑sales ratio, broken out by “continuing operations.”
     
   • Look at the “Management Discussion & Analysis (MD&A)” for commentary on margin trends.
     

2. Analyst coverage:

   • Equity analysts (e.g., JPMorgan, BofA, UBS) often publish “margin analysis” in their earnings‑call notes. They may also provide a peer‑group matrix that includes net‑margin averages.
     

3. Industry data services:

   • S&P Capital IQ, FactSet, Bloomberg, or Morningstar provide “peer group” financial ratios that are already standardized to a common fiscal calendar.
     

4. Third‑party research:

   • S&P Global Market Intelligence or Moody’s Investors Service often include a “peer‑group performance” table in their company/industry outlook reports, which will list net‑margin, EBIT, and EBITDA margins for a defined peer set.
     

Bottom‑line answer (as of the information you supplied)

• 12 % net‑earnings margin is reported for Q2 2025 (continuing operations).
  
• No historical margin figures nor peer‑average figures are provided in the press release, so a direct numeric comparison is not possible without additional data.
  
• Indicatively, a 12 % margin is generally strong for the building‑products sector, which typically sees margins in the 8‑14 % range. If Owens Corning’s prior net‑margin has been nearer the lower end of that range, the current 12 % could represent an improvement; if it has historically hovered around 12 % already, it would signal consistent performance.
  

Recommendation: Pull Owens Corning’s last 3‑5 years of net‑margin data and compile a peer‑group set (Saint‑Gobain, Johns Manville, PPG, etc.) to calculate a concrete peer‑average. This will give you a precise comparison and help assess whether the 12 % margin represents a relative advantage, a maintenance of historical performance, or an outlier in either direction.