Eastman announces third-quarter 2026 financial results

KINGSPORT, Tennessee

Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN) announced its third-quarter 2026 financial results. 

• Delivered EPS growth and solid cash flow in a dynamic environment
• Strong performance in Additives & Functional Products, demonstrating resilience in a challenging environment
• Demonstrated commercial discipline in Advanced Materials as improved selling prices substantially offset higher raw material and distribution costs
• Fibers on track to deliver expected volume growth in the second half as customers meet annual contract commitments
• Announced reinstatement of a $375 million U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) award supporting the continued scale up of the circular platform; on track to drive significant revenue growth in 2026 and 2027
• On track to deliver $125 million to $150 million of cost savings, net of inflation
• Generated $377 million in operating cash flow through the first nine months and expect to release working capital in the fourth quarter

*For non-core and unusual items excluded from adjusted earnings and for adjusted provision for income taxes, segment adjusted EBIT margins, and net debt, reconciliations to reported company and segment earnings and total borrowings for all periods presented in this release, see Tables 3A, 3B, 4A, and 6.

“Eastman delivered solid results amid ongoing global macroeconomic uncertainty and escalation of the Middle East conflict,” said Mark Costa, Board Chair and CEO. “Input costs continued to elevate, and the Eastman team successfully implemented higher sequential price increases in our specialties. We remain on track to implement approximately $500 million of selling price increases in 2026 compared to our expectations from before the Middle East conflict began. In addition, sequential sales volume/mix decreased due to seasonal declines across our key end markets and softening underlying demand in automotive and consumer durables. We also remain confident in the circular platform and are positioned for solid revenue growth this year. In this context, we remained focused on our disciplined approach toward cost savings, and we remain on track to reduce costs by $125 million to $150 million, net of inflation in 2026. We also continue to emphasize the importance of operating cash flow in this dynamic environment.”

Corporate Results 3Q 2026 versus 3Q 2025

Sales revenue increased 8 percent due to 7 percent higher selling prices and 1 percent higher sales volume/mix.

Higher selling prices across the company were primarily driven by higher raw material and distribution costs as well as tight market conditions in Chemical Intermediates due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

EBIT increased primarily due to improved asset utilization after actions to reduce inventory in third quarter 2025, including lower planned maintenance expense and favorable price-cost. These factors were partially offset by higher variable compensation expense. 

Segment Results 3Q 2026 versus 3Q 2025

Advanced Materials – Sales revenue increased 5 percent due to 4 percent higher selling prices and 1 percent favorable foreign currency exchange rates.

Higher selling prices in specialty plastics were due to higher raw material and distribution costs. Sales volume/mix was unchanged as increases in specialty plastics and advanced interlayers were offset by lower sales volume/mix in performance films.

EBIT increased due to substantially improved asset utilization and lower planned maintenance costs.

Additives & Functional Products – Sales revenue increased 9 percent due to 10 percent higher selling prices partially offset by 1 percent lower sales volume/mix. Higher selling prices were due to cost-pass-through contracts adjusting to higher raw material and distribution costs.

EBIT increased due to improvement in both price-cost and asset utilization.

Fibers – Sales revenue was unchanged as 4 percent higher sales volume/mix was offset by 4 percent lower selling prices. Acetate tow volume was similar to last year.

Higher sales volume/mix was due to increased sales of textiles and acetyl chemical products.  Lower selling prices were due to lower acetate tow contract pricing.

EBIT decreased due to lower acetate tow contract pricing and increased raw material and distribution costs.

Chemical Intermediates – Sales revenue increased by 16 percent due to 12 percent higher selling prices and 4 percent higher sales volume/mix.

Higher selling prices and higher sales volume/mix, particularly for olefin and derivative products, were driven by increased volume availability and tight market conditions due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

EBIT increased primarily due to higher spreads.

Cash Flow

In the third quarter of 2026, cash provided by operating activities was $290 million versus $402 million in the third quarter of 2025. The company returned $96 million to stockholders through dividends. See Table 5. Priorities for uses of available cash for 2026 include payment of the quarterly dividend, capital expenditures, and maintaining our solid investment-grade balance sheet.

2026 Outlook

Commenting on the outlook for fourth-quarter and full-year 2026, Costa said: “We expect to deliver a solid full-year performance in both earnings and cash flow, despite a challenging macroeconomic environment and the escalation of the Middle East conflict. In particular, the Middle East conflict has led to higher raw material and distribution costs and increasing interest rates. We expect sequential demand declines with normal seasonality and some additional customer caution somewhat offset by innovation-driven growth. In this context, we are highly focused on delivering growth in our circular platform and driving innovation across our specialty businesses. We also expect an increase in acetate tow sales volume in Fibers, as customers meet annual contract commitments. Given the acceleration of raw material and distribution costs through this quarter, we are taking additional price actions across the company. We expect to have higher planned shutdown costs in the fourth quarter, which will be partially offset by a continuation of cost actions through the year. When putting these factors together, we project adjusted earnings per share for full-year 2026 to be between $6.00 and $6.20 and operating cash flow to be approximately $850 million. These results demonstrate the value of our innovation-driven growth model and our ability to deliver solid earnings growth in an uncertain macroeconomic environment.”

The fourth-quarter 2026 projected adjusted diluted EPS excludes any non-core, unusual, or non-recurring items. Our financial results forecasts do not include non-core items (such as mark-to-market pension and other post-retirement benefit gain or loss, and asset impairments and restructuring charges) or any unusual or non-recurring items because we are unable to predict with reasonable certainty the financial impact of such items. These items are uncertain and depend on various factors, and we are unable to reconcile projected adjusted diluted EPS excluding non-core and any unusual or non-recurring items to reported GAAP diluted EPS without unreasonable efforts.

Forward-Looking Statements

The information in this release and other statements by the company may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act with respect to, among other items: projections and estimates of earnings, revenues, volumes, pricing, margins, sales, cost reductions, expenses, taxes, liquidity, capital expenditures, cash flow, dividends, share repurchases or other financial items, supply and demand, capacity and utilization, growth opportunities, statements of management’s plans, strategies and objectives for future operations, and statements regarding future economic, industry or market conditions or performance. Such projections and estimates are based upon certain preliminary information, internal estimates, and management assumptions, expectations, and plans. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, and actual performance or results could differ materially from that anticipated by any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement. Other important assumptions and factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are detailed in the sections entitled "Risk Factors" and "Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, and as updated in the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), which are accessible on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and the company’s website at www.eastman.com.

Financial Measures (Non-GAAP)

In addition to the financial information presented in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP"), this press release includes the following non-GAAP financial measures: adjusted EBIT, adjusted EBIT margin, and adjusted earnings per diluted share. We define adjusted EBIT as the GAAP measure EBIT adjusted for non-core, unusual, or non-recurring items. Adjusted earnings per diluted share is defined as the GAAP measure earnings per diluted share adjusted for non-core, unusual, or non-recurring items. Adjusted EBIT margin is defined as adjusted EBIT divided by the GAAP measure sales revenue in the Company's Unaudited Consolidated Statement of Earnings, Comprehensive Income and Retained Earnings for the same periods. See the reconciliation tables presented in this release for a detailed reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measure.

We believe that in addition to our results determined in accordance with GAAP, these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to both management and investors in measuring our financial performance and highlight trends in our business that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on GAAP measures. These non-GAAP financial measures provide supplemental information regarding our operating performance that excludes certain gains, losses and non-cash charges that occur relatively infrequently and/or that we consider to be unrelated to our core operations. Non-GAAP financial information is presented for supplemental informational purposes only and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for financial information presented in accordance with GAAP. Our presentation of non-GAAP measures should not be construed as an inference that our future results will be unaffected by unusual or non-recurring items. Other companies in our industry may calculate these measures differently, which may limit their usefulness as comparative measures.

Conference Call and Webcast Information

Eastman will host a conference call with industry analysts on Oct. 30, 2026, at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time. To listen to the live webcast of the conference call and view the accompanying slides and prepared remarks, go to investors.eastman.com, Events & Presentations. The slides and prepared remarks to be discussed during the call and webcast will be available at investors.eastman.com at approximately 4:15 p.m. Eastern Time on Oct. 29, 2026. To listen via telephone, the toll-free dial-in number is +1 (833) 461-5787, passcode 652 847 425. To speed up connecting into the teleconference, participants may pre-register at https://events.q4inc.com/analyst/652847425?pwd=0MK9YrIb; upon registration, participants will receive unique dial-in information via email. A web replay, a replay in downloadable MP3 format, and the accompanying slides and prepared remarks will be available at investors.eastman.com, Events & Presentations. A telephone replay will be available continuously beginning at approximately 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Oct. 30, through 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, Nov. 10, 2026, toll-free at +1 (833) 309-1852, passcode 652 847 425.

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