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Ashland Q4 Earnings Miss Estimates on Portfolio Actions, Revenues Down
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Key Takeaways
Ashland's Q4 profit rose to $32M from $16M YoY, though adjusted EPS fell short of estimates.
Sales declined 8% year over year to $478M, weighed by divestitures.
The company expects full-year fiscal 2026 adjusted EBITDA to be $400-$430 million.
Ashland Global Holdings Inc. (ASH - Free Report) recorded a profit of $32 million or 71 cents per share for the fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 (ended Sept. 30, 2025) compared with a profit of $16 million or 33 cents in the prior-year quarter.
Barring one-time items, adjusted earnings were $1.08 per share, down from the year-ago quarter figure of $1.26. The bottom line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.17.
Sales were down 8% year over year to $478 million. The top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $474 million. Sales for the fiscal fourth quarter were adversely impacted by the portfolio optimization actions involving curtailing or divesting certain lower-margin products, lower volumes in Specialty Additives and reduced pricing.
Life Sciences: Sales in the segment were down 10% year over year to $173 million in the reported quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the same was $172 million. The decline was primarily caused by the portfolio optimization.
Personal Care: Sales in the division declined 7% year over year to $151 million. The metric surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $148 million. The decrease was primarily due to portfolio optimization, mainly attributed to the divestiture of the Avoca business line.
Specialty Additives: Sales in the segment fell 9% year over year to $131 million but beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $129 million. The decline was primarily due to the portfolio actions, including the divestment of the low-margin construction business.
Intermediates: Sales in the segment went down 8% year over year to $33 million. The figure also missed the consensus estimate of $34 million. Overall sales decreased, mostly due to lower prices and reduced merchant volumes.
ASH’s Financials
Cash and cash equivalents were $215 million at the end of the quarter, up around 3.9% sequentially. Long-term debt was $1,384 million, up roughly 2.6% over the prior quarter.
ASH’s Outlook
For fiscal 2026, Ashland expects sales to be in the range of $1.835-$1.905 billion and adjusted EBITDA to be $400-$430 million.
ASH’s Price Performance
Shares of Ashland have lost 37.1% in the past year compared with a 12.7% decline in the industry.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
ASH’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks
ASH currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
Some better-ranked stocks worth a look in the basic materials space are AngloGold Ashanti plc (AU - Free Report) , Integra Resources Corp. (ITRG - Free Report) and U.S. Gold Corp. (USAU - Free Report) .
AngloGold is scheduled to report third-quarter results on Nov. 11. AU carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AU’s third-quarter earnings is pegged at $1.34, indicating a 139.3% year-over-year growth. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Integra Resources is scheduled to report third-quarter results on Nov. 12. ITRG carries a Zacks Rank #2 at present. The consensus estimate for ITRG’s third-quarter earnings is pegged at 13 cents, indicating a 262.5% year-over-year growth.
U.S. Gold is expected to report fiscal second-quarter results on Dec. 15. USAU carries a Zacks Rank #2 at present. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for USAU’s second-quarter earnings is pegged at a loss of 13 cents, indicating a 35% year-over-year growth.
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Ashland Q4 Earnings Miss Estimates on Portfolio Actions, Revenues Down
Key Takeaways
Ashland Global Holdings Inc. (ASH - Free Report) recorded a profit of $32 million or 71 cents per share for the fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 (ended Sept. 30, 2025) compared with a profit of $16 million or 33 cents in the prior-year quarter.
Barring one-time items, adjusted earnings were $1.08 per share, down from the year-ago quarter figure of $1.26. The bottom line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.17.
Sales were down 8% year over year to $478 million. The top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $474 million. Sales for the fiscal fourth quarter were adversely impacted by the portfolio optimization actions involving curtailing or divesting certain lower-margin products, lower volumes in Specialty Additives and reduced pricing.
Ashland Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Ashland Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Ashland Inc. Quote
ASH’s Segment Highlights
Life Sciences: Sales in the segment were down 10% year over year to $173 million in the reported quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the same was $172 million. The decline was primarily caused by the portfolio optimization.
Personal Care: Sales in the division declined 7% year over year to $151 million. The metric surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $148 million. The decrease was primarily due to portfolio optimization, mainly attributed to the divestiture of the Avoca business line.
Specialty Additives: Sales in the segment fell 9% year over year to $131 million but beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $129 million. The decline was primarily due to the portfolio actions, including the divestment of the low-margin construction business.
Intermediates: Sales in the segment went down 8% year over year to $33 million. The figure also missed the consensus estimate of $34 million. Overall sales decreased, mostly due to lower prices and reduced merchant volumes.
ASH’s Financials
Cash and cash equivalents were $215 million at the end of the quarter, up around 3.9% sequentially. Long-term debt was $1,384 million, up roughly 2.6% over the prior quarter.
ASH’s Outlook
For fiscal 2026, Ashland expects sales to be in the range of $1.835-$1.905 billion and adjusted EBITDA to be $400-$430 million.
ASH’s Price Performance
Shares of Ashland have lost 37.1% in the past year compared with a 12.7% decline in the industry.
ASH’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks
ASH currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
Some better-ranked stocks worth a look in the basic materials space are AngloGold Ashanti plc (AU - Free Report) , Integra Resources Corp. (ITRG - Free Report) and U.S. Gold Corp. (USAU - Free Report) .
AngloGold is scheduled to report third-quarter results on Nov. 11. AU carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AU’s third-quarter earnings is pegged at $1.34, indicating a 139.3% year-over-year growth. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Integra Resources is scheduled to report third-quarter results on Nov. 12. ITRG carries a Zacks Rank #2 at present. The consensus estimate for ITRG’s third-quarter earnings is pegged at 13 cents, indicating a 262.5% year-over-year growth.
U.S. Gold is expected to report fiscal second-quarter results on Dec. 15. USAU carries a Zacks Rank #2 at present. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for USAU’s second-quarter earnings is pegged at a loss of 13 cents, indicating a 35% year-over-year growth.