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Dow Inc. DOW recorded a loss (on a reported basis) of $307 million or 44 cents per share in first-quarter 2025. This compares to a profit of $516 million or 73 cents per share a year ago. The bottom line was hurt by lower prices and restructuring charges.
On an adjusted basis (barring one-time items), DOW logged earnings of 2 cents for the reported quarter, down from 56 cents a year ago. The figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 2 cents.
Dow recorded net sales of $10,431 million for the quarter, down 3% year over year. It, however, surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $10,271.4 million. The top line was impacted by lower sales across all segments.
Volumes were up 2% year over year in the reported quarter, driven by gains in all regions barring Latin America, marking the sixth straight quarter of year-over-year volume growth amid a challenging macroeconomic environment. Local prices fell 3% year over year in the quarter with declines across all segments.
(Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.)
Dow Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Dow Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Dow Inc. Quote
Dow’s Segment Highlights
Packaging & Specialty Plastics: The division’s sales fell 2% year over year to $5,310 million in the reported quarter. The figure was above our estimate of $5,172.1 million. Volumes rose 4% year over year on higher licensing revenues and merchant hydrocarbon sales. Local prices fell 4% due to reduced functional polymers and polyethylene prices.
Industrial Intermediates & Infrastructure: Sales for the unit were down 5% year over year to $2,855 million. The figure was below our estimate of $2,872.6 million. Local prices were down 4% in the quarter. Volumes rose 1% as increased volumes in industrial solutions were offset by lower volumes in polyurethanes and construction chemicals.
Performance Materials & Coatings: Revenues from the division fell 4% year over year to $2,071 million. The figure was below our estimate of $2,098.2 million. Volumes fell 1% while local prices went down 2%. Volumes fell as gains in downstream silicones were more than masked by lower volumes in acrylic monomers and upstream siloxanes.
DOW’s Financials
Dow had cash and cash equivalents of $1,465 million at the end of the quarter, down around 33% from the prior quarter. Long-term debt was $15,932 million, up around 1% sequentially.
Cash provided by operating activities from continuing operations was $104 million in the reported quarter, down from $460 million in the prior-year quarter.
Dow also returned $494 million to shareholders in the reported quarter through dividends.