DPC Holdings' Post-IPO Blowout: Hafnium Pass-Through and a Pipeline of Strategic Partnerships

Newly listed precision caster delivers record revenue and EBITDA, guided to $1B+ sales, and signs a fourth OEM partnership to underpin a greenfield superalloy plant.

DPC · Earnings Call · 2026-08-11

A Stellar Debut

DPC Holdings, the newly listed precision caster formerly known as Doncasters, stormed out of the gates with record second-quarter results that surpassed internal expectations. Revenue jumped 34% to $269 million, while adjusted EBITDA grew 33% to $48 million, as the company initiated full-year guidance of $1.0–1.04 billion in revenue and $182–187 million in EBITDA. As CEO Mike Quinn put it, “We are initiating guidance for the 2026 full year. We are on track to deliver significant long-term value creation.” — Michael Quinn, Chief Executive Officer · 2026-08-11

The Engine Behind the Growth: Strategic Partnerships

What sets DPC apart is its customer partnerships model. The company has now signed four long-term agreements with aerospace and IGT OEMs that provide dedicated capacity in exchange for committed volumes and accretive margins. The latest, a fourth partnership with a large aerospace OEM, underpins a new greenfield superalloy facility in Alabama. The CFO, David Egan, noted, “We estimate these 4 partnerships represent in excess of $200 million of annual revenue with full rate revenue beginning -- being delivered in 2029.” — David Egan, Chief Financial Officer · 2026-08-11 This is incremental to the base business and comes with capital contributions from OEMs, making it a genuinely differentiated growth engine. When asked about the pipeline, Quinn added, “We'd be pretty confident that we'll continue to progress our strategic projects.” — Michael Quinn, Chief Executive Officer · 2026-08-11

Hafnium: A Double-Edged Sword

The quarter also highlighted the unusual dynamics of metal pass-through. While revenue enjoyed a 4-point boost from higher metal prices, the margin took a 60 basis point hit because the cost is fully passed through. The culprit: hafnium, a byproduct of zirconium, whose price has exploded due to AI-driven demand for advanced chips. CEO Mike Quinn explained,

There's been just an unprecedented ramp in the cost per kg of hafnium. It was sort of trading at around, say, $5,000 back in November last year, whereas today, it's somewhere between $12,500 and $13,000 per kilogram.
Michael Quinn, Chief Executive Officer · 2026-08-11

This illustrates the company's metal cost inflation pass-through mechanism, which protects EBITDA but dilutes margins in periods of extreme volatility. It's a nuance that investors will need to watch as hafnium prices remain elevated.

Why It Matters

DPC is riding a powerful end market tailwind: global air travel growth and a 2 terawatt installed base of gas turbines requiring service. The company's superalloy vertical integration and capacity expansions are set to deliver full production by 2029. Meanwhile, the potential entry into UAV micro-turbines via its Turbo Wheels business offers an optionality not yet in consensus forecasts. Unlike many names in the current tape that are buffeted by tariff noise, DPC's story is fundamentally about structural supply tightness and strategic partnerships that lock in pricing power.