Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. APD delivered second-quarter fiscal 2026 (ended March 31, 2026) adjusted earnings of $3.20 per share, up 19% from $2.69 in the year-ago quarter. The figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.05 by 4.9%.
Revenues rose 8.8% year over year to $3,171.8 million and topped the consensus mark of $3,040.1 million.
Profitability improved primarily due to higher on-site volumes, continued productivity and favorable currency. Lower depreciation also contributed to the quarter’s improvement, though pricing pressure in helium continued to weigh on the overall mix.
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
Air Products' Segment Highlights
Americas sales increased 8% year over year to $1,384 million. The rise was driven by higher energy cost pass-through, higher volumes and favorable currency. Air Products said volumes improved across both on-site and merchant channels, including helium, though the prior year benefited from income tied to a one-time customer contract amendment.
Asia sales climbed 8% to $833 million. The company pointed to higher volumes, favorable currency and higher energy cost pass-through as the main revenue supports, partially offset by lower pricing that it linked to helium.
Europe sales rose 8% year over year to $789 million. The increase reflected favorable currency and higher volumes, while lower energy cost pass-through and slightly lower pricing, again influenced by helium, created offsets within the quarter’s revenue mix.
Air Products' Financials
Air Products ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $951 million. The cash position reflects a period of elevated investment activity alongside continued shareholder returns. The capital expenditures for the quarter stood at $1.8 billion for the six-month period, while nearly $800 million in cash was returned to shareholders through dividends. Long-term debt was $17,086.6 million as of March 31, 2026, up roughly 20.7% year over year.
APD FY26 Outlook Updated
Air Products raised its full-year fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings guidance to $13.00-$13.25 per share, supported by its strong first-half performance and expectations for continued execution on pricing and productivity. Management said new asset contributions are expected to build through the second half, adding to the underlying earnings profile.
For the third quarter of fiscal 2026, APD expects adjusted earnings of $3.25-$3.35 per share, implying 5-8% growth from the prior-year period. The company maintained its fiscal 2026 capital expenditures outlook of approximately $4 billion.
APD’s Price Performance
The company’s shares have gained 11.1% in the past year compared with the Zacks Chemicals Diversified industry’s 16.5% rise.
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APD’s Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks
APD currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Some other top-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are CF Industries Holdings, Inc. CF, Compass Minerals International, Inc. CMP and Aris Mining Corporation ARIS.
CF Industries is slated to report first-quarter 2026 results on May 6. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $2.35 per share, indicating 27.03% year-over-year growth. CF sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Compass Mineral is slated to report second-quarter fiscal 2026 results on May 6. The consensus estimate for CMP’s earnings per share is pegged at 66 cents. CMP presently carries a Zacks Rank #1.
Aris is scheduled to report first-quarter 2026 results on May 6. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ARIS’s first-quarter earnings per share is pegged at 77 cents, indicating 381.25% year-over-year growth. ARIS carries a Zacks Rank #2 at present.
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Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (APD): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).