Shares of Tronox (TROX), a leading producer of titanium dioxide, are set to open sharply lower in pre-market trading on Thursday, plummeting 5.96% following the release of disappointing third-quarter 2025 financial results. The company's earnings fell significantly short of analyst expectations, reflecting ongoing challenges in the market.

Tronox reported a net loss of $99 million for the third quarter, with revenue coming in at $699 million, missing the analyst consensus estimate of $768.8 million by a wide margin. The adjusted earnings per share (EPS) showed a loss of $0.46, considerably worse than the expected loss of $0.14 per share. The company's adjusted EBITDA also disappointed, reaching only $74 million compared to the expected $93.4 million, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 10.6%.

CEO John Romano attributed the weak performance to "weaker than expected demand and aggressive inventory liquidation by competitors." These factors have significantly impacted Tronox's sales volumes and pricing power in the titanium dioxide market. The company's titanium dioxide sales reached $550 million, down 6% quarter-over-quarter and 11% year-over-year. Despite these headwinds, Tronox remains focused on its cost improvement program, which aims to achieve $60 million in savings by the end of 2025, and anticipates positive free cash flow in Q4 2025 and throughout 2026. However, the company expects fourth-quarter revenue and adjusted EBITDA to remain relatively flat compared to the third quarter, suggesting that the challenging market conditions may persist in the near term.