What's Going On With Chemical Giant Dow Shares Today?

Dow Inc (NYSE:DOW) shares are trading lower after the company reported first-quarter FY24 results.

Sales declined 9% Y/Y to $10.77 billion, beating the consensus of $10.74 billion.

Sales were up 1% sequentially, led by gains in Performance Materials & Coatings and Industrial Intermediates & Infrastructure segments.

Adjusted EPS was $0.56, above the consensus of $0.45.

Local price fell 10% year-over-year. Sequentially, local price was flat, as modest gains in EMEAI were offset by slight declines in Asia Pacific and the U.S. & Canada.

Volume increased by 1% Y/Y, reflecting gains across all regions except Europe, the Middle East, Africa , and India (EMEAI). 

Operating EBIT declined to $674 million from $708 million a year ago, while the margin expanded by 30 bps to 6.3% for the quarter.

Segment: Packaging & Specialty Plastics sales decreased 11% Y/Y to $5.4 billion, and the operating EBIT margin of 11.1% was up by 60 bps.

Industrial Intermediates & Infrastructure sales fell 11% Y/Y to $3.0 billion, and the operating EBIT margin contracted by 70 bps to 2.9%.

Performance Materials & Coatings sales declined 5% Y/Y to $2.2 billion, and the operating EBIT margin grew by 40 bps to 1.9%.

DOW’s cash provided by operating activities from continuing operations for the quarter was $460 million , and free cash outflow came in at $(254) million.

DOW returned $693 million to the shareholders in the quarter, including $493 million in dividends and $200 million in share repurchases.

Jim Fitterling, chair and chief executive officer, said, “In the near-term, demand in key end-markets from packaging and mobility to energy applications are trending sequentially higher and in-line with our expectations at the start of the year.” 

“In addition, our high-value organic growth investments and our advantaged portfolio position Dow well to deliver earnings growth and enhanced shareholder value as the economic recovery gathers strength.” 

“This allows us the financial flexibility to advance our long-term Decarbonize & Grow and Transform the Waste strategies and capture more than $3 billion in underlying earnings improvement annually by 2030.“

Investors can gain exposure to the stock via Invesco Dow Jones Industrial Average Dividend ETF (NYSE:DJD) and Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust II Invesco S&P Ultra Dividend Revenue ETF (NYSE:RDIV).

Price Action: DOW shares are down 1.53% at $56.12 at the last check Thursday.

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