Report Date: Tuesday, August 4, 2026, before market open | Call: 8:00 a.m. ET
| Stock price (as of 8/3/26 close) | ~$141.31 (post reverse-split basis) |
| Company guidance for Q2'26 (pre-split, issued 5/5/26) | Net sales ~$1.8B; Operating EBITDA ~$430M; Adjusted EPS ~$0.59 |
| Guidance in current split-adjusted terms | Adjusted EPS ~$1.75-1.77 |
| Street consensus (Zacks/Barchart) | EPS ~$1.76; revenue ~$1.82B |
| Beat streak | Beat consensus in each of the last four quarters, average ~8% surprise |
| Full-year 2026 guide (raised at Q1) | Net sales $7.16–7.22B; Operating EBITDA $1.73–1.76B; Adjusted EPS $2.35–2.40 (pre-split) |
A key housekeeping item for anyone modeling this print: DuPont executed a 1-for-3 reverse stock split effective June 24, 2026, which combined every three shares into one and cut authorized share count proportionately, while the ticker (DD) and guidance framework were unaffected in dollar terms. All prior per-share guidance should be tripled (roughly) to compare against today's stock price and consensus figures. Post-split, FY26 adjusted EPS guidance equates to roughly $7.02–$7.16 per share, versus Street consensus near $7.17.
DuPont's first quarter was a clean beat-and-raise: net sales of $1.7 billion rose 4% (2% organic), operating EBITDA of $414 million was up 15% with margin expanding 230 bps to 24.6%, and adjusted EPS of $0.55 grew 53% year-over-year. Management raised full-year guidance on the back of this, citing both the strong start and an interest-income benefit tied to the Aramids divestiture proceeds. Segment-wise, Healthcare & Water Technologies (HWT) grew organic sales 3% (health care up high-single digits, water down low-to-mid-single digits due to Middle East logistics disruption), while Diversified Industrials (DI) was roughly flat organically, with aerospace/automotive strength offsetting continued construction weakness.
Notably, management flagged Q1-to-Q2 margin headwinds of roughly 70 bps combined from price-cost timing (~30 bps, as surcharges lag cost increases) and unfavorable mix (~40 bps), meaning the ~24.6% Q1 margin should step down toward the low-24% range in Q2 even as absolute EBITDA grows.
The Iran conflict and Strait of Hormuz/Red Sea disruptions created real, quantified drag in Q1 — about $10 million of Water segment sales couldn't ship, out of roughly $300 million of total Middle East-linked exposure (about 4% of company sales, split between sales into and sourcing from the region). Management said teams found alternative routing to mitigate most of the impact and had "not baked in a ton of disruption" for Q2. On costs, DuPont sized the incremental input-cost hit (largely HDPE for Tyvek and styrene for water/shelter) at roughly $90 million for the year, to be fully offset via price/surcharges — about $25 million of that offset lands in Q2, with a full run-rate not achieved until H2. Watch whether price realization tracked plan and whether the Q1-to-Q2 margin bridge (30 bps price-cost headwind, 40 bps mix headwind) played out as described, or whether escalation in the conflict forced additional surcharges or caused demand destruction.
Health care (medical packaging, biopharma/Liveo, Spectrum medical devices) was up high-single-digits organically in Q1 and guided to mid-single-digit growth in Q2, trending toward mid-to-high-single-digit growth for the full year — driven by aging-population/health-care-access megatrends and strength in higher-end Class III device packaging and cardiovascular applications. Water is expected to be roughly flat in H1 (masked by large-project timing and the Middle East disruption) before accelerating to high-single-digit growth in H2, landing at mid-single-digits for the year; underlying "recurring revenue" consumables growth was described as healthy throughout. A newer callout worth tracking: microelectronics within ion exchange (~20% of that business) is seeing a lift from data-center/AI-driven demand — a potential incremental growth vector analysts will probe for updates.
Building Technologies continues to face soft North American residential construction (flat-to-slightly-down full-year assumption), while Industrial Technologies is being carried by aerospace strength and an EV battery-adhesives ramp (roughly $300 million of DuPont sales now go into EVs, growing well above the ~20% EV market growth rate on new qualification wins). Printing/packaging (inks, home/office printing) was a Q1 drag on a tough comp but is expected to normalize to low-single-digit growth for the year. The 80/20 margin-improvement initiative is roughly two-thirds through its initial study across four targeted DI businesses, with no top-line or margin benefit yet embedded in guidance — any acceleration here (or early data points) would be a positive surprise.
Q1 margin expansion (230 bps reported, 130 bps pro-forma) ran ahead of the company's 3-year target of 150–200 bps of pro-forma margin expansion (through productivity, self-help, and 80/20 actions) laid out at the September 2025 Investor Day. Stranded-cost removal (~$30 million total target over two years post-separation) is tracking to plan, with about $10 million out this year and run-rate savings roughly halfway there. Investors should watch whether the strong Q1 productivity contribution (~70 bps) is sustained or was mix-driven and less repeatable.
DuPont closed the Aramids divestiture on April 1, 2026 for ~$1.2 billion gross proceeds (a $300M note receivable plus a $325M non-controlling equity stake in the acquirer, Arclin, alongside cash), and separately completed the Qnity Electronics spin-off back in November 2025. Management announced a $275 million accelerated share repurchase at the Q1 print (on top of a $500 million ASR already completed), against a $2 billion authorization, and reiterated a leverage target of 2x (currently running slightly below that) — leaving dry powder for bolt-on M&A, particularly in health-care packaging/CDMO (Spectrum) to round out the portfolio. Longer-term, management reiterated a goal of shifting portfolio mix from today's roughly 50/50 HWT/DI split toward two-thirds HWT over the medium term.
Management indicated "no updates" on PFAS-related personal injury litigation as of the Q1 call — a status quo investors should confirm hasn't changed, given DuPont's cost-sharing arrangement with Corteva and Chemours remains a lingering tail risk on the story.
Sell-side sentiment has softened modestly into the print: at least one independent research shop downgraded DD from Strong Buy to Buy in early July, arguing the stock "remains undervalued" but flagging that Q2 is likely only a small beat (driven by health care and aerospace strength) while Q3 guidance could disappoint given currency headwinds and lingering construction/water softness — even as they noted the $275M ASR "signals management's conviction" in the shares. Consensus analyst ratings remain constructive overall (average rating of Buy across sell-side coverage, with price targets generally implying double-digit upside from current levels), but the market will be sensitive to any incremental change in the full-year currency assumption (already trimmed to a sub-1% FX tailwind at Q1) and to commentary on whether Middle East-related cost inflation is fully offset or beginning to bite into margins as surcharges reach full run-rate in the back half.
Going into the print, the setup is one of a company executing well operationally (margin expansion running ahead of 3-year targets, consistent beat-and-raise pattern, disciplined capital return) but navigating real external noise — Middle East-driven cost inflation and logistics disruption, soft construction end-markets, and a currency backdrop that's become less favorable since the Q1 guide. The print itself should closely track the ~$1.8B revenue / ~$1.76-1.77 adjusted EPS guidance given the company's own confidence in April order trends; the more important signals for the stock will likely be (1) the tone and magnitude of any full-year guidance revision, (2) whether Middle East cost pass-through is running ahead or behind plan, and (3) fresh detail on health care/water demand durability and the 80/20 program's early margin contribution in Diversified Industrials.