Street View: Limited earnings upside for Celanese amid persistent headwinds

Celanese

12/08/2025 12:01

** Chemicals maker Celanese CE.N forecast third-quarter profit below estimates on Monday, anticipating waning demand across most of its key markets in the second half of 2025

** Shares down 16% in premarket trading

EXTENDED HEADWINDS TO IMPACT FUTURE EARNINGS

** RBC Capital Markets ("sector perform," PT: $63) says it does not expect material earnings upside for the company in the next year on persistent headwinds in construction, industrial and auto sectors

** "CE did mention auto destocking in Europe has eased and continued alleviation of inventory actions could result in an uplift in 2026" - brokerage

** Baird ("outperform," PT: $67) says Q3 guidance is irrespectively likely to weigh on investor sentiment despite significant year-to-date underperformance

** "In our opinion, while the management team of Celanese is pulling on the right self-improvement levers (cost-outs/asset sales/maximizing cash flow) ... end-market volumes remain at a low point - with 3Q earnings partly impacted by inventory reduction initiatives," - brokerage

 (Reporting by Pooja Menon in Bengaluru)

 ((Pooja.Menon@thomsonreuters.com;))