Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. APD 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%.
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. Quote
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.
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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, Kronos Worldwide, Inc. KRO and Avient Corporation AVNT.
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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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).