International Flavors Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates, Sales Dip Y/Y

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. IFF reported adjusted earnings of $1.15 per share in second-quarter 2025, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.11. The bottom line dipped 1% from the year-ago quarter.

Including one-time items, the company reported earnings of $2.38 per share compared with the prior-year quarter’s 66 cents.

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

 

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. Quote

International Flavors’ net sales were $2.76 billion in the June-end quarter, down 4.3% year over year. The top line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.73 billion. Currency-neutral sales grew 3% year over year, led by mid-single digit performances in Taste, and Health & Biosciences.

International Flavors’ Q2 Gross Profit Dips Y/Y

International Flavors’ cost of goods sold was down 4.8% year over year to $1.73 billion. The gross profit dipped 3.6% year over year to $1.03 billion. The gross margin was 37.3% compared with 37% in the year-ago quarter.

Research and development expenses increased 5.2% year over year to $182 million. The selling and administrative expenses fell 2% year over year to $483 million. 

Adjusted operating EBITDA was $552 million, down 6.1% from the prior-year quarter’s $588 million. The adjusted operating EBITDA margin was 20% compared with the year-ago quarter’s 20.4%.

IFF’s Q2 Segmental Performances

At the beginning of the first quarter of 2025, the company separated its Nourish segment into Taste and Food Ingredients segments.

Net sales in the Taste segment increased 4.6% year over year to $631 million in the June-end quarter. The figure missed our estimate of $663 million. The adjusted operating EBITDA was $125 million, up 1.6% year over year. Our estimate for the segment’s adjusted EBITDA was $129 million.

Net sales in the Food Ingredients segment inched up 0.4% year over year to $850 million in the June-end quarter. The figure beat our estimate of $827 million. The adjusted operating EBITDA was $124 million, up 15.9% year over year. Our estimate for the segment’s adjusted EBITDA was $110 million.

Sales generated in the Health & Bioscience segment were $577 million compared with the year-earlier quarter’s $556 million. Our estimate was $581 million. The adjusted operating EBITDA was $151 million in the quarter, up 1.3% year over year. Our estimate for the segment’s adjusted EBITDA was $152.5 million.

The Scent segment’s sales were $603 million, flat year over year. Our projection was $649 million. The adjusted operating EBITDA fell 7.8% year over year to $130 million. Our model had projected EBITDA of $135 million.
Sales in Pharma Solutions were $103 million in the second quarter, up 18.4% year over year. The adjusted operating EBITDA was 22 million, flat year over year.

In March 2024, International Flavors announced that it had entered an agreement to sell its Pharma Solutions business. On May 1, 2025, IFF announced the completion of the divestiture of its Pharma Solutions business unit to Roquette.

International Flavors’ Q2 Cash Flow & Balance Sheet Updates

IFF had cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash of $816 million at the end of the second quarter, higher than the $469 million held at the end of 2024. The long-term debt was $5.68 billion at the second-quarter end compared with $7.56 billion as of Dec. 31, 2024.

International Flavors generated $368 million in cash from operating activities in the first half of 2025 compared with $336 million in the prior-year period.

IFF Reaffirms 2025 Guidance

The company expects sales for fiscal 2025 between $10.6 billion and $10.9 billion. Adjusted EBITDA is expected between $2 billion and $2.15 billion.

International Flavors’ Price Performance

In the past year, IFF shares have lost 25.4% against the industry’s 0.1% growth.

IFF’s Zacks Rank

International Flavors currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Performance of Other Chemical - Specialty Stocks in Q2

Linde plc LIN reported second-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share of $4.09, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.03. The bottom line also improved from the year-ago quarter’s $3.85.

Linde’s total quarterly revenues of $8,495 million surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $8,353 million. The top line also increased from the year-ago quarter’s $8,267 million.

PPG Industries, Inc. PPG reported a second-quarter 2025 profit of $450 million or $1.98 per share, down from $493 million or $2.09 per share in the year-ago quarter.

PPG Industries’ revenues were $4,195 million in the quarter, down 1% year over year. The top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4,131.6 million.

Ecolab Inc.’s ECL adjusted earnings in second-quarter 2025 were $1.89 per share, up from $1.68 a year ago. The figure missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.90.

Ecolab reported net revenues of $4.02 billion for the quarter, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.01 billion. The company’s top line increased 1% year over year.

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