August 6, 2026 - Core Natural Resources, Inc. (NYSE: CNR) ("Core" or the "company") reported net income of $126.5 million, or $2.51 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2026. Additionally, Core reported adjusted EBITDA¹ of $323.6 million in the quarter. During Q2, Core settled the Leer South insurance claim for the full limit recovery and recognized the remaining $125.4 million of proceeds. Second quarter revenues totaled $1.1 billion.

"During Q2, the Core team made excellent progress in driving operational excellence across the combined mining platform while generating strong free cash flow and robust capital returns," said Jimmy Brock, Core's chairman and CEO. "With our marquee operating segments now shifting into high gear, we expect to showcase Core's full, cash-generating potential moving forward, thus powering a further acceleration of our already substantial capital return program."

Operational and Marketing Update

During the second quarter of 2026, Core's high calorific value thermal segment had coal sales of 8.4 million tons, representing a 9 percent quarter-over-quarter increase, and achieved realized coal revenue per ton sold¹ of $58.11. The segment had cash cost of coal sold per ton¹ of $38.58, representing a 9 percent quarter-over-quarter improvement. 

In Core's metallurgical segment during Q2, coking coal sales totaled 2.3 million tons, representing an 8 percent quarter-over-quarter improvement, and thermal byproduct sales totaled 0.3 million tons. The segment achieved realized coal revenue per ton sold¹ for coking coal of $121.43, representing a slight decline versus Q1 2026. Realized coal revenue per ton sold¹ for the metallurgical segment as a whole was $114.13. The metallurgical segment reported a cash cost of coal sold per ton¹ of $85.65, representing a 7 percent improvement from the previous quarter.

In the Powder River Basin segment, Q2 sales volumes totaled 10.2 million tons, reflecting seasonally depressed spring shipment levels. Realized coal revenue per ton sold¹ was $14.28, which was generally in line with Q1 2026, and cash cost of coal sold per ton¹ came in at $14.85, representing a 9 percent increase due to lower fixed cost absorption stemming from the lower shipment levels as well as increased fuel costs. Core expects a substantial improvement in the segment's sales volumes and unit costs in the year's back half.

During Q2, the marketing team secured 16 million tons of new sales commitments across all segments for delivery in future periods, at prices expected to support advantageous margins.

Financial, Liquidity, and Capital Return Update

Core's capital return framework targets the return to stockholders of around 75 percent of free cash flow¹, with the significant majority of that return directed to share repurchases complemented by a sustaining quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share. During Q2 2026, the company invested $63.0 million to repurchase 719,904 shares of its common stock at an average share price of $87.54. Core has now invested a total of $329.2 million to repurchase 4.3 million shares of common stock, or roughly 7.9 percent of total shares outstanding as of the program's launch, at an average share price of $77.04, and a total of $360.1 million, inclusive of dividend payments, in the capital return program overall.

Since the inception of its capital return program in February 2025, Core has returned approximately 80 percent of its free cash flow¹ to stockholders via its capital return program. As of June 30, 2026, Core had $670.8 million of remaining authorization under its existing $1.0 billion share repurchase program.

In addition, the board declared a $0.10 per share quarterly dividend payable on September 18, 2026, to stockholders of record on August 31, 2026.

"During Q2, Core continued to perform at world-class levels and once again demonstrated the value of its diversified, strategic, world-class mining portfolio by generating substantial levels of free cash flow and funding robust capital returns despite a relatively soft market environment," said Mitesh Thakkar, Core's president and chief financial officer. "Given Core's step-change in operational execution, strong cash balance, incremental cash proceeds from insurance settlements, projected drawdown of coal inventories, and an improving shipping outlook in the Powder River Basin, we believe the stage is set for even stronger capital returns — and an accelerated reduction in share count — in the year's second half."

As part of the full limit recovery of its Leer South insurance claim, which netted a total of $154.5 million across all periods, Core collected $88.1 million of insurance proceeds in Q2 and the remaining $37.9 million in July.

At June 30, 2026, Core had total liquidity of $1.0 billion, including $474.0 million in cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments.

Market Update

While U.S. thermal coal demand was pressured by moderate temperatures, low natural gas prices, and inflated customer stockpiles during Q2, Core expects improving market dynamics in the year's second half and views the longer term outlook as promising. U.S. grid operators project substantial power demand growth through the remainder of the decade, spurred by reindustrialization and the AI-driven data center build-out. With the U.S. coal fleet operating at an average capacity factor of less than 50 percent – and with the Trump Administration moving aggressively to ensure the long-term viability of the U.S. coal fleet – Core expects U.S. thermal coal demand to climb. The outlook for seaborne industrial coal demand appears positive as well. India's cement demand is climbing at a significant pace, propelled by that country's infrastructure build-out, and the International Energy Agency expects global electricity demand to grow at 3.6 percent per year through the remainder of the decade.

Seaborne metallurgical markets remain muted in the face of two years of contraction in global hot metal output, and coking coal price assessments on the U.S. East Coast continue to lag Australian price indices by a historically wide margin. Core expects U.S. East Coast prices to recover over time as global hot metal demand rebounds and as Asian buyers seek to take advantage of the wide price spread. Meanwhile, Core continues to make good progress in marketing its Leer brand coal as an advantageous and high value-in-use substitute for Australian premium low-vol coals. Core expects the ongoing, steel-dependent build-out of Southeast Asian economies – along with sustained investment in new blast furnace capacity across that region – to support a constructive, long-term market outlook for high-quality coking coals.

Outlook

"Looking ahead, we remain laser-focused on achieving world-class productivity and industry-leading cost performance across our entire mining portfolio while operating in tight alignment with our core values of safety and compliance, continuous improvement, and financial performance," Brock said. "Our goal is to drive strong and improving capital returns in the current soft market environment while laying the foundation for truly exceptional returns as coal markets rebound. We see compelling, long-term market opportunities ahead — including resurgent U.S. power demand, tightening global energy markets, and an ongoing infrastructure build-out in the developing world — and we are preparing Core to capitalize on all fronts."

About Core Natural Resources, Inc.

Core Natural Resources, Inc. (NYSE: CNR) is a world-class producer of high-quality metallurgical and high calorific value thermal coals for the global marketplace. Core's highly skilled workforce operates a best-in-sector portfolio of large-scale, low-cost longwall mines, including the Pennsylvania Mining Complex, Leer, Leer South, and West Elk mines, along with one of the world's largest and most productive surface mines, Black Thunder. The company plays an essential role in meeting the world's growing need for steel, infrastructure, and energy, while simultaneously serving the resurgent requirements of the U.S. power generation fleet. Core has an extensive and strategic logistical network – anchored by ownership positions in two East Coast marine export terminals – that provides reliable and efficient access to seaborne coal markets. The company's deeply ingrained culture is grounded in safety and compliance, continuous improvement, and financial performance, with an emphasis on stakeholder engagement and stockholder returns. Core was created in January 2025 via the merger of long-time industry leaders CONSOL Energy and Arch Resources and is based in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.

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