Celanese Q1 sales slightly beat estimates

Celanese

05/05/2026 21:28

Overview

US specialty materials maker's Q1 sales rose 6% sequentially, slightly beating analyst expectations

Adjusted EPS for Q1 missed analyst consensus

Company to close nylon 6,6 polymerization unit in Singapore for portfolio optimization

Outlook

Celanese expects Q2 adjusted EPS of $2.00 to $2.40

Company estimates H2 2026 adjusted EPS of about $3.00 per share

Celanese raises 2026 full-year free cash flow outlook to $700 mln-$800 mln

Result Drivers

VOLUME GROWTH - Sequential sales increase driven by 5% higher volumes, with Engineered Materials up 3% and Acetyl Chain up 8%

FAVORABLE PRODUCT MIX AND COST PRODUCTIVITY - Engineered Materials benefited from improved product mix and cost reduction initiatives

HIGHER FEEDSTOCK AND ENERGY COSTS - Gains were partially offset by increased feedstock and energy costs across both businesses

Company press release: ID:nBw71PVHMa

Key Details

Metric
Beat/Miss
Actual
Consensus Estimate
Q1 Sales
Slight Beat*
$2.34 bln
$2.33 bln (12 Analysts)
Q1 Adjusted EPS
Miss
$0.85
$0.87 (14 Analysts)
Q1 Net Earnings
$48 mln


*Applies to a deviation of less than 1%; not applicable for per-share numbers.

Analyst Coverage

The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 9 "strong buy" or "buy", 8 "hold" and 1 "sell" or "strong sell"

The average consensus recommendation for the specialty chemicals peer group is "buy"

Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Celanese Corp is $71.00, about 3.3% above its May 4 closing price of $68.74

The stock recently traded at 12 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 8 three months ago

For questions concerning the data in this report, contact Estimates.Support@lseg.com. For any other questions or feedback, contact reuters.support@thomsonreuters.com.

(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)