DuPont Gears Up for Q1 Earnings: What's in the Offing for the Stock?

DuPont de Nemours, Inc. DD is scheduled to come up with first-quarter 2025 results, before the opening bell on May 2.

The company surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters. In this timeframe, it delivered an earnings surprise of roughly 16.1%, on average. DD posted an earnings surprise of roughly 15.3% in the last reported quarter.

DuPont is expected to have benefited from its innovation-driven investment, productivity actions and the acquisitions of the Spectrum Plastics Group and Donatelle Plastics amid headwinds from lower prices in the first quarter.

DD’s shares are down 15.1% over the past year compared with the Zacks Chemicals Diversified industry’s 25.4% decline.

Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement.

What do DD’s Revenue Estimates Say?

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues for the first quarter for DuPont is currently pinned at $3,040 million, suggesting an expected year-over-year rise of 3.7%.

The consensus estimate for the company’s Electronics & Industrial segment is pinned at $1,479.8 million, indicating an 8.4% year-over-year rise. The same for the Water & Protection unit is pegged at $1,293.6 million, suggesting a 0.2% year-over-year rise.

Factors to Watch for DD Stock

DuPont is likely to have benefited from its cost and productivity measures and actions to drive growth through innovation in the quarter to be reported. Its innovation-driven investment is focused on several high-growth areas. DD remains committed to driving returns from its R&D investment.

DuPont is also expected to have benefited from cost synergy savings and productivity improvement actions. It is executing additional restructuring actions and expects annualized cost savings of $150 million from these measures. The company is also expected to have gained from its pricing hike actions in the wake of cost inflation. 

The acquisitions of the Spectrum Plastics Group and Donatelle Plastics are also likely to have contributed to first-quarter results. The Spectrum Plastics acquisition has strengthened DuPont’s existing position in stable and fast-growing healthcare end markets. The buyout of Donatelle Plastics also enhances DD’s exposure in healthcare, expanding its expertise in the medical device market segments. 

DuPont is likely to have faced headwinds from weak prices in the March quarter. Its volume growth in the fourth quarter of 2024 was partly offset by lower prices. The company saw lower prices across its segments in the fourth quarter. The pricing headwinds are expected to have continued in the first quarter, impacting its sales and margins.

DuPont de Nemours, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

DuPont de Nemours, Inc. price-eps-surprise | DuPont de Nemours, Inc. Quote

What Our Model Unveils for DD Stock

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for DuPont this season. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. But that’s not the case here.

Earnings ESP: Earnings ESP for DD is -0.32%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the first quarter is currently pegged at 95 cents. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: DD currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

(Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.)

Basic Materials Stocks That Warrant a Look

Here are some companies in the basic materials space you may want to consider as our model shows they have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter:

ICL Group Ltd ICL, scheduled to release earnings on May 19, has an Earnings ESP of +12.50% and carries a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The consensus estimate for ICL’s earnings for the first quarter is currently pegged at 8 cents.

IAMGOLD Corporation IAG, slated to release earnings on May 6, has an Earnings ESP of +9.96% and carries a Zacks Rank #3 at present.

The consensus mark for IAG’s first-quarter earnings is currently pegged at 10 cents.

Kinross Gold Corporation KGC, scheduled to release earnings on May 6, has an Earnings ESP of +11.07%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Kinross Gold's earnings for the first quarter is currently pegged at 22 cents. KGC currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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