DuPont said it has increased its 2026 earnings and sales forecasts after reporting first-quarter results that exceeded analyst expectations, citing pricing actions that have helped counter higher input costs linked to the U.S. and Israel war with Iran. Shares climbed as much as 7.4% in early trading to $48.77, marking their highest intraday level since March.
Executives pointed to disruptions in oil and petrochemical flows through the Strait of Hormuz as a driver of tighter global chemical supply and higher prices for plastics, polymers and resins. Management said that pricing steps taken to pass through incremental costs related to the conflict are reflected in revised guidance.
Guidance and pricing actions
Chief Financial Officer Antonella Franzen said the company now assumes about 4% organic net sales growth for the full year, which includes roughly 1% of pricing attributable to actions taken to fully offset higher input costs tied to the Middle East conflict. On a post-earnings analyst call, Franzen said DuPont has applied surcharges and implemented price increases to recover those incremental costs. The company quantified the impact at about $90 million and said it expects that amount to be fully covered beginning in the second quarter.
Executives also disclosed an estimate of approximately $30 million in "stranded costs," and said about $10 million of those are expected to be removed this year as the company works to eliminate the remaining stranded costs over "the first two years."
Revised financial outlook
DuPont raised its adjusted earnings-per-share forecast for 2026 to a range of $2.35 to $2.40, up from a prior range of $2.25 to $2.30. The company also lifted its annual net sales outlook to $7.16 billion to $7.26 billion, compared with its previous projection of $7.08 billion to $7.14 billion.
Quarterly results
For the three months ended March 31, DuPont posted an adjusted profit of $0.55 per share, surpassing the LSEG-compiled analyst consensus of $0.48 per share. Quarterly net sales at the healthcare and water technologies segment rose 5.6% to $806 million, driven by growth in medical packaging and biopharma markets, though that was partly offset by disruptions affecting industrial water and microelectronics. Sales at the diversified industrials unit increased 3% to $875 million.
Portfolio moves
DuPont noted that it completed the sale of its Aramids business to peer Arclin for $1.8 billion on April 1.
Overall, management framed the results and the guidance bump as evidence that price actions instituted in response to higher input costs associated with the Middle East conflict are beginning to offset the financial impact of those costs, while the company continues to work through stranded-cost reductions and the post-sale reconfiguration of its portfolio.