August 9, 2026

Somnigroup Call Highlights

Somnigroup anticipates $2.85-$3.15 adjusted EPS in 2026 while targeting Leggett & Platt close before end of Q3

Aug 06, 2026, 5:26 PM ETSomnigroup International Inc. (SGI) Stock

AI-Generated Earnings Calls Insights

Earnings Call Insights: Somnigroup International Inc. (SGI) Q2 2026

Management view

• “We are pleased to deliver a record second quarter in adjusted earnings per share” (Chairman of the Board, CEO & President Scott Thompson) as the company reported “net sales of $1.8 billion, adjusted EBITDA of $297 million and adjusted EPS of $0.58” while describing “a market that we believe to be down mid- to high single digits over prior years” (CEO Thompson).
• “Following very encouraging results from a 3-month pilot program of Kingsdown’s products in 200 Mattress Firm stores… we have expanded our relationship with Kingsdown” and expect the assortment “to be available in nearly 800 stores nationwide” over the next 6 months (CEO Thompson).
• “Dreams continued to strengthen its brand assortment… while managing through a difficult macro backdrop, a highly promotional competitive landscape and an ERP implementation” that “has created some transitory challenges” (CEO Thompson).
• “The launch will begin at the end of the third quarter and continue to roll out through the early 2027” and “most of the expected financial benefit will materialize in 2027 and beyond” for the new Stearns & Foster collection, alongside actions to “increase the entry-level price” and “focus on the higher-end products” (CEO Thompson).
• “In the second quarter of 2026, consolidated sales were a solid $1.8 billion, and adjusted earnings per share was $0.58, up 9% over prior year” (Executive VP & CFO Bhaskar Rao).
• “We’re expecting to close the transaction before the end of the third quarter” for Leggett & Platt, with management saying it is “expected to expand our addressable market” and “deliver immediate adjusted EPS accretion before synergies” (CEO Thompson).

Outlook

• “We expect adjusted earnings per share to be between $2.85 and $3.15 for the full year” and the range “contemplates a sales at the midpoint of approximately $7.6 billion after intercompany eliminations” (CFO Rao).
• Management updated demand assumptions: “our expectation is that the industry will be down mid-single digits” and the full-year outlook assumes “Tempur Sealy North America like-for-like sales growing low single digits, International business growing low single digits and like-for-like Mattress Firm sales down slightly” (CFO Rao).
• Margin and investment framework in the guide included “reported gross margin slightly above 45%” and an assumption that Tempur Sealy brands/private label are “in the mid-60s percent of Mattress Firm total sales” plus “approximately $690 million of advertising investments” (CFO Rao).
• Compared with last quarter, management lowered the full-year range from “between $3 and $3.40” (Q1) to “between $2.85 and $3.15” (Q2) and lowered the sales midpoint from “approximately $7.8 billion” (Q1) to “approximately $7.6 billion” (Q2), while shifting industry expectations from “flat to slightly down” (Q1) to “down mid-single digits” (Q2) (CFO Rao).

Financial results

• Segment detail included “net sales through Mattress Firm… approximately $922 million” with “same-store sales” that “grew slightly” and Mattress Firm “adjusted operating margin” that “declined 130 basis points to 6.5%” (CFO Rao).
• Tempur Sealy North America results included “sales were flat on a like-for-like basis” and “North American adjusted gross margins increased… to 61.8%” while the company said it achieved “$30 million of net benefit from sales and cost synergies” (CFO Rao).
• International results included “International net sales grew 2% on a reported basis” and “International operating margin declined 120 basis points to 12.4%” (CFO Rao).
• Cash flow and leverage updates included “record operating cash flow of $236 million and free cash flow of $182 million” and “consolidated debt less cash was $4.3 billion” with leverage ratio “2.99x” (CFO Rao).

Q&A

• Susan Maklari, Goldman Sachs: asked what drove “the decision to take the numbers down”; CEO Thompson cited “the industry trends in the second quarter were not as strong as we expected” and “Dreams, their ERP system was a little rougher than we expected,” plus “the Middle East activity”; CFO Rao added the midpoint assumes “the current trends… continue” and said the company “did take up our expectation” for sales synergies.
• Pedro Gil, Morgan Stanley: asked what drove North America margin expansion; CFO Rao pointed to “about $15 million” of cost synergies, stronger-than-expected “balance of sales at Mattress Firm,” and “productivity… doing more with less,” while noting continued investments “in the form of advertising or supporting the new Stearns line.”
• Rafe Jadrosich, BofA Securities: asked about EPS cadence; CFO Rao said the midpoint “would imply about a 10% year-on-year EPS increase” and that growth should be “more… in Q4 versus in Q3” given Q3 2025 was “strong.”
• Robert Griffin, Raymond James: asked about U.S. demand and channel shifts; CEO Thompson said “the large retailers are clearly taking share from the smaller retailers” and added “the web side of the industry has been challenged” while “brick-and-mortar” has done better; he also said Tempur stores “were up almost 3%” in Q2.
• Keith Hughes, Truist: asked about the “$10 million” commodity headwind and second-half pressures; CFO Rao said it was “as a result of the Middle Eastern crisis” and reiterated pricing was sized “to make up for the $10 million in the back half,” while describing “around $90 million of annualized inflation.”
• Peter Keith, Piper Sandler: asked about a K-shaped economy; CEO Thompson said “Entry-level bedding has been the hardest hit by far, and luxury bedding… has been very resilient” and linked financing costs to “selling more higher-end beds” and rates that “have ticked up.”
• Michael Lasser, UBS: asked about third-party pullback and complexity; CEO Thompson responded “No, we’re not seeing any significant impact” from third parties and called complexity “Oh, without question,” while saying Dreams ERP issues were “maybe another 1 quarter” and management is “delegating authority and responsibilities.”
• Bradley Thomas, KeyBanc: asked about the multiyear “24% CAGR to 2028” outlook; CEO Thompson said “I’m not going to update our perspective” and added that if updated, “we will lower the industry growth” but noted margins are “significantly better” than in that profile and capital allocation could add upside.
• Phillip Blee, William Blair: asked about initiatives beyond synergy targets; CEO Thompson said logistics work is “going well” with numbers potentially by “the year-end call,” real estate benefits are “minor” near term, and he expects “net new stores at Mattress Firm” going forward.
• Jeffrey Lick, Stephens: asked about July 4 weakness and the “E-shaped economy”; CEO Thompson called July 4 “kind of a dud” and said he does not think it was “any anything significant turning point,” and added Sealy Posturepedic sales were “good” while entry level remains pressured.
• Marius Morar, Zelman: asked about limits to e-commerce; CEO Thompson said “we have reached more of a natural size of e-commerce bedding” and added retailers have “gotten smarter” about not “chase sales with extremely low prices.”
• William Reuter, BofA Securities: asked about future M&A after Leggett; CEO Thompson said “We may never do another deal, or we may do some more deals” and emphasized discipline: “It’s always price” and the company would be “very disciplined” and could be “very aggressive in buying our stock” as leverage declines.

Sentiment analysis

• Analysts were slightly negative to skeptical on guidance and demand, pressing on what changed and short-term disruptions, including “the decision to take the numbers down” (Maklari) and questions on complexity and ERP issues (Lasser).
• Management tone was slightly positive in prepared remarks (“record second quarter”; CEO Thompson) and more explanatory/defensive in Q&A, using clarifiers such as “to be clear” and “Oh, without question” when addressing complexity (CEO Thompson).
• Versus Q1, the dialogue shifted from reaffirmation to explaining a lower guide and calling out specific negatives (weaker Q2 industry, U.K. ERP, July 4 softness, and Middle East uncertainty) (CEO Thompson; CFO Rao).

Quarter-over-quarter comparison

• Guidance language and assumptions shifted from Q1 “reaffirmed 2026 earnings guidance” to Q2 addressing a “revision to the guide” and factors behind the reduction, with Q2 incorporating a faster Leggett timeline: Q1 expected close “by year-end” vs. Q2 “before the end of the third quarter” (CEO Thompson).
• Operational narrative changed in the U.K. as Q1 described Dreams as having “healthy order volume” and “outperformed the market” while Q2 emphasized an ERP rollout that “has created some transitory challenges” amid a “highly promotional” environment (CEO Thompson).

Risks and concerns

• Management cited demand volatility and promotional disruptions: “the July 4 holiday period… was weak” and added that “the Middle East activity… has created some additional uncertainty” (CEO Thompson).
• Execution risks highlighted included Dreams ERP as “a little rougher than we expected” with mitigation framed as transitory: “the system is functioning” and management expects it is “maybe another 1 quarter” issue (CFO Rao; CEO Thompson).
• Input cost pressures were described as an inflation headwind tied to geopolitical events, with mitigation through pricing: “We implemented modest pricing actions following the July 4 promotional period” and management expects second-half pricing to offset the earlier impact (CFO Rao).

Final takeaway

Management framed Q2 as resilient performance in a weaker-than-expected market, while lowering full-year guidance alongside a more cautious industry view and pointing to specific pressure points in the U.S. holiday cadence, U.K. ERP disruption at Dreams, and geopolitical-driven commodity volatility. The company reiterated cost and sales synergy execution, emphasized strong cash generation and a return to the target leverage range, and highlighted an accelerated timeline to close the Leggett & Platt transaction before the end of Q3, which management said will be incorporated into guidance after closing and is expected to be immediately accretive to adjusted EPS before synergies.

Read the full Earnings Call Transcript

https://seekingalpha.com/news/4628589-somnigroup-anticipates-2_85-3_15-adjusted-eps-in-2026-while-targeting-leggett-and-platt-close?position=rta_news_sublogic_pretestlaunch_main_2_textlink&messageid=2900&mailingid=46933551&serial=46933551.432&source=email_2900

August 4, 2026

Urethane Highlights from Huntsman Call

Huntsman Corporation (HUN) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Jul 31, 2026, 1:03 PM ETHuntsman Corporation (HUN) Stock

Q2: 2026-07-30 Earnings Summary

EPS of $0.00 misses by $0.06

 | Revenue of $1.66B (14.06% Y/Y) beats by $56.62M

Huntsman Corporation (HUN) Q2 2026 Earnings Call July 31, 2026 10:00 AM EDT

Company Participants

Ivan Marcuse – Vice President of Investor Relations & Corporate Development
Peter Huntsman – Chairman, President & CEO
Philip Lister – Executive VP & CFO

Peter Huntsman
Chairman, President & CEO

Ivan, thank you very much, and thank you, everybody, for taking the time to join us this morning. It’s been 3 months since the last time we were able to report on market conditions and what we were doing as a company to enhance shareholder value. Needless to say, it has been a rather busy few months on a number of fronts. I’d like to comment on a few things, but I plan to be brief as your questions and comments are the reason for this call.

I stated during our last quarter’s call that while I was heartened to see the prices and margins were improving across most of our product lines, I emphasize the need for “stable and long-term demand trends to continue”. While we improved our margins from the first quarter, I remain concerned as to the growth rates and consumer confidence that we are seeing.

Since our last call, North American housing stats have softened and Chinese consumer confidence continues to languish. Europe continues its ill-fated energy policy and all that free wind is now costing European consumers and industry near-record amounts. As ongoing conflicts in the Middle East seemingly move weekly from a ceased fire to all-out war, moving energy prices, stock markets and consumer sentiment with each action, we continue to keep a wary eye on inflation and consumer spending, especially on durable goods. It seems much of this turbulence will continue through the third quarter.

While this is playing havoc on costs and order patterns, it is also demonstrating the value of reliable supply lines contractual assurance of supply and the value of pricing and consistent quality. We will continue to push for greater margins as we believe that this industry still has a lot of room for improvement.

In the — on the 16th of June, we announced a merger of equals with Olin Corporation. Since that time, we’ve had the opportunity to visit one-on-one with the majority of our largest shareholders. If I had to summarize my feelings towards this transaction, it would be in the answer that I shared when I was asked if I could do anything different than what had been done. My response was that I wish I had met Ken Lane a year earlier and that we were here today earning materially more than we otherwise would be earning. Regardless of market conditions, whether they improve or continue to languish, our company and shareholders will be better off with this proposed merger. If this transaction was a year behind us, we would be today, well on our way to achieving an additional $300 million in synergies.

We would be earning more through newfound commercial opportunities that are not even part of our $300 million in synergies. We would have a stronger balance sheet that would be improving quarter-by-quarter. In short, should today’s market conditions continue through next year, we will be better off than we are today. Should markets improve, we will be the benefactors of not only the forthcoming synergies, but also higher combined volumes and greater integration.

Either way, this positions us to improve regardless of market conditions. I have been impressed with the strong collaboration and interaction between the Huntsman and Olin teams that are advancing our closing at a rapid pace. Our teams will be ready on day one of closing to commence with achieving our outlined synergies. Between now and closing, we will continue to focus on creating as much shareholder value as possible. Following the completion of this transaction, we’ll be able to achieve far more.

Frank Mitsch
Fermium Research, LLC

I was wondering if you could update us on the state of the MDI business from a demand and a supply standpoint, particularly on the supply side, given what’s been going on with the Iranian conflict. How do you see that — how did you see that impact 2Q? What are your expectations for 3Q and beyond?

Peter Huntsman
Chairman, President & CEO

Well, I think on 2Q, we had the ability to be able to put prices up. Much of that was to recover the increase of raw materials that we were seeing at the time, but we were also able to get ahead as our results indicate that we’ve nearly doubled our EBITDA since second quarter of last year. Look, on a supply basis, we obviously have a large global MDI plant that is on the wrong side of the Strait of Hormuz, I would say. And that is probably representing somewhere around 4% of industry average.

So from a supply point of view, Frank, I think that it’s pretty well balanced. My disappointment, if I have one, is that we’re not seeing greater demand and greater improvement in the macroeconomic situation. I don’t want to be overly dire on this. I’m just saying that yes, on the supply side, I think it’s pretty well balanced. On the demand side, I’d like to see a little bit more. Right now, depending on where you are around the world, you’re probably seeing anywhere from 0% to 2% very low single-digit sort of growth that is taking place. So an improved economy, improved housing demand, particularly in North America would be very helpful, return consumer confidence in Asia would be very good to see. And frankly, improved sentiment — consumer sentiment and lower energy inflation in Europe, I think would all be benefactors this time.

Hassan Ahmed
Alembic Global Advisors

First question on polyurethanes. Obviously, a lot of stuff moving around. I mean we’ve seen some TDI outages. I would imagine that may result in some incremental demand on the MDI side of it, then we’ve obviously seen some outages in MDI itself. So just in terms of effective utilization rates, where do you see the industry and should it be relatively snug over the next quarter or 2? And part and parcel with that, I know you guys have taken some pricing actions in Europe in particular. But obviously, nat gas prices, they continue to rise. So I mean, will you guys be EBITDA positive over there after the price actions? And will the industry over there be EBITDA positive as well.

Peter Huntsman
Chairman, President & CEO

Well, if I had — Hassan, thanks very much. Good question. If I had to look at the market today in the snapshot, I would say that, yes, Europe with the pricing actions and with the cost structure that we have, Europe should be positive as we look into the third quarter. Now again, over the last couple of weeks here, and I’m talking the last 2 or 3 weeks, I’ve seen gas in Europe go from about $13, $14 per MMBtu rise above $20 per MMBtu. Now should it continue to do that, should electricity continue to rise at these rates. I don’t believe that will be the case. But if they were to continue, that obviously is going to pose some headwinds. That’s my biggest concern around Europe right now on a macro basis or energy costs and overall consumer demand. It’s tough to get prices up when you see demand going down and — or languishing and people are obviously fighting over a shrinking pie.

So as I think about Europe, I continue to be optimistic that we will be EBITDA positive in the third quarter there. As you look at it on a macro basis, I would imagine without looking at industry data because there’s not a whole lot that’s published, we’re probably operating in a capacity utilization rate somewhere in the mid-80s on a global basis.

Some areas, I think in the U.S., it’s tighter than that. I think in Europe, it might be a little looser than that. Asia is probably right on top of that. There have been a number of outages that are around. And again, if demand were rising at traditional levels of 4% to 6% per annum sort of growth rate, I think you’d see much tighter markets than today.

Matthew DeYoe
BofA Securities, Research Division

Good morning, everyone. Can you talk through the potential impacts of the antidumping duties on U.S. MDI and whether you think that lends to a higher floor over time for that business, what that floor could ultimately look like?

Peter Huntsman
Chairman, President & CEO

I think that — well, what the floor ultimately looks like. I don’t want to — I wouldn’t speculate on that, not that I’m trying to avoid an answer as much as I just simply don’t know, but it ought to be better than where we were a year ago. But let’s also be honest, I believe that you’re going to need demand to pick up.

You’re going to need housing to get back to a more normalized run rate to see any real material benefit come from this. And let’s remember, there’s a lot of MDI that’s exported from the United States. It goes into Canada that goes into Mexico. It goes into Latin America and so forth.

There are still imports from around the world that are going into those regions. And for every ton that goes into those regions and pushes U.S.-produced MDI back from those regions back into the United States market. I mean, we can say that, that export-oriented MDI is not coming to the U.S., but it kind of is in a roundabout way, right? And so I think that a lot of people were expecting as soon as this was implemented and put into place, you’re going to see a benefit the next quarter.

Now this is something that will play out over a multi-quarter basis. And you’ll see the greatest benefit of this come about when demand returns and housing returns to a more normalized basis.

Matthew DeYoe
BofA Securities, Research Division

Appreciate the answer, Peter. And I’ve been jumping around a little bit, so I apologize if I missed it, but polyol pricing was pretty strong in the quarter. You had an outage, obviously, one of the large competitors, which tightened a fair amount of the market. What was the benefit there? What does that look like in 3Q, 4Q? How is that market managing all that because we also heard some customers on the coating side talking about these shortages domestically as well.

Peter Huntsman
Chairman, President & CEO

I wouldn’t say that it was — I heard a lot more horror stories than I think actually happened to the industry. Look, our impact and benefit would be in the low $2 million to $3 million sort of a range — so yes, I’m not sure that it was as big of a deal as some maybe put it out in the media.

David Begleiter
Deutsche Bank AG, Research Division

Peter, U.S. MDI supply disruptions in Q2 helped you guys as these disruptions come back online in Q3. Is there a way to quantify the impact to you guys quarter-over-quarter?

Peter Huntsman
Chairman, President & CEO

Yes. I’m — we — I wish I could say that we had 100% operating rates during the quarter as well. we had some minor issues, I believe that were reported. But I think across the industry going from second quarter into third quarter, there’s quite a bit of inventory going into second quarter. That was built up for a housing season that really didn’t take off as much as probably some anticipated. Bottom line, I don’t see a whole lot of impact with those restarts going into the third quarter. It looks like it’s pretty flat from a demand — or from a supply/demand basis.

Matthew Blair
TPH Research

Thanks and good morning, Peter. Would you say that spray foam is holding up relatively well despite the tough construction environment. I think the prepared remarks mentioned some new wins in select markets. Could you elaborate a little bit more on that?

Peter Huntsman
Chairman, President & CEO

Yes. I think that the spray foam, we’ve got excellent leadership in spray foam that’s done a phenomenal job and looking and making their supply chain more efficient, their cost better. And most importantly, their marketing and their sales have been very effective in a lethargic construction environment. We’re seeing low double-digit growth continue to consistently take place. in spray foam energy efficiency. I think that I’m a bit disappointed as to where we were 2 years ago in that business. But I look at where we are today and they’re hitting on all cylinders. They’re doing a great job. So it’s been a great business for us.

Abigail Eberts
Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, Research Division

Again, trying to focus on the positives and polyurethanes. Can you speak to the underlying trends driving the growth in the industrial side of the market that you’re seeing?

Peter Huntsman
Chairman, President & CEO

Yes, Abigail, thank you very much. As we think about the industrial growth for us, that’s mostly our elastomers business, smaller volumes but much better margins there. And as we see that on a second quarter versus the prior year. In our lastomers business, we’re up double digits in Asia, Europe and in the Americas. So again, that’s going to be a lot of your coatings, a lot of your specialty coatings, adhesives and so forth. Think about when you put coatings on the back of a pickup truck and you’re looking at industrial coatings. So these are fast-growing markets. We’ve got great innovation in these areas and a strong customer base.

Arun Viswanathan
RBC Capital Markets, Research Division

Yes, I just wanted to go back to the supply/demand in MDI and we are seeing still some continued — would you characterize the market still in slightly oversupplied situations? And is that mainly rectified through demand improvement? I think you referenced that earlier, but — are there any supply actions that you think would be required at this point?

Peter Huntsman
Chairman, President & CEO

No, I think — I believe that it’s pretty well balanced. There’s not a lot of new capacity that’s come on. Industry — look, the industry continues to grow, but it’s just growing at a much slower pace than it has in years past. And what it means is North American housing durable goods. It needs Asia domestic economy to come back and European consumerism to return.

Arun Viswanathan
RBC Capital Markets, Research Division

And then I guess when you look out into downstream spray foam and maybe some of the system houses capacity that you have, would you also characterize that as balanced? And does that — and are tight and does that lead to potentially some some greater pricing opportunities downstream, but is it the case that you’re just not able to take advantage of that because of weak demand as well.

Peter Huntsman
Chairman, President & CEO

Yes. I think those areas continue to be well balanced. Look, it’s always a — as you go further downstream, there’s always plenty of competition. And you’re always in a race to make sure that as products are commoditized as you’ve got a healthy supply chain of new products, new ideas, new innovation. And I think that we do a good job in that area. But it’s a good balance, I think, between — as things go commodity and as you have new opportunities and new innovation going in.

Michael Harrison
Seaport Research Partners

Wanted to ask about polyurethanes pricing in the Americas. Can you give us a sense of what portion of your contracts turn over every quarter — and are there any actions that you can take to maybe work around the contract structure, things like surcharges? Or is there some kind of an opener that would allow you to renegotiate the terms.

Peter Huntsman
Chairman, President & CEO

Yes. About 40% of our contracts are formula, meaning that they’re going to be on a longer than a quarter-to-quarter basis. Now those open up on anywhere from every 6 months, every 12 months where you can renegotiate what you’re charging somebody. But those are designed to be able to take in and absorb benzene and natural gas prices and so forth. So as you think about that, about every 6 to 12 months, most of these contracts will have a pit stop where you can pull over and renegotiate, if you will, which I’m not a big fan of either of those, I’d rather have it where we can move prices instantaneous with market conditions. But — we are where we are in polyurethanes that’s largely dictated by competition.

But yes, we are aggressively moving on surcharges on everything and everywhere that we can. And at the same time, we also want to make sure that as you think about your customer relationships that you’re taking care of your customers because if you’re taking advantage of them today, the table turn pretty quickly in this industry. So yes, we do honor our contracts. We do honor our pricing formulas that we entered into. It doesn’t mean I’m always happy with those, but it is what it is.

Michael Harrison
Seaport Research Partners

And then I was hoping you could also provide some more color on how the situation in the Middle East is impacting your PO MTBE business in China. It looks like there was a nice benefit in the second quarter. And I’m just curious, would you expect the third quarter benefit to be greater than what you saw in Q2?

Peter Huntsman
Chairman, President & CEO

I think you’re probably going to be flat Q2 to Q3. A lot of the gasoline supplies oxygenated levels and values and so forth. To some degree, those are going to be government dictate. And so it’s not as free-flowing. I would say, as you would see in the Americas or even in Europe. But I’d say, from Q2 to Q3, it’s going to be flat.

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July 30, 2026

BASF Handles Low Rhine Water Levels

Lifeline Rhine – the river that shaped Ludwigshafen

BASF

2,914,511 followers

July 30, 2026

Anyone looking at the Rhine these days will see wide gravel banks in many places, exposed riverbanks and unusually low water levels. Hot and dry summers are increasingly causing water levels to fall. For shipping and for the companies located along the river, this is a challenge.

For centuries, the Rhine has been one of Europe’s lifelines. It connects the Alps with the North Sea, flows through several countries and has shaped business, culture and history like few other rivers. Industrial centers, ports and cities line its banks. Millions of people live and work in its catchment area. For many, the Rhine is a source of livelihood, a transport route and a place of recreation all at once.

For BASF, too, the Rhine is far more than a body of water outside the plant gates. Since the company was founded, the river has accompanied our development. Raw materials reach the site via the Rhine, products leave the site via the river, and water plays an important role in many production processes. BASF without the Rhine? Hard to imagine.

A river writes history

The Rhine’s central importance for business and trade did not only become apparent with industrialization.

The Romans already used the river as a transport and trade route. Later, one of Europe’s most important economic regions developed along its banks. Free navigation on the Rhine, established in 1868 with the Mannheim Act, created important conditions for the economic development of the entire region. At the same time, major hydraulic engineering projects helped make the river more usable and more predictable.

When BASF was founded in 1865, Europe was in the midst of industrial transformation. The Rhine quickly became a decisive locational advantage. It enabled raw materials to be delivered and finished products to be transported in all directions. From Basel via Ludwigshafen to Rotterdam, a closely interconnected economic area emerged that remains one of the world’s most important industrial regions today.

One of the most extraordinary episodes in the history of the Rhine occurred in the winter of 1929. At that time, an extreme cold wave swept across Central Europe. Temperatures fell well below freezing within just a few days. Eventually, the Rhine froze over – not only near Ludwigshafen, but along almost its entire length. What caused considerable problems for industry and largely brought shipping traffic to a standstill became a spectacular event for the people living nearby. Between Ludwigshafen and Mannheim, footpaths formed across the ice. BASF employees walked across the frozen Rhine. It was a winter of the century that has not been repeated in this form to this day.

History shows how closely life on the Rhine has always been linked to the forces of nature. Sometimes it was ice that blocked the river. Today, it is more often dry periods and low water. Yet the significance of the Rhine has remained unchanged.

A lifeline that must be protected

Anyone who uses the Rhine also bears responsibility for protecting it.

This is especially true for large industrial sites. After all, water is indispensable for many production processes – whether as a raw material, for cooling or for cleaning processes. At the same time, the Rhine is a habitat for numerous animal and plant species and a source of drinking water for millions of people.

That is why water protection has been an important part of environmental management at BASF for decades.

The central question is how discharges into water bodies can be avoided as far as possible and how impacts can be continuously reduced. Monitoring requires a high level of technical and personnel resources. Cooling water and wastewater are continuously checked before they leave the site. In addition, numerous samples are taken every day and analyzed in detail.

This monitoring does not end at the plant gates.

Just a few kilometers downstream from the site is the Rhine Water Quality Monitoring Station in Worms. Since 1995, water samples have been taken there continuously and measurement data collected. The station monitors the water quality of the Rhine around the clock and is one of the most important facilities of its kind in Germany. It analyses biological, physical and chemical parameters and can assign possible impacts to specific sections of the river.

Within the site, too, there is a sophisticated system for monitoring wastewater. If unusual values occur at a measuring station, a kind of detective work begins. Specialists trace the cause through the site’s extensive sewer system, take additional samples and work closely with the production plants. The aim is to identify and remedy possible disruptions as early as possible.

Particular attention is also paid to the temperature of the Rhine water. Especially in hot summers, warming of the river can affect the ecosystem. That is why there are clear legal requirements and extensive technical measures to limit the thermal load on the Rhine. Recooling plants help dissipate a large proportion of the heat generated and reduce the impact on the water body.

Protecting the Rhine is therefore not a single measure, but an ongoing task. A task that requires attention, investment and technical expertise every single day.

From its own tanker to modern Rhine logistics

For BASF, however, the Rhine was never only a source of water, but always also a transport route.

The company recognized the special importance of shipping early on. At the end of the 19th century, BASF even began building up its own fleet of tankers. The first ship, the “BASF 1”, entered service in 1898 and transported sulphuric acid. Further special-purpose vessels followed. Names such as “Justus von Liebig”, “Rudolf Knietsch” and “Fritz Haber” still recall this era today. The ships transported sulphuric and nitric acid as well as ammonia, among other things, and for decades handled a large share of the company’s supplies.

Working on the ships was demanding. Skippers and crews had to keep an eye on the weather, water levels and the constantly changing conditions on the Rhine. Particularly on the Upper Rhine, shifting gravel banks could make navigation difficult. Anyone wanting to bring a ship safely to its destination needed experience and precise local knowledge.

The importance of the waterway has by no means diminished. Large quantities of raw materials and products are still transported on the Rhine. Every day, ships dock at the ports of the Ludwigshafen site and help ensure that material flows function reliably.

Inland shipping offers a decisive advantage: it can transport large quantities of goods with comparatively low energy consumption. For an integrated Verbund site such as Ludwigshafen, it therefore remains an important part of logistics.

When water levels fall

While the frozen Rhine of 1929 is now a historical exception, other challenges are increasingly coming to the fore. Hot summers and longer dry periods are leading more frequently to phases of low water. When water levels fall, ships can carry less cargo. Some sections become more difficult to navigate, and logistics chains come under pressure.

For an industrial site that has been closely connected with the Rhine for more than 160 years, this raises a central question: how can supply be secured even under changing climatic conditions?

BASF has not only recently started addressing this challenge. Experience from previous periods of low water has shown that adjustments are necessary. These include forward-looking logistics planning, additional transport options and technical solutions on the waterway itself.

Modern low-water vessels play a particularly important role here. They are specially designed to transport the largest possible quantities even when water levels are low. Thanks to their design, they require less draught than conventional ships and can therefore still be used economically when other vessels have to significantly reduce their cargo.

They are an example of how traditional strengths can be combined with new solutions. The Rhine remains a central transport route – but the way it is used continues to evolve.

The Rhine remains indispensable

For centuries, the Rhine has connected people, cities and economic regions. For BASF, it has always been far more than a river outside the plant gates.

It is a transport route, a source of water, a locational factor and part of the company’s history all at once. Without the Rhine, the development of the Ludwigshafen site would have been hard to imagine.

At the same time, this special proximity brings responsibility. Protecting the Rhine, monitoring water quality and investing in modern environmental and cooling technology are expressions of this responsibility.

Periods of low water will continue to accompany the Rhine in the future. Modern logistics concepts and special low-water vessels help ensure the company can remain capable of acting even under changed conditions.

The Rhine is and remains a lifeline. For Europe. For the region. And for BASF.

More information about the Rhine and BASF: Lifeline Rhine

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/lifeline-rhine-river-shaped-ludwigshafen-basf-8gxxf

July 30, 2026

Urethane Highlights from Stepan Call

Stepan Company (SCL) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Jul 29, 2026, 4:53 PM ETStepan Company (SCL) Stock

Q2: 2026-07-29 Earnings Summary

EPS of $1.18 beats by $0.57

 | Revenue of $684.11M (15.04% Y/Y) beats by $48.26M

Stepan Company (SCL) Q2 2026 Earnings Call July 29, 2026 9:00 AM EDT

Company Participants

Ruben Velasquez – VP & Chief Financial Officer
Luis Rojo – President, CEO & Director

Luis Rojo
President, CEO & Director

Thank you, Ruben. Good morning, and thank you all for joining us today to discuss our second quarter 2026 results. I will share the highlights of the quarter and an update on our key strategic priorities and Ruben will take you through the financial details.

Before reviewing the quarter, I want to recognize our teams around the world for their commitment to safety. Safety remains our top priority and the foundation on everything we do at Stepan. That focus was evident again this quarter, as we now have delivered the strongest safety performance on record in the last 12 months. Congratulations, team.

The second quarter was a strong quarter of execution for Stepan. Broad-based volume growth and margin recovery together with the initial benefits from Project Catalyst actions drove significant improvement in earnings.

I want to highlight a few elements of our second quarter performance. Adjusted EBITDA was $74 million, up 45% versus the prior year, with all 3 levers contributing to the results. First, volume growth. Organic volume grew 6%, with growth across all our end markets. We’re growing share in many of our strategic end markets.

Second, margin recovery. The pricing actions we are implementing, together with the discipline and execution of our contractual pass-through mechanisms, contributed to margin recovery during the quarter and helped offset higher raw material costs. Third, productivity and cost out. Project Catalyst remains on track, with savings ramping up in line with our plan. We are on track to deliver our savings commitments for the year.

Looking at the consolidated results, net sales were $684 million, up 15% versus the prior year, reflecting higher selling prices, higher volume, favorable product and customer mix, and favorable currency translation. Adjusted earnings per diluted share were $1.18, more than double the prior year.

Finally, we remain focused on cash generation and balance sheet deleveraging. We finished Q2 with a net leverage ratio of 2.5x. We continue to advance the previously announced agreement to sell a parcel of nonproductive land adjacent to our plant in Joliet, Illinois, subject to customary closing conditions.

We were pleased with the breadth of the growth during the quarter. We also believe a portion of the incremental demand we experienced in the quarter reflects some customer pre-buying in response to the geopolitical and raw material uncertainty. We are considering that potential timing effect as we plan for the second half of 2026.

Ruben Velasquez
VP & Chief Financial Officer

Thank you, Luis. As shared in our second quarter 2026 earnings release, reported net income was $22.9 million or $1 per diluted share, up 102% versus $11.3 million or $0.50 per diluted share in the prior year. Reported results include a $5.1 million pretax restructuring charge or $4 million aftertax, largely related to the previously announced closure of our Fieldsboro, New Jersey site and the decommissioning of select assets at our Millsdale, Illinois and Stalybridge, United Kingdom facilities. The cash impact associated with restructuring was approximately $6 million during the quarter.

The plan to reduce our global salaried workforce, announced today, is part of the previously announced Project Catalyst efficiency initiative. The majority of the expenses associated with these workforce actions is expected to be recognized during the second half of 2026. The company anticipates full-year restructuring charges in the range of $75 million to $80 million, which is in line with prior communications.

Moving to Polymers on Slide 8. Net sales were $178 million, a 9% increase versus the prior year. Selling prices were up 3%, primarily due to pricing actions and the pass-through of higher raw material costs. Sales volume increased 5% in the quarter.

North American volume was up strong double digits, driven by rigid polyols and phthalic anhydride, including significant growth in our spray foam product line. This was partially offset by lower volumes in Europe and Asia. Foreign currency translation positively impacted net sales by 1%.

Polymer adjusted EBITDA was $31 million, up 22% versus the prior year, primarily due to sales volume growth and margin recovery. North America EBITDA was up $5 million on strong volume growth and margin recovery. Europe improved modestly as margin recovery helped offset construction demand that remained soft. Asia was slightly lower on softer demand in China.

Michael Harrison
Seaport Research Partners

Then I was hoping maybe you could give a little bit more color on the opportunity in the Polymers business for spray foam. I see in the slide deck here that the volumes were up 3x year-on-year. I understand you started from a relatively small number. But where do you think that business can go in the next year or 2 as you presumably pick up some market share and kind of build out your position in that relatively new space?

Luis Rojo
President, CEO & Director

Mike, great question. And we are pleased with our initiative on spray foam. We are committed to this market. This is a white space for us because, I mean, as you know, we were focused on the lamination piece. And this market, historically, has been very strong and has been growing high single digits. So that’s why we really want to participate in it. I’m not going to give you an exact forecast.

I will say that I’m pleased with the 3x. Of course, it’s a very low base, as you mentioned. But the important piece here is to have a good portion of the market and grow with the market in the future. We all believe in the next 5 to 10 years, spray foam will continue growing as a market as it did in the last decade, and we want to participate out of that market growth.

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4927176-stepan-company-scl-q2-2026-earnings-call-transcript

July 23, 2026

Dow Earnings Call Urethane Highlights

Dow Inc. (DOW) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Jul 23, 2026, 3:20 PM ETDow Inc. (DOW) Stock

Q2: 2026-07-23 Earnings Summary

EPS of $1.44 beats by $0.16

 | Revenue of $12.09B (19.68% Y/Y) beats by $65.20M

Dow Inc. (DOW) Q2 2026 Earnings Call July 23, 2026 8:00 AM EDT

Company Participants

Andrew Riker – Vice President of Investor Relations
Karen Carter – CEO & Director
Jeffrey Tate – Chief Financial Officer

Karen Carter
CEO & Director

Good morning, and thank you for joining us. As I assumed the role of CEO this month, I couldn’t help but reflect on the many fundamentals that have made Dow successful throughout our nearly 130-year history, many of which are still true today. We have a strong portfolio, a world-scale global asset base, deep customer relationships and exceptional talent. So before reviewing our near-term performance and outlook, I want to reiterate how we are using these strengths to continue building a more competitive company that consistently delivers long-term value. We have laid out our top priorities on Slide 3.

We will stay focused on the areas we can control while acting decisively in response to those we cannot. This means we will set our sights on these key priorities, holding ourselves accountable to deliver on our commitments and ensuring we are consistently grounded in creating value. First, we will drive focused growth and innovation in the high-value markets where Dow can win and create differentiated value with our customers. We will prioritize targeted innovation, technology and commercial excellence to strengthen our competitive position, deepen customer relationships and accelerate growth where we have the greatest opportunity to lead. Second, we’re enhancing our portfolio competitiveness.

This means operating with the best owner mindset across our portfolio, investing in leading businesses, technologies and low-cost positions while also taking action where we are no longer competitive. And third, we will continue to hold ourselves accountable for taking a balanced approach to capital allocation. This includes using consistent principles to strengthen our balance sheet, driving a focus on cash flow and ensuring maximum financial flexibility. Jeff and I will share additional details later on today’s call and in the coming months on each of these priorities.

But first, let’s turn to Slide 4. We delivered solid results in the second quarter. This reflects our industry leadership as we translated improved market fundamentals and disciplined execution into meaningful earnings growth, margin expansion and cash generation. Net sales were $12.1 billion, reflecting a 20% increase versus the year ago period and operating EBITDA was $2.3 billion. We demonstrated meaningful progress toward ensuring lasting competitiveness, delivering more than $300 million of benefits in the quarter through our targeted self-help actions. This includes, first and foremost, the completion of our $1 billion 2025 cost savings program.

Additionally, transform to outperform is beginning to deliver meaningful impact, and we shut down our upstream siloxanes unit in Barry, United Kingdom. We also announced new product and innovation capabilities across our silicones franchise. This allows us to capitalize on higher-value downstream opportunities and grow in attractive end markets like consumer and mobility applications where Dow is providing a wide range of enhanced solutions. The key takeaway is this. Team Dow is executing with discipline. We are doing so in an uncertain environment and taking bold actions within our control to deliver lasting competitiveness for Dow and improve value creation. We advanced meaningful self-help actions, and we have a clear path to creating long-term value with greater earnings durability and stronger cash flow through the cycle.

Jeffrey Tate
Chief Financial Officer

Thank you, and good morning to everyone joining today. As Karen mentioned, and before I get into segment results, Dow’s second quarter earnings reflect pricing leadership, better integrated margins, improved cash flow and the benefit of our self-help initiatives. This all showed up in the bottom line. And as a result, we adjusted our expected performance-based compensation compared to recent years. Now turning to our Packaging & Specialty Plastics segment on Slide 5. Net sales were $6.4 billion, up 27% versus the year ago period.

Operating EBIT was approximately $1.3 billion, reflecting an increase over the same period last year. This was primarily driven by higher polyethylene pricing, which lifted local price by more than 40%. Benefits from these higher prices in the Packaging & Specialty Plastics business were seen broadly across all regions and all applications. This more than offset lower polyethylene volumes, which declined in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India as well as Asia Pacific, while growing in the resilient Americas. The Hydrocarbons and Energy business reported higher net sales, driven by increased olefins pricing, which more than offset lower volumes from planned maintenance on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Importantly, while operating rates in the Hydrocarbons and Energy business declined to 84% because of planned maintenance activity, we also successfully restarted our lowest cost, most flexible European cracker in Terneuzen to match market conditions and optimize margins. Turning to Industrial Intermediates & Infrastructure on Slide 6. The segment delivered a strong year-over-year improvement in the second quarter. Net sales were up 14% versus the year ago period, driven by a 15% increase in local price. This reflects gains across both businesses in all regions.

Operating EBIT improved to $246 million, up from the same quarter last year, supported by higher margins, our self-help initiatives and lower planned maintenance activity. Polyurethanes & Construction Chemicals benefited from local price gains. And our Industrial Solutions business delivered improved sales, continuing to benefit from the start-up of our [ alkoxylation ] growth investments, which serve attractive end markets such as home care, pharma and energy. We also generated incremental earnings this quarter from the sale of noncore land in Taiwan, where we had previously shut down production. This action aligns directly to our efforts to actively optimize our portfolio with the best owner mindset.

John McNulty
BMO Capital Markets Equity Research

Just wanted to unpack II&I a bit more because it certainly seemed like you had a really chunky jump. And I understand some of it is on the asset sale, but it does seem still a bit stronger than what we were expecting. So I guess, can you help us to think about what drove some of the strength there and the sustainability of that? And then also, I mean, I think you spoke to some of the data center growth and opportunities. I guess, can you help us scale that in terms of how big that is now, the type of growth that you’re seeing and how we should be thinking about that going forward?

Karen Carter
CEO & Director

Sure. So on II&I, the jump in second quarter was driven primarily by higher margins, and that was resulting from some supply disruptions that we saw in the Americas impacting our peers. So MDI and PO specifically. You asked about the durability. The fundamentals and particularly in building and construction are still pretty weak overall. And so I would say that as we expect, particularly going into the third quarter, and this is part of our 3Q guide that those supply disruptions will start to dissipate. So you’ll start to see normalization on those margins. But to your point around data centers, I mean, this is a great new story for our DIS business, which, of course, is part of I&I. And they also helped to deliver that sequential jump in earnings. I mean we are seeing higher integrated margins across all product lines in DIS.

Data centers remains a really strong source of growth for our thermal cooling solutions in particular. We’re also seeing growth in home care solutions, so think cleaning, laundry detergent. Of course, we announced growth investments last year in our alkoxylation capacity. that’s directly impacting that. We’re also seeing growth in pegs and surfactants, which also impact cleaning and laundry detergent applications. The other thing I’d say about data centers is not just the products that we’re selling into it, but one of the things that we launched in the second quarter is something called our Dow Coolant Care Network that’s servicing data centers in terms of their thermal management needs. These data centers are pretty hot. So managing the heat is one of the critical issues that they have. And so we’re pretty excited about what this new integrated service model is going to bring to us in terms of additional margins, but also additional revenue.

Abigail Eberts
Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, Research Division

One more on MDI. I think you kind of covered it in the last comment. But are you facing any issues with carbon monoxide or chlorine supply? And then also with oil prices coming back up, do you expect to give back some of that margin benefit you saw from lower benzene prices this quarter?

Karen Carter
CEO & Director

So thanks for the question. No, we’re not having any issues on your first question. Again, things continue to be quite volatile. We are seeing benzene, of course, that’s related to oil, that’s starting to come back up. And so you could see some margin come back in into third quarter that we do not have baked into our third quarter guide. And as I indicated before, we’re going to focus on maximizing the quarter just as we did in second quarter. And if things materialize greatly differently than the [ 1.7 ], then we’ll come back to you with more information.

Joshua Spector
UBS Investment Bank, Research Division

I wanted to do another follow-up on the II&I side of things. Just when you were talking about the delta versus expectations, you were talking a lot about volumes and some of the success you had there, but your reported II&I volumes are down about a couple of percent year-on-year. So I mean, it looks like more of the benefit was spread related. And I guess within the quarter, or maybe a couple of hundred million better.

About half of that seems like that’s kind of onetime with the land sale and the other half, like are you assuming that you hold on to more of that? Is there something structural you would talk about that’s helped II&I from the spread side here that we should be maintaining? Or is this more just a reflection that the markets still are tighter? What is your view there?

Karen Carter
CEO & Director

So thanks for the question. On the volume side, it’s really Sadara. That’s the gap that you’re seeing that asset continues to be down. And so that’s negatively impacting our volumes in the II&I segment, particularly on polyurethanes. But as we look at the third quarter guide, we are assuming lower margins overall, really driven by typical lower seasonal demand, but then also downward pressure — pricing pressure in Europe. To the point that, again, we’re in a really volatile environment. So we could see some of that margin come back in, in Europe, which would give us some upside to that $1.7 billion.

And then you mentioned the land sale that’s also serving as a sequential tailwind and a headwind in third quarter. So let’s see what happens. Again, we’re also seeing some normalization on the MDI and PO that we said was impacting peers before, but we do have a bit of a tailwind baked into the $1.7 billion guide on that. If it takes the peers longer to get backup, then that too could be a positive for us versus the guide.

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4924741-dow-inc-dow-q2-2026-earnings-call-transcript?position=rta_analysis_sublogic_pretestlaunch_main_3_textlink&mailingid=46717101&serial=46717101.5342&messageid=2800&source=email_2800