FMC’s 2Q16 Earnings Beat Analysts’ Estimates

On August 2, 2016, FMC Corporation (FMC) reported its 2Q16 earnings after the Market closed. FMC reported adjusted EPS (earnings per share) of $0.69 and beat Wall Street analysts’ consensus estimate of $0.68.

The company’s reported EPS for 2Q16 fell by 1.4% on a YoY (year-over-year) basis because of the ongoing challenges the company is facing in a few of its segments. We’ll discuss this later in the series.

On August 3, FMC’s stock price rose by 3.3% from its previous day’s closing price of $46.65, and the Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLB) rose by 0.25%. This ETF has invested 1.3% of its holdings in FMC.

Since the beginning of 2016, FMC has risen by 23.2% as of August 3. Below are the year-to-date (or YTD) returns of FMC’s peers as of the same date:

• Monsanto (MON) rose by 5.9%.
• DuPont (DD) rose by 3.5%.
• Dow Chemical (DOW) rose by 3.8%.

FMC increased its guidance for adjusted EPS to the range of $2.60–$2.90 for 2016, compared to its earlier guidance of $2.55–$2.85. FMC increased its outlook because it expects improved second-half performance in a few of its reported segments.

In this series, we’ll look at the company’s 2Q16 earnings in detail with reference to all the segments that it reports. We’ll also look into its valuation in comparison to those of its peers. In the next article, we’ll discuss FMC’s revenue.