- Goodyear sold the majority of its chemical business for $650 million and will use the proceeds — along with gains from two other business sales — to pay down roughly $2.2B of its more than $7B debt.
- The company’s Goodyear Forward program, which involved the sale of the three companies and cost reductions, is moving into a new phase, a company spokesperson said.
- Chief Financial Officer Christina Zamarro said a new fourth-quarter program will result in company restructuring. The spokesperson said Goodyear doesn’t expect it to impact the Akron workforce.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has sold most of its chemical business — a plan it announced in May — as it advances efforts to restructure its operations.
Goodyear sold the majority of its chemical business to an affiliate of Gemspring Capital Management Oct. 31 for a purchase price of $650 million. After adjustments, Goodyear received about $580 million, according to a news release from the Akron-based tire company.
A research office in Akron and facilities in Houston and Beaumont, Texas, were included in the sale. Goodyear is keeping chemical plants in Niagara Falls, New York, and Bayport, Texas, and retaining the rights to the products that it produces at those locations, the release said.
Goodyear plans to use the proceeds to reduce debt and “fund initiatives in connection with the Goodyear Forward transformation plan,” according to the news release.
Goodyear Forward moving into next phase
When the company first announced the Goodyear Forward plan in 2023, it unveiled several goals for the program to be completed by the end of 2025.
One goal was to achieve more than $2 billion in gross proceeds, including through the pursuit of “strategic alternatives” for its chemical business, the Dunlop brand and the off-the-road tire business. Goodyear sold the three companies for total proceeds of about $2.2 billion, surpassing its original Goodyear Forward gross proceeds plan by about $200 million.
The original Goodyear Forward announcement also outlined cost reductions involving the company’s plants and facility footprints; supply chain; purchasing; selling, administrative and general expenses; and research and development. Cost reductions have included multiple rounds of layoffs since Goodyear Forward took effect.
Goodyear Forward is transitioning into a new version in which the company will continue to find ways to manage costs and grow top-line revenues, a Goodyear spokesperson said via email.
Goodyear Q4 program involves U.S. restructuring
As Goodyear continues to restructure, Chief Financial Officer Christina Zamarro on a Nov. 4 third-quarter 2025 earnings call announced a new U.S. program involving further restructuring. She called it a “new Q4 program.”
The Goodyear spokesperson said the company does not expect the program to affect its workforce in Akron. The spokesperson declined to provide further comment on what the new U.S. program will entail.
Expected annualized tariff costs back down to $300 million
Zamarro said the company has reduced its annualized tariff costs back down to $300 million — the figure the business provided in its first-quarter 2025 earnings call before increasing it to $350 million by the time of its second-quarter 2025 earnings call.
“We are well-positioned for growth as the broader economy strengthens in 2026, pre-buy channel inventory tied to tariffs is depleted and the implementation of tariffs in the U.S., and potentially in Europe, begins to reshape market dynamics in our favor,” Zamarro said.
Goodyear President and CEO Mark Stewart previously said the tire maker’s large U.S. footprint compared to its competitors’ allows the company to better respond to tariffs than other tire makers. Goodyear has also been lobbying around the issue in Washington, he said on the Nov. 4 earnings call.
Stewart said on the call, “… we’ve got really strong working relationships with the right folks in D.C. … that can help us on the right implementation of the tariffs.”
What finances, other developments did Goodyear report?
In October, Goodyear announced three new all-terrain tire lines for light truck, SUV and off-road applications, Stewart said. They include the Goodyear Wrangler Outbound AT, Goodyear Wrangler Workhorse AT2 and Wrangler ElectricDrive AT.
“We’ve also revitalized our famous Goodyear Eagle F1 lines with our new all-season tire for the high-performance segment, as well,” he said.
In Goodyear Auto Service stores, Stewart said, “… we are upgrading the store and the customer experience through multiple enhancements, including the addition of more products, more financing options and a complete refresh of the environment in select locations around the country.”
For the third quarter, Goodyear reported adjusted net income of $82 million, down $20 million from the third quarter of 2024.
Goodyear reported third-quarter adjusted earnings per share of 28 cents, down 12 cents from the third quarter of 2024 but outperforming the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 15 cents.
The company reported a $2.2 billion net loss for the third quarter, factoring in a non-cash deferred tax asset valuation allowance, a non-cash goodwill impairment charge, rationalization charges and Goodyear Forward costs.
The tire company announced it will pay down its debt balance with the roughly $2.2 billion in total proceeds from the sale of the chemical, Dunlop and and off-the-road businesses.
Goodyear’s total debt as of Sept. 30 was $7.49 billion, and its net debt as of that date was $6.68 billion.
Third-quarter financial results marked the seventh consecutive quarter that Goodyear gained market share in consumer original equipment products in the United States and the company’s EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) business, Stewart said.
Goodyear stock closed at $7.43 on Nov. 4, up 54 cents (7.84%).
Patrick Williams covers growth and development for the Akron Beacon Journal. He can be reached by email at pwilliams@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @pwilliamsOH. Sign up for the Beacon Journal’s business and consumer newsletter, “What’s The Deal?“