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APD Q3 Earnings Beat on Volume Growth, Sales Miss Estimates

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Key Takeaways

  • APD's adjusted earnings rose 12.3% to $3.47 per share, beating estimates by 3.3%.
  • Higher on-site volumes, pricing and currency helped expand adjusted operating margin to 25.6%.
  • APD raised fiscal 2026 EPS guidance and cut its capital spending forecast to about $3.5 billion.

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (APD - Free Report) reported third-quarter fiscal 2026 (ended June 30, 2026) adjusted earnings of $3.47 per share, up 12.3% from $3.09 a year ago. The figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.36 by 3.3%.

Sales rose 4.6% year over year to $3.16 billion but missed the consensus mark of $3.18 billion by 0.5%. Higher on-site volumes, favorable currency and pricing supported results. Adjusted operating margin expanded 110 basis points to 25.6%.

APD Segment Highlights

Americas sales increased 5% year over year to $1.32 billion. The gain reflected 7% higher volumes, driven by HyCO facilities and a new on-site asset, partially offset by a 2% decline in energy cost pass-through. Favorable pricing also supported the region.

Asia sales rose 9% to $886 million on 6% higher volumes, 2% favorable currency and 1% higher energy cost pass-through. Growth came from stronger on-site volumes, new assets and improved helium volumes. The region's operating income climbed 18%, while operating margin expanded 210 basis points to 28.9%.

Europe sales advanced 6% to $815.7 million as a 3% higher energy cost pass-through, 3% favorable currency and 2% higher pricing outweighed a 2% volume decline. Higher pricing, favorable currency and a richer on-site business mix supported earnings, but fixed-cost inflation contributed to a 90-basis-point margin contraction.

Air Products Financials

Air Products ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $980.5 million. Long-term debt was $16.59 billion as of June 30, 2026. Capital expenditures totaled $2.65 billion for the first nine months of fiscal 2026, down from $4 billion in the year-ago period.

APD Guidance

APD raised its fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings guidance to $13.39-$13.49 per share from the prior range of $13.00-$13.25. For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, Air Products expects adjusted earnings of $3.55-$3.65 per share

The company now anticipates fiscal 2026 capital expenditures of approximately $3.5 billion, below its earlier projection of about $4 billion. Management expects new asset contributions, pricing actions and productivity initiatives to support performance, while remaining cautious because of macroeconomic uncertainty.

APD’s Price Performance

Shares of APD have gained 2.3% in the past year compared with the industry’s 1.7% rise.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

APD’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks

APD currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are The Chemours Company (CC - Free Report) , Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (KRO - Free Report) and Avient Corporation (AVNT - Free Report) .

Chemours is slated to report second-quarter 2026 results on Aug. 4. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at 43 cents per share. CC sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here

Kronos is scheduled to report second-quarter 2026 results on Aug. 5. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for KRO’s second-quarter loss per share is pegged at 33 cents, indicating 65.63% year-over-year growth. KRO also flaunts a Zacks Rank #1 at present.

Avient is slated to report second-quarter 2026 results on Aug. 6. The consensus estimate for AVNT’s earnings per share is pegged at $3.08. AVNT presently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

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