Dow Inc. DOW logged profits (on a reported basis) of $214 million or 30 cents per share in third-quarter 2024, down from a profit of $302 million or 42 cents per share a year ago.
Barring one-time items, adjusted earnings were 47 cents per share for the reported quarter, down from 48 cents a year ago. The figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 46 cents.
Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.
Dow recorded net sales of $10,879 million for the quarter, up 1% year over year. It also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $10,725.4 million. The top line was supported by increased sales in the United States and Canada.
Volumes were up 1% year over year in the reported quarter driven by gains in the Performance Materials & Coatings unit. This marked the fourth straight quarter of year-over-year volume growth. Local prices were flat year over year in the quarter with gains in Packaging & Specialty Plastics segment offset by decreases in Performance Materials & Coatings.
While DOW faced headwinds from an unplanned cracker outage in Texas and higher planned maintenance activity, it gained from higher margins in Packaging & Specialty Plastics in the quarter.
Dow's Segment Highlights
Packaging & Specialty Plastics: The division's sales rose 1% year over year to $5,516 million in the reported quarter. The figure was above our estimate of $5,249.5 million. Volumes were flat year over year as increased demand for functional polymers was masked by lower polyethylene volumes. Local prices were up 1% due to increased polyethylene prices in all regions barring Latin America.
Industrial Intermediates & Infrastructure: Sales for the unit declined 2% year over year to $2,962 million. The figure was below our estimate of $3,039.2 million. Local prices were flat in the quarter. Volumes fell 2% on declines in polyurethanes and construction chemicals.
Performance Materials & Coatings: Revenues from the division rose 4% year over year to $2,214 million. The figure was below our estimate of $2,242.9 million. Volumes rose 5% while local prices went down 1%. Volumes increased on gains in all businesses and geographic regions.
DOW's Financials
Dow had cash and cash equivalents of $2,883 million at the end of the quarter, down around 14% from the prior quarter. Long-term debt was $16,164 million, up around 1% sequentially.
Cash provided by operating activities from continuing operations was $800 million in the reported quarter, down from $1,658 million in the prior-year quarter.
Dow also returned $584 million to shareholders in the quarter through dividends and share buybacks.
Dow's Outlook
Moving ahead, Dow said that it will continue to operate with discipline as it capitalizes on areas of demand strength while leveraging its scale and advantaged cost positions on a global basis. Its strong financials will continue to support its growth investments focused on higher-value businesses and regions, where it has a competitive cost advantage and seeing resilient demand. DOW expects these investments to deliver more than $3 billion in underlying earnings by 2030.
DOW currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
Better-ranked stocks in the Basic Materials space are IAMGOLD Corporation IAG, DuPont de Nemours, Inc. DD and AdvanSix Inc. ASIX, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
IAMGOLD is scheduled to release third-quarter results on Nov. 7. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for IAG's third-quarter earnings is pegged at 11 cents. IAG beat the consensus estimate in each of the last four quarters with the average surprise being 200%. Its shares have shot up roughly 145% in the past year.
DuPont is slated to release third-quarter results on Nov. 5. The consensus estimate for DD's third-quarter earnings is pegged at $1.03. The company's shares have rallied roughly 18% in the past year.
AdvanSix is scheduled to release third-quarter results on Nov. 1. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ASIX's third-quarter earnings is pegged at 66 cents. ASIX has gained around 7.1% in the past year.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.