CE

A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Celanese (CE). Shares have added about 8.2% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500. Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Celanese due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at the latest earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts. Celanese reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $2.45 per share, up 71.3% from $1.43 a year ago. The bottom line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.21 by 10.9%. Net sales rose 8.7% year over year to $2.75 billion and beat the consensus estimate of $2.65 billion by 3.7%. Strong pricing and mix, commercial execution and momentum in medical and electronics supported the results. Sequentially, sales increased 18%, reflecting a 4% volume gain and a 14% pricing increase. Engineered Materials recorded net sales of $1.45 billion, up 9% sequentially. It beat our estimate of $1.42 billion. The segment generated an operating profit of $156 million and adjusted EBIT of $234 million. Operating profit declined from $164 million a year ago, while adjusted EBIT increased from $213 million. The Acetyl Chain posted net sales of $1.33 billion, up 28% sequentially. It topped our estimate of $1.22 billion. The segment delivered an operating profit of $237 million, up from $153 million in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted EBIT increased to $321 million from $195 million. Celanese ended the second quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $1.36 billion. Long-term debt was $10.70 billion. Cash provided by operating activities totaled $209 million and free cash flow was $140 million. Celanese expects third-quarter adjusted earnings in the range of $1.35-$1.75 per share. For 2026, the company continues to expect adjusted earnings of approximately $6 per share. Celanese also maintained its full-year free cash flow guidance of $700-$800 million. Management expects growth initiatives and productivity, portfolio and footprint actions to support performance in 2026. These measures are also intended to create additional earnings growth opportunities in the years ahead while strengthening cash generation and supporting deleveraging. In the past month, investors have witnessed a downward trend in fresh estimates. The consensus estimate has shifted -6.76% due to these changes. At this time, Celanese has a average Growth Score of C, though it is lagging a bit on the Momentum Score front with a D. However, the stock has a score of A on the value side, putting it in the top 20% for this investment strategy. Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of B. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in. Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift. Notably, Celanese has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Celanese Corporation (CE) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Image source: The Motley Fool. Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. ET Vice President of Investor Relations - Bill Cunningham President and Chief Executive Officer - Scott Richardson Chief Financial Officer - Chuck Kyrish Operator: Greetings, and welcome to the Celanese Q2 2026 Earnings Call and webcast. [Operator Instructions] Please note that this conference is being recorded. I will now turn the conference over to Bill Cunningham. Thank you, Bill. You may begin. William Cunningham: Thanks, Darryl. Welcome to the Celanese Corporation Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. My name is Bill Cunningham, Vice President of Investor Relations. With me on the call today are Scott Richardson, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Chuck Kyrish, Chief Financial Officer. Celanese distributed its second quarter earnings release via Business Wire and posted prepared comments as well as a presentation on our Investor Relations website yesterday afternoon. As a reminder, we'll discuss non-GAAP financial measures today. You can find definitions of these measures as well as reconciliations to the comparable GAAP measures on our website. Today's presentation will also include forward-looking statements. Please review the cautionary language regarding forward-looking statements, which can be found at the end of both the press release and the prepared comments. Form 8-K reports containing all these materials have also been submitted to the SEC. With that, Darryl, let's please go ahead and open it up for questions. Operator: [Operator Instructions] Our first questions come from the line of Patrick Cunningham with Citi. Patrick Cunningham: I was hoping you could talk through the normalization of some of the supply-related opportunities in the Acetyl Chain, perhaps it's a bit more pronounced than we expected. How would you characterize the operating environment, Western Hemisphere versus Eastern Hemisphere? And we've also started to see some upward movement in Asia spreads in recent weeks. So what is driving that? And is any of that contemplated in expectations for the balance of the year? Scott Richardson: Yes. Thanks for the question, Patrick. I think our team showed a really strong resiliency and flexibility in the quarter. And I think it was evidenced by the opportunities we had that the global production and supply chain network that we have here at Celanese really in both businesses gave us some benefits in the quarter. And in Acetyl Chain specifically, the team took actions as we got the end of Q1, the early part of Q2 to ensure that we're going to be able to provide our customers with a reliability of supply. And I think we certainly did that kind of up and down the value chain, particularly in parts of the world that were more acutely impacted by the supply chain crisis like Europe. Team did a good job of that. We called out an expectation of moderation in the second half of the year, and that was contemplated in kind of our $6 guide back when we did our call in May. I think as we look at things today, I wouldn't say that moderation has been any more acute than what we expected. I think what we have seen happen is just some changes a little bit in the environment. And we ended up getting a little bit more benefit in the second quarter than we had originally guided to. Some of that was a slight amount of EM prebuying that we called out. Q3, maybe a little lower than we had originally guided to, really driven by the fact that we've been able to accelerate the plant closure in Lanaken and pull forward a little bit the EM closures as well, which is driving more of an inventory absorption hit in the second half than originally anticipated. In addition, because Ibn Sina didn't operate in the second quarter -- for much of the quarter, our equity earnings is going to be about $10 million lower than we had originally anticipated this year, which is all pretty much hitting in the third quarter. So that's really kind of that dynamic of Q2 to Q3. But from an expectation perspective, the moderation that we had anticipated is about as expected. Patrick Cunningham: Understood. Very helpful context. And then just on the EM grow and fortify strategy, you've been calling out data centers, medical, electronics. Maybe it would be helpful to get some context on the base levels of revenue here of this potential growth platform. How do you plan to grow and protect market share in these high-value applications? And what sort of long-term growth rates do you expect there? Scott Richardson: Yes. I think our overarching objective in the Engineered Materials business is to ensure that we're aligning what we believe is the unique capabilities and products that we have with a deep understanding of key end markets and having segment strategies that go deep. The macro end uses that we go into, when you look at them at a very high level, don't have maybe a lot of growth. But when you really dig in and get to some of the subsegment areas, there are really great pockets of opportunities there. And we've been reorienting our team in terms of a focus standpoint now for more than a year to ensure that we can really penetrate these subsegment areas. And so when you kind of look at electronics, for example, today, that's about 10% of the revenue of the Engineered Materials business, but actually makes up about 10% to 15% of the contribution margin that we make in the business. Medical is less than 10% of the revenue, but about 20% of the contribution margin that we make. So these 2 segments are not just foundational today for us, but where -- with the amount of growth that we're seeing and the work that we're doing to be aligned around the right customers and to be able to penetrate what we think is going to be kind of differentiated opportunities that we're going to be able to really have good long-term sustainable business and growth, we think that sets up really nicely for the future. Operator: Our next questions come from the line of Ghansham Panjabi with Baird. Ghansham Panjabi: Just as a follow-up to Patrick's question and going back to the AC segment. Obviously, it's been a very volatile year. But Scott, as you sort of zoom out, how have things changed relative to the pre-war baseline as you think about the various product lines and geographies you have exposure towards? Just trying to disaggregate some of the complexity on a day-to-day basis versus from a high-level standpoint, what's actually been happening. Scott Richardson: Yes. Thanks, Ghansham. We've said for a long time that the majority of our profitability in the Acetyl Chain occurs in the Western Hemisphere. And that -- this is not new. When we kind of look back over the last 15 years, that kind of 80% plus profitability being generated by the West have kind of played out for, call it, 12 of the last 15 years. So this is not a new environment that we're in. We did see margins in Asia kind of move up in the 2021 through 2023 time frame. But outside of that, this has kind of been the environment we've been dealing with for a long period of time. And the team has kind of really been pivoting the operating model in a way with more and more of our tons being sold in the form of downstream derivatives because we have more differentiation there. We're able to create some more unique innovation opportunities and to be able to drive through and be able to keep the profitability where it has been even where the macro backdrop isn't strong. But we have this ability to flex up where needed. And with the capacity that we have in the Western world and be able to flex that like we did in the second quarter, this kind of goes back to that coiled spring analogy that I used last quarter. When we have the ability to flex that up, we will, and we see the benefits that come from that. The profitability increase that we saw from Asia from, call it, the end of February through to where we are today was very much short-lived. And really by the middle part of Q2, we were kind of back to pre-war margins. We are not back to those pre-war levels from a margin standpoint in the Western world, and we expect the markets to remain relatively constructive here through the balance of the year, albeit supply chains have found a way to normalize to some extent. And so while product may not be flowing out of the Middle East, it is flowing from other places. And so that does create some more compression in the margins, but they still are at higher levels in that business. And the team continues to do everything it can to contract business where we were able to get additional business because of our reliability of supply, we're really partnering with customers to be able to get business under contract for next year and beyond. Ghansham Panjabi: Okay. And maybe a question for Chuck on free cash flow and the $700 million to $800 million guidance for 2026. How have the moving parts there, working capital, et cetera, changed relative to your view 3 months ago as it relates to that guidance? Chuck Kyrish: Yes. Thanks, Ghansham. Not a lot has changed. We're very confident in the free cash flow range that we've put out there in the second quarter, $140 million of free cash flow is actually pretty good considering the amount of working capital we've built up in the quarter, almost $200 million use of cash in the quarter. Understandable, it's basically accounts receivable. We sit today at year-to-date, a use of cash of almost $300 million in working capital. So that will normalize over the second half, Ghansham. And we're seeing that now, right? So I think we've talked about earnings increase of this year benefiting free cash flow both in this year and next year, and that's still the right assumption. Right now, I'd probably say working capital for the year, Ghansham, is somewhere between neutral, meaning 0 to slightly positive. So not a lot changed. I feel really good about the free cash flow range. And I'd also point out, though, that as we look ahead, I would consider the $700 million to $800 million of free cash flow as our sort of baseline sustainable level. As we look into next year, we are not done on our working capital reduction efforts, particularly looking to take more structural inventory out of Engineered Materials. We do expect cash cost of restructuring activities, which is adjusted out of our EBITDA, those will continue to decline a bit next year. And again, we do expect some of the benefit of '26 to '27. So confident in the free cash range of this year, and I would really consider that sort of our baseline sustainable level over the next few years. Operator: Our next questions come from the line of Jeff Zekauskas with JPMorgan. Jeffrey Zekauskas: Your Acetyl Chain volumes were flat year-over-year in the quarter. Why didn't they grow in that I would expect that in the June quarter, you had capacity available, you were low cost. There are competitor outages. Why wasn't volume better? Scott Richardson: Yes, Jeff, I think a lot of it's mix. We've continued to see some destocking in the acetate tow part of the value chain. So that volume was lower on a year-over-year basis, which was kind of offsetting the gains that we saw in the vinyls chain. So we definitely did, to your point, see higher volumes there, but you're seeing a level of offset from the acetate tow segment. Q2 last year, we did see some level of seasonal improvement from Q1 into Q2 in kind of the emulsion side of things as well. So from a comp basis, it was already a slightly higher quarter Q2 to Q2, but those are the dynamics that are playing out there. Jeffrey Zekauskas: In Engineered Materials, exclusive of the divestiture, if you had to describe your volumes to the auto sector, and all of your volumes to the non-auto sector, what would those growth rates be in the quarter? Scott Richardson: Yes. So auto kind of moves with builds for the most part, Jeff. And so on a year-over-year basis, we saw builds down year-over-year Q2 to Q2. And so you saw an impact there of a few percentage points, which kind of is offset by the volumes we've seen in other places and some of our penetration into some of the growth areas of automotive like we called out like electric drive units. So I think when you kind of look at the macro side, auto down year-over-year because volumes, when you exclude the divestiture were pretty much flattish year-over-year. And so those are kind of everything non-auto was up and then auto kind of moving with builds. Operator: Our next questions come from the line of David Begleiter with Deutsche Bank. David Begleiter: Scott, on EM, you've announced a few price increases. So where do you stand on price cost in Q2? And where do you think it will be in the back half of the year on price cost in EM? Scott Richardson: David, I said on the last call that one of the most important things that we were going to have to get ahead of was the rising raw material costs in Engineered Materials. And the team worked tirelessly to do that through the quarter. And we exited the quarter, Q2, I think, on a really strong level from a price perspective that sets us up. And you saw kind of that margin expansion that we were able to get because of pricing that we largely got in the second half of Q2. And that positions us to be able to offset a chunk of that raw flow through that we're now seeing here in the third quarter. So I think we said this was going to be a second half impact from raw materials, and that's definitely what we're seeing. With raws, raws have been a little bit volatile here. We saw come down, some raws went back up a little bit. And so we'll kind of see how this flows through into the fourth quarter, but we're definitely going to see some of that compression relative to Q2 happen in the third quarter as expected. David Begleiter: Great. And just on your Q3 guide, what gets you to the top of the range and what gets you to the lower end of the range? Scott Richardson: Yes, David, we've got thousands of million dollar things that flow through our P&L every single quarter. And so there's a lot of different elements that can get you to the top or bottom end. Let me talk about kind of where our priorities are because I think that kind of answers the question. I think, one, it is this -- what I just answered. It really is kind of maintaining and being able to hold pricing to be able to offset as much of these raw material inflation that we're going to see in the Engineered Materials business, continuing to be able to provide a reliability of supply to our customers in the Western world really in both businesses as supply chains have a level of volatility still that are out there and being able to move a little bit more volume, but also kind of maintain a higher level of margins than we had when we started 2026. And then I think the third area is continuing to focus on the productivity of the business really across both of our segments here and tenaciously working the cost side of that equation. And the growth piece is really now we're on a multi-quarter trajectory of being able to drive mix improvement in the Engineered Materials business. And so we fully expect that, that will continue here. But I would kind of those first 3 priorities are certainly critical to be able to come in at the higher end of the range. Operator: Our next questions come from the line of Kevin McCarthy with Vertical Research Partners. Kevin McCarthy: Scott, I think you indicated there was still some destocking pressure in the second quarter in the acetate tow business. Can you discuss the outlook for the back half there in terms of sales and earnings and the impact of the upcoming closure of Lanaken? Scott Richardson: Yes. I mean I think the tow business saw some stabilization, certainly ahead of the planned Lanaken closure. But -- and we saw what I would call kind of a moderation of that destocking in the second quarter. The order patterns certainly are beginning to normalize a bit versus where they were last year. But we do expect some level of destocking based upon conversations with customers to continue to occur here in the back half of the year. But certainly, that pace of change that we've seen in the business has slowed considerably in tow. So we feel good about kind of where that goes as we work our way into 2027 because of the cost actions that we're taking. And so we expect to have the plant closed here in the quarter and which is faster than we had originally anticipated. That is going to drive an inventory absorption hit at a higher level in the second half of the year, but we felt like that was the right answer because it's going to give us a cleaner 2027, and those costs will certainly get some cost benefit in the fourth quarter, but those costs will certainly be much better in '27 than they were in 2026. Kevin McCarthy: Very good. And then as I look at the balance sheet, it strikes me that you've done a nice job of deleveraging pretty consistently over the last 5 quarters or so. My sense is that you're still evaluating additional opportunities for divestitures, Scott. So we would welcome any updated thoughts that you might have on that topic as well as kind of your joint ventures and how you're looking at those strategically? Scott Richardson: We are committed to the $1 billion target of divestitures by the end of 2027, Kevin. That hasn't wavered. We are about halfway there after the Micromax transaction we announced last year and closed earlier this year. We're working a portfolio of items of various sizes, to be honest with you, some smaller, some a little bit larger, and we believe a combination of those will get us that additional $500 million, and we're still very confident about announcing at least one deal by the end of this year. So that's been very consistent for us, and we feel good about how those projects are proceeding. Operator: Our next questions come from the line of Frank Mitsch with Fermium Research. Frank Mitsch: I want to come back to the third quarter guidance, $1.35 to $1.75. We're roughly 40% through the quarter. How much visibility do you have on your order books for the balance of this quarter? Scott Richardson: Yes. I think each business is different, Frank. I mean acetyls continues to be a couple of weeks of where you can build that confidence on where the order book is. That hasn't changed. It's been pretty consistent for the last several years. In the Engineered Materials business, we have pretty good visibility 3, 4 weeks out, but that can also change a bit. So I think that's pretty consistent. So we have a pretty decent idea of how things will finish out through August. But September is really important for us. In September, the last month of every quarter tends to be the strongest quarter, particularly in the Engineered Materials business. And so the team is certainly prepared coming out of what is typically a slower part of the year in August with vacations in Europe as well as in Asia and then is ramping up for a really strong September. So that's -- we'll have a lot better idea here in the next 2, 3 weeks, but that's kind of where things stand right now. Frank Mitsch: All right. Understood. And can you speak to the total company turnaround expenses that you faced in the second quarter and your expectations for the third quarter and fourth quarter for that matter? Chuck Kyrish: Yes. Yes, Frank, really, the biggest turnaround expense in the quarter was Engineered Materials, right? We talked about $15 million. That obviously will not reoccur. We do have some other smaller turnarounds, but that's the biggest one to sort of highlight. And if you think about that as part of that was some pretty big moves in inventory absorption quarter-to-quarter. I mean, EM, if you think about Q1 to Q2, they had to offset about $65 million of total absorption plus turnaround and still more than offset that, obviously, by driving margin expansion. So I would focus on that POM turnaround, $15 million or so plus some other smaller ones. Frank Mitsch: All right. And so the balance of the year looks relatively clean in terms of turnaround expenses. Chuck Kyrish: Yes, that's right. Operator: Our next questions come from the line of Vincent Andrews with Morgan Stanley. Vincent Andrews: I'm wondering if you could just give us an update on Frankfurt and what your plans are for the asset. It sounds like it will probably run for the rest of the year, at least just given the ongoing dislocations. But is it part of your broader strategy to sort of maintain some of the share that you've gained this year from a reliability perspective? Or what's your overall thought process with that, and I suppose the rest of the footprint? Scott Richardson: Yes. I think the agility that the team showed in Q2 was really strong. The response on Frankfurt, that plant had been down for more than 6 months. We had to go through and put equipment back into service there. The team was able to get it back up and operating in about 5 weeks from the time at which we said go. So the agility and speed at which they were able to -- once we made that decision, get the plant back up and operating and then move the supply chain around to make sure we had raw materials was a pretty herculean effort. And I'm certainly proud of the group of how they responded. And now as we look forward, Frankfurt will operate depending on where demand is at. And we will match kind of our supply needs and where the demand is on whether or not Frankfurt operates for the balance of the year or not. And we haven't made that decision because I think a lot depends upon kind of where demand is at and where industry supply ends up landing here in the third and the fourth quarter. So that's kind of what we're weighing right now, Vincent. That's no different than past decisions. Frankfurt as well as the Singapore unit are assets that we have been block operating now for several years based upon where our needs are. Vincent Andrews: Okay. And as a follow-up, you outlined all these sort of I think it was 20 subsegments within EM that you think you can push further into and that are attractive for a variety of different reasons. Are there any in particular that you feel like you're undershared in where you feel like now that you maybe take a more aggressive tack, you'll see sort of a quicker success in? Or is it all about the same? Scott Richardson: I mean, Vincent, you've known us for a long time. And one of the mantras we talk a lot here at Celanese is we can always do more. And I think technology and innovation is happening and is moving so rapidly right now that I think it's really irrelevant what our current share and penetration is because that opportunity set as we go forward is changing so fast. And I'll use kind of data centers and servers and data centers as an example here. We've been supplying connectors and other materials into servers for a long period of time. But when you kind of break down an AI data center server, it's very different. The chip that's used in each of these servers is extremely expensive. And as you kind of -- as they build these things, protecting that chip to ensure that you have protection from signal loss that you maintain the speed that's required, that you can maintain thermal management through that system. It creates 3x the amount of opportunity for our materials in terms of connectors. It creates opportunities around the thermal management system, wire and cable applications. And so it's the multiplying effect of being able to leverage kind of where -- with some of our key customers where we've historically gone and as they're innovating, it just presents kind of new ground for us to be able to penetrate with our materials. And so that's kind of the mindset that we're having to -- that we're really driving now with our commercial teams. And I -- we had our commercial team leaders in Dallas last month and I got an opportunity to spend with them and the energy that was there and the accountability that they're driving with their teams around the commitments they're making to really penetrate and drive growth for us is really exciting. And it's -- it really is a value play. And you've seen that come through in terms of the mix enrichment that has been happening now for about a year in the business, and we think we can multiply this as we go forward. Operator: Our next questions come from the line of Hassan Ahmed with Alembic Global. Hassan Ahmed: Scott, you guys mentioned, obviously, the lag effect of raw material costs impacting H2. Just could you sort of expand on the lag effect of pricing benefits as well? I guess, asked a different way. Obviously, you guys were pretty aggressive with price hikes through the course of Q2. And I would imagine some contracts are a little longer duration. So as those contracts reset, I would expect some benefit coming from there. So maybe what percentage of your EM contracts are longer duration? What percentage of your AC contracts are longer duration? Any sense around that would be great. Scott Richardson: Yes. I mean the acetyl business is a business that moves in real time, Hassan, for the most part. And you don't have significant lag effects. And we saw kind of the peak of raw materials flowing through the acetyl business really in the first half of Q2. So a lot of kind of that lag effect is, I would say, kind of already occurred in the acetyl business. EM, because the raws tend to sit in inventory longer, we didn't really see much of that flow through in Q2, and it's really kind of coming through now in the third quarter. And so I would say the majority of that price, I talked about last quarter the importance of exiting Q2 at kind of that peak price level, and I feel like we did that. And that's not to say we won't have some lingering effect of positive price here in the quarter. But I would say the majority of it, I think we've achieved. But we'll continue to push there. And a lot of it depends upon where scarcity occurs and where we can -- where we see opportunities and where we're really well positioned. We talk a lot about our global footprint in acetyls, but our Engineered Materials footprint is extremely geographically diverse as well. And because of our strategy of kind of moving to where compounding is such a critical part of that business and buying more of our polymers versus making with some of the changes we've made in our footprint actions over the last couple of years, that just creates more flexibility and nimbleness for us to be able to be a reliable supplier to our customers in the EM business as well. So we'll continue to look for opportunities on price, but I would say a lot of that, I think we achieved coming out of Q2. Hassan Ahmed: Very helpful. And as a follow-up, I mean, you guys talked about the sort of restructuring and nylon optimization being around a $50 million annualized benefit and then the Lanaken side of things, another $20 million to $25 million. So from a P&L impact perspective, when should we start seeing that benefit? I mean, will we see an element of that benefit in the back half of this year? And how does 2027 look with regards to capturing that? Chuck Kyrish: Yes. Thanks, Hassan. Look, I think the EM footprint actions, think about $30 million, $35 million and then Lanaken $20 million to $25 million. We'll probably get 1/3 or so of the Lanaken cost savings this year and roughly half of the nylon restructuring this year. And so we'll get the rest of that next year, but it really sets us up for lower cost structure in the future and certainly great for our cash flow. Operator: Our next questions come from the line of Matthew DeYoe with Bank of America. Matthew DeYoe: On EM growth rates, clearly, a fair amount of the discussion, at least on some of the GLP-1 pens. You put out a $500 million TAM, and I appreciate some of this TAM commentary. How do we think about the ebb and flow there with the pill, the GLP-1 pill kind of coming in? Is that kind of expected in this $500 million range? And then in autos, Scott, like you used to outgrow auto builds pretty consistently. And I know things have changed a bit with the mix and where the volumes are coming from. But can you take a step back and give us an idea of why the decel in autos is now more transferable or why you're not outgrowing as much as you used to? And if there's a path to getting back to IHS plus growth rates, what is it? Scott Richardson: Yes. Thanks for the question, Matt. We've talked now for a while about our focus in Engineered Materials really being about value over volume. And I think with more polymer capacity coming on in China, our ability to be able to keep up with the pace of growth of standard grade materials particularly in China, is going to be challenged. And so we're less focused on the volumetric piece, particularly into automotive. We're more focused on share gains, penetration and really getting the volume and value in some of the non-auto spaces. So I think when we look at the value that we're getting in the mix enrichment, even specifically in the automotive segment, we feel really good about the penetration and the wins that we're seeing there. And that, we think, is much more important. And then we have now for the last 1.5 years, been taking very corresponding actions around our plant footprint to ensure that we've got the right matchup of the capacity needs with where we think the business is going, going forward. So I'm less worried about kind of are we outgrowing auto or not. The key is, is our revenue really outpacing and so far, it certainly is. And then when you look at drug delivery, we're really excited about the trends that we're seeing in drug delivery, and it's bigger than just GLP-1. When you think about patient monitoring and at-home health, self-administering that we're starting to see, there is a real growing trend around injectables, but also continuous glucose monitoring, continuing to be an important area of growth. And so I think this is -- you're going to continue to see changes. And the growth rates that we called out and the size of markets does contemplate based upon discussions with our customers, kind of GLP-1 pills and what that means going forward. So I think we've got a pretty conservative view there, to be very honest, Matt, and we're going to continue to work. And there will be other therapies and treatments that are going to be rolling out here over the next several years that will be administered at home through injectables beyond GLP-1, and we're excited about the opportunities there also. Operator: Our next questions come from the line of Abigail Eberts with Wells Fargo. Abigail Eberts: Looking at your closure in South Korea for EM and then Lanaken in AC, are there other potential candidates for rationalization on your horizon? Scott Richardson: Abigail, I'd repeat what I said earlier. There's always more that can be done. We've talked about 3 priority actions for us as a company, increasing the free cash flow of the corporation and aggressively deleveraging the balance sheet, intensifying our cost improvements and driving productivity every day and then driving top line growth in these subsegment and pockets of our end markets that are growing and have uniquely higher growth rates and matching that with our own capabilities. That second bucket doesn't ever go away. And we've done a lot of the bigger footprint actions. And so but there's still more that we'll look at. And a lot of it depends upon kind of where -- how markets develop, how our position changes and where we can be successful with our kind of our whole value chain and continuing to strengthen our specialty compounding leadership that we have on a global basis is really the key priority. And where we get our polymers is going to tweak and change and making sure we're as efficient with that compounding network as possible. So there are additional opportunities. I would say they're probably smaller in nature as we go forward. They're probably more in the $5 million to $10 million per site range. But as we work those, we'll certainly talk more and more about it. But there are a lot more additional cost improvement things that we're working. We're finding ways at which to be more efficient right now with our supply chain, for example. Now that we've kind of made the footprint actions, we're positioning for growth in a different way. You have to then reset your supply chain. And we think we can pull costs out over the next several years, not just from an inventory reduction standpoint that Chuck talked about, but also kind of hard costs from our cost to serve and still provide the reliability of supply to our customers that they expect. So I think it may morph away from plant footprint changes to other kind of efficiency improvements that we have across the network going forward. Operator: Our next questions come from the line of Laurence Alexander with Jefferies. Laurence Alexander: When you look at your full year kind of estimate, what do you think is kind of the embedded net impact of all of the costs around the divestitures, the inventory adjustments, kind of the net working capital swings and absorption that you've had to go through the downtime. Just when we're thinking about what the actual comparable basis for 2027, is it really [ $6 ]? Or is it a significant difference from that in one direction or the other? Chuck Kyrish: Laurence, let me hit some of the -- by business, some of the things that we're going to see this year. If you recall, so EM entered this year with a need to offset a variety of headwinds. $45 million of absorption hit from reducing inventory as part of our nylon optimization, $35 million of adjusted EBIT loss from the Micromax divestiture, which was very good for our deleveraging and about $10 million of equity earnings decline really related to the temporary disruptions at Ibn Sina. Despite that, we do expect EM to grow adjusted EBIT at double-digit rates, I think closer to 15% than 10%. So really nice job for them offsetting that. And AC, obviously, we've talked about the team pivoting and capturing value from the supply disruptions as the most reliable supplier to drive our Western Hemisphere profitability. They did also have an incremental $20 million of absorption that will hit them in the second half. So really great work from the team to drive significant earnings growth on top of that. As I mentioned, I think the working capital, we entered the year with $100 million target of inventory reduction in Engineered Materials. That's underway. It's being kind of masked right now by some of the increase in raw material prices that you see flowing through inventory. But we think that we'll have a strong year of free cash flow. We'll capture most -- some of that benefit this year and some next year. So we enter next year also with -- we've laid out the cost reductions on a slide in our presentation of $80 million to $100 million of cost reductions as we go into next year, which will kind of help us offset any change in the business conditions. So I hope that helps with some of the big pieces of how we think about 2026 and going forward. Operator: Our next questions come from the line of John Roberts with Mizuho. Unknown Analyst: This is Saurabh on behalf of John Roberts. The first question I have is, do you see the Ibn Sina joint venture gradually ramping as the Strait closure continues? Or is it most flatlined until there is significant reopening? Scott Richardson: Yes. So the plant is running again. And so there are sales now happening in the third quarter. So that will yield a higher level of dividend expected into Q4. So that -- we definitely see a ramping up happening already. Now obviously, there is a lot of volatility still in that part of the world. And so we'll have to continue to monitor it. But we do expect to see kind of a lift back up in Q4 versus what we have rolling through in the third quarter. Unknown Analyst: Got it. And I think the second question I have is just the technology road map on data center is continuously evolving. So in terms of your content, how are you in conversations with your customers in the journey? Scott Richardson: I mean we have sales that are happening. So it's not just conversations with customers. It's real hardcore intimate development work that's happening because our customers are trying to innovate. The speed at which the changes are happening and the speed at which the chips are changing is pretty dynamic. And so it requires us to stay ahead. We're doing new product development and some of our key polymers as well to stay ahead of that so that we can meet the needs of our customers and what the requirements are. The technical requirements here are hard. They're tough. And so that is giving us opportunities to be able to bring a much wider solution set to kind of these servers that are supplying into these data centers and then thinking broader about data centers in general and thinking about the cooling systems that are going into them. And then I think it's just creating a very different discussion with our heritage customers in the electronics end use spaces, but then also with some new customers that we haven't historically called on. So I think we've got, as we said, 30 different subsegments. There's a number of them that are really specifically focused on kind of this data center build-out because it is really driving strong returns from our customers, and we're able to be able to leverage that into wins that are already happening. Operator: Our next questions come from the line of Josh Spector with UBS. Joshua Spector: I wanted to ask about some of the corporate cost lines. And I guess I'll apologize in advance since I think these questions have rubbed the wrong way in the past when I've asked about them. But when I look at SG&A and I look at the other activities line, both of them are up about $30 million in the first half year-over-year. I'm sure some of that's timing and some other moving factors, but I'm curious how you'd expect that to trend into second half? Is there any giveback? Does that come down? And I guess, I mean, how does this square with some of the functional cost savings you guys are laying out in your slides? Chuck Kyrish: Yes, Josh, let me talk about other activities because that is definitely running higher in 2026 than it has recently. The primary reason for that is an adjustment that we made to our compensation expense accruals, which was really due to the timing of the change in business conditions and the timing of the increased earnings forecast during the year. I would say compensation expense is higher than average this year. It was lower than average last year, which also helps explain the year-over-year change. So going forward in other activities, I would think about that as roughly $75 million a quarter after '26, recognizing there's a number of things in there that can cause some variability, but I think the $75 million a quarter after 2026 is a good place to start. Joshua Spector: So maybe that's unrelated. So is that the same thing that's impacting SG&A then, so then we'd expect that to go up and then that's the right base into next year? Chuck Kyrish: Yes. Yes, that's a lot of it. William Cunningham: Darryl, we'll make the next question our last one, please. Operator: Our final questions will come from the line of Arun Viswanathan with RBC Capital Markets. Arun Viswanathan: Maybe I can ask the medium-term earnings question slightly differently. So I think when you went into Q2, you're thinking about $3 for the back half of '26. It seems like maybe there was a slight outperformance in Q2 at that $2.45, but you're still kind of targeting $6 for the year. So Chuck, you ran through some of the puts and takes on a onetime front. But also, as you look into Q2, obviously, there's normalization on methanol and some other drivers. So when you put all that together, it seems like '27 could maybe be in a similar range of $6? Or do you see the onetime add-backs and maybe some of the other cost reductions more than offsetting the methanol and other kind of price upside that you saw this year? Chuck Kyrish: Yes. Arun, I think that the objective is we've taken action for $80 million to $100 million of cost reductions for next year, right? The objective is to offset any changes and further moderation in business conditions for next year. We've got a lot to do. We'll know a little bit more later in the year. But with these actions we've taken, the $80 million to $100 million, we'll continue to look for more and continue also to drive growth in Engineered Materials, right? So we haven't talked about 2027 yet, but certainly we are taking actions to drive that as high as we can going forward. Arun Viswanathan: And just on that note, as a follow-up, would you be aggressively taking -- or would you be taking actions to accomplish even more aggressive deleveraging if business conditions continue to moderate? And would you like -- would you -- is the objective to be below 3x eventually? Or maybe how does that kind of relate to the deleveraging plan? Scott Richardson: Yes. Arun, let me start, and I'll turn it over to Chuck to talk about long-term deleveraging. The 3 priorities I talked about earlier are going to continue to be our focus areas, increase cash flow, drive as much cash flow as we possibly can. I think what we've proven out over the last year as well as so far this year and what Chuck talked about on kind of a baseline that we're going to build off of $700 million to $800 million of cash flow going forward, we feel like our ability to generate cash here at Celanese is strong, and we can build on that and grow it. And that's going to come from continuing to drive aggressive cost reduction activities, productivity every single day. And then the last is really kind of adding this top line growth piece and the focus really around the value opportunities in Engineered Materials. We haven't talked on the call really about the opportunities in acetyls. But in our emulsions and redispersible powders business, there are some applications, albeit small, but they're starting to really grow where we have unique chemistry advantages in areas like tile adhesive, insulation systems, some of the evolving waterproofing technologies that we're seeing, the chemistries that we have are providing unique solutions to our customers there, and we're spending a lot of time and effort on really trying to expand these and make sure that we're well positioned to really help kind of drive some of that growth going forward that's going to be unique to Celanese. So I think that -- what that does is it yields more and more cash every single year to deleverage the balance sheet and give us more flexibility going forward. Chuck Kyrish: Yes. That's right. I mean the aggressive actions of what Scott's talked about, driving free cash flow executing smart divestitures. I would point you to what we've laid out in terms of our net debt. We're going to finish this year around $10 billion. Next year, we feel really good about finishing at $9 billion, right? So making very good progress. And then the other side of the equation is EBITDA. If we can drive EBITDA growth, that will even speed that further. We still think about the long-term leverage for this balance sheet around 3x net debt to EBITDA. We're going to cross 5 this year. And the next threshold is we're shooting for is to get to 4, right? So as we drive to that long-term leverage target, that's our focus area and driving our own free cash flow and executing these smart divestitures. William Cunningham: Well, thank you, and we'd like to thank everyone for listening in today. As always, we're available after the call for any follow-up questions. Darryl, please go ahead and close out the call. Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much. This does conclude today's teleconference. We appreciate your participation. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Enjoy the rest of your day. Before you buy stock in Celanese, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Celanese wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $411,427!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,335,252!* Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 965% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 215% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 11, 2026. This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Celanese (CE) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript was originally published by The Motley Fool

Interested in Celanese Corporation? Here are five stocks we like better. Acetyl Chain conditions are expected to moderate in the second half of 2026 as supply chains normalize, while the earlier Lanaken closure will increase near-term inventory-absorption costs but improve the cost structure in 2027. Celanese is prioritizing higher-value Engineered Materials opportunities in data centers, electronics, medical applications and drug delivery rather than broad volume growth, with pricing actions helping offset raw-material inflation. Management reaffirmed its $700 million–$800 million 2026 free-cash-flow target and expects $80 million–$100 million of cost reductions entering 2027, while pursuing $1 billion in divestitures and reducing net debt toward approximately $9 billion by the end of 2027. DuPont’s Electronics Spinoff: The Start of Something Big Celanese (NYSE:CE) executives said the company expects supply-chain conditions in its Acetyl Chain business to moderate during the second half of 2026, while cost actions, targeted growth initiatives and free-cash-flow generation remain central to its strategy. During the company’s second-quarter earnings call, President and Chief Executive Officer Scott Richardson said Celanese benefited in the second quarter from the flexibility of its global production and supply-chain network, particularly as it worked to provide reliable supply to customers affected by disruptions. Europe was among the regions more acutely affected by the supply-chain crisis, he said. → 3 Drone Stocks That Should Soar After the Summer Slump Buffett's latest portfolio additions, trims and cuts in Q3 Richardson said the company’s prior expectation for moderation in the back half of the year was already incorporated in its $6 full-year guide. While Celanese received somewhat more benefit than expected in the second quarter, including a slight amount of engineered-materials pre-buying, the anticipated moderation has not been more severe than management expected. Celanese expects third-quarter results to reflect higher inventory-absorption effects following the accelerated closure of its Lanaken facility and the pull-forward of certain engineered-materials closures. In addition, Richardson said the Ibn Sina joint venture did not operate for much of the second quarter, which is expected to reduce equity earnings by about $10 million for the year, with nearly all of that impact occurring in the third quarter. → Meta’s Earnings Drop Shows Wall Street Wants More Than Ad Growth Richardson said Acetyl Chain profitability has historically been weighted toward the Western Hemisphere, with more than 80% of profitability generated there in 12 of the past 15 years. Although Asian margins increased temporarily from late February into the early part of the second quarter, he said those gains were short-lived and had returned to pre-war levels by the middle of the quarter. Western Hemisphere margins have not returned to pre-war levels, Richardson said, but the company expects markets to remain relatively constructive through year-end. Supply chains have normalized to some extent as material has flowed from regions outside the Middle East, a development that has created some margin compression. Celanese is seeking to contract business gained through its supply reliability for 2027 and beyond. → Jersey Mike's Serves Fresh Gains After IPO Stumble Acetyl Chain volumes were flat year over year in the second quarter. Richardson attributed that outcome largely to product mix, as gains in the vinyls chain were offset by continued destocking in acetate tow. He said destocking in acetate tow moderated during the quarter and customer order patterns have begun to normalize compared with last year, though some destocking is expected to continue in the second half. The Lanaken closure is now expected to occur during the current quarter, sooner than previously anticipated. The earlier closure will produce a higher inventory-absorption impact in the second half, but Richardson said it should create a cleaner cost structure for 2027. Celanese expects to realize some related cost benefits in the fourth quarter, with a more substantial improvement next year. In Engineered Materials, Celanese is concentrating on higher-value applications rather than pursuing broad volume growth. Richardson said the company has identified growth opportunities within more narrowly defined market segments, including data centers, medical applications, electronics and drug delivery. Electronics currently represents about 10% of Engineered Materials revenue and 10% to 15% of its contribution margin, according to Richardson. Medical represents less than 10% of revenue but about 20% of contribution margin. The company believes those businesses can support durable growth through deeper customer alignment and differentiated product development. Richardson also highlighted data-center applications, where the company is supplying materials and engaging in development work with customers. He said artificial-intelligence data-center servers require additional materials for connector protection, signal management, thermal management and wire-and-cable applications, creating what he described as a larger opportunity set than traditional servers. Automotive volumes generally moved with lower vehicle builds during the quarter, he said. Excluding a divestiture, overall Engineered Materials volume was approximately flat year over year, as declines in automotive were offset by growth in non-auto markets. Richardson said the company is prioritizing revenue growth, share gains and product mix over volume growth in standard-grade automotive materials, particularly amid additional polymer capacity in China. Management said it has implemented price increases in Engineered Materials to address raw-material inflation. Richardson said pricing strengthened through the second half of the second quarter, helping support margin expansion, but raw-material costs are expected to create pressure in the third quarter as they flow through inventory. Chief Financial Officer Chuck Kyrish reaffirmed Celanese’s expectation for $700 million to $800 million in free cash flow for 2026. The company generated $140 million of free cash flow in the second quarter despite nearly $200 million of working-capital use, primarily related to accounts receivable, he said. Year to date, working capital represented nearly a $300 million use of cash. Kyrish said the company expects that effect to normalize in the second half and now anticipates full-year working capital to be neutral to slightly positive. He characterized the 2026 free-cash-flow range as a sustainable baseline for future years, with further potential from inventory reductions and lower restructuring cash costs. Celanese expects $80 million to $100 million of cost reductions as it enters 2027. Kyrish said the company expects to capture roughly half of the benefits from its engineered-materials nylon restructuring in 2026, while it expects to realize about one-third of the savings from the Lanaken action this year. The remaining benefits are expected next year. The company remains committed to its goal of $1 billion in divestitures by the end of 2027. Richardson said Celanese is about halfway toward that objective following the Micromax transaction and expects to announce at least one additional deal by the end of 2026. Kyrish said Celanese expects to end 2026 with net debt of about $10 billion and aims to finish 2027 at about $9 billion. The company continues to view approximately three times net debt to EBITDA as its long-term leverage target, with its next objective being to move below four times leverage after crossing five times during 2026. Celanese Corporation is a global chemical and specialty materials company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of products serving diverse industries. The company operates through two primary business segments—Engineered Materials and Acetyl Chain—offering solutions that range from high-performance polymers and specialty additives to industrial chemicals and intermediates. Its engineered materials are used in applications such as automotive components, consumer electronics, medical devices and packaging, while its acetyl derivatives find uses in coatings, adhesives, solvents and personal care products. In the Engineered Materials segment, Celanese produces a variety of high-performance thermoplastics, polyether-block-amide (PEBA) elastomers and functional additives designed to enhance product durability, thermal resistance and sustainability. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. The article "Celanese Q2 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat. View MarketBeat's top stocks for August 2026.

Celanese Corporation CE reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $2.45 per share, up 71.3% from $1.43 a year ago. The bottom line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.21 by 10.9%. Net sales rose 8.7% year over year to $2.75 billion and beat the consensus estimate of $2.65 billion by 3.7%. Strong pricing and mix, commercial execution and momentum in medical and electronics supported the results. Sequentially, sales increased 18%, reflecting a 4% volume gain and a 14% pricing increase. Celanese Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Celanese Corporation Quote Engineered Materials recorded net sales of $1.45 billion, up 9% sequentially. It beat our estimate of $1.42 billion. The segment generated an operating profit of $156 million and adjusted EBIT of $234 million. Operating profit declined from $164 million a year ago, while adjusted EBIT increased from $213 million. The Acetyl Chain posted net sales of $1.33 billion, up 28% sequentially. It topped our estimate of $1.22 billion. The segment delivered an operating profit of $237 million, up from $153 million in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted EBIT increased to $321 million from $195 million. Celanese ended the second quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $1.36 billion. Long-term debt was $10.70 billion. Cash provided by operating activities totaled $209 million and free cash flow was $140 million. Celanese expects third-quarter adjusted earnings in the range of $1.35-$1.75 per share. For 2026, the company continues to expect adjusted earnings of approximately $6 per share. Celanese also maintained its full-year free cash flow guidance of $700-$800 million. Management expects growth initiatives and productivity, portfolio and footprint actions to support performance in 2026. These measures are also intended to create additional earnings growth opportunities in the years ahead while strengthening cash generation and supporting deleveraging. CE’s shares have declined 5.4% in the past year against a 4% rise in the industry. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research CE currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Neo Performance Materials Inc. NOPMF, Almonty Industries Inc. ALM and Avient Corporation AVNT. Neo Performance is slated to report second-quarter 2026 results on Aug. 11. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $1.48 per share. NOPMF sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Almonty is expected to report second-quarter 2026 results on Aug. 13. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALM’s second-quarter earnings per share is pegged at 44 cents, indicating 500% year-over-year growth. ALM holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) 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. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Celanese Corporation (CE) : Free Stock Analysis Report Avient Corporation (AVNT) : Free Stock Analysis Report Almonty Industries Inc. (ALM) : Free Stock Analysis Report Neo Performance Materials Inc. (NOPMF) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Our analysts just identified a stock with the potential to be the next Nvidia. Tell us how you invest and we'll show you why it's our #1 pick. Tap here. Performance in the Acetyl Chain was driven by the ability to flex Western Hemisphere capacity to ensure reliability of supply during regional disruptions, particularly in Europe. Management emphasized that approximately 80% of Acetyl Chain profitability historically originates in the West, a trend that has persisted for 12 of the last 15 years. Engineered Materials (EM) is pivoting toward a 'value over volume' strategy, prioritizing high-margin subsegments like medical and electronics over standard grade automotive volumes. Medical applications currently represent less than 10% of EM revenue but contribute approximately 20% of the segment's contribution margin. The company is reorienting its operating model to sell more downstream derivatives in the Acetyl Chain to capture innovation-led differentiation and maintain margins despite macro headwinds. Operational agility was demonstrated by restarting the Frankfurt plant in just five weeks to address supply chain volatility and customer reliability needs. Management expects a $700 million to $800 million free cash flow baseline for 2026, supported by normalizing working capital and structural inventory reductions in EM. The company is targeting $80 million to $100 million in annualized cost reductions for 2027 through footprint optimization and supply chain efficiencies. Divestiture targets remain at $1 billion by the end of 2027, with management expressing confidence in announcing at least one additional deal by the end of 2026. Third-quarter guidance assumes a moderation of supply chain benefits and an inventory absorption hit due to accelerated plant closures in Lanaken. Deleveraging remains a primary focus, with a goal to reduce net debt to approximately $9 billion by the end of 2027 and reach a long-term leverage target of 3x. The Lanaken plant closure was accelerated into the current quarter to drive a cleaner cost structure for 2027, despite a short-term inventory absorption headwind. Equity earnings from the Ibn Sina joint venture are expected to be approximately $10 million lower than originally anticipated due to second-quarter operational disruptions. Rising raw material costs in Engineered Materials are expected to create margin compression in the third quarter, following a peak pricing exit in the second quarter. Compensation expense accruals were adjusted upward in 2026 due to the timing of increased earnings forecasts, impacting the 'other activities' cost line. One stock. Nvidia-level potential. 30M+ investors trust Moby to find it first. Get the pick. Tap here. Management noted that while Asia margins briefly spiked, they returned to pre-war levels by mid-Q2; however, Western margins remain constructive due to ongoing supply chain normalization. The company is leveraging its reliability of supply to secure multi-year contracts with customers who were impacted by recent global disruptions. AI data centers represent a significant content multiplier, with 3x the opportunity for connectors and new applications in thermal management compared to traditional servers. Drug delivery growth extends beyond GLP-1 to include patient monitoring and at-home health injectables, where Celanese provides specialized polymer solutions. Year-to-date working capital is a use of cash of almost $300 million, but management expects this to normalize to neutral or slightly positive by year-end. Structural inventory reductions in Engineered Materials are ongoing but currently masked by the impact of rising raw material prices on inventory valuation.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Release Date: August 05, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Celanese Corp (NYSE:CE) demonstrated strong operational agility by restarting the Frankfurt plant in about 5 weeks, showcasing its ability to respond quickly to supply disruptions. The company successfully offset raw material cost inflation in engineered materials through aggressive pricing actions, exiting Q2 with strong price levels. Celanese Corp (NYSE:CE) is making progress on its $1 billion divestiture target, having completed the Micromax transaction and expecting to announce at least one more deal by year-end. The company is confident in its free cash flow guidance of $700-800 million for 2026, with a sustainable baseline level expected over the next few years. Celanese Corp (NYSE:CE) is driving growth in high-value segments like data centers, medical, and drug delivery, with these areas contributing disproportionately to margins and offering long-term growth potential. The company is executing cost reduction actions, including footprint rationalization and restructuring, expected to deliver $80-100 million in savings for 2027. Celanese Corp (NYSE:CE) is deleveraging aggressively, with net debt expected to finish 2026 around $10-11 billion and a target of $9 billion next year, moving toward a long-term leverage goal of 3x. The company's Western Hemisphere profitability remains strong, with margins still above pre-war levels despite supply chain normalization. Celanese Corp (NYSE:CE) is seeing positive momentum in acetate tow, with destocking moderating and order patterns normalizing ahead of the Lanaken closure. The company is leveraging its global footprint to capture market share from competitors' outages, converting reliability into contracted business for next year. Celanese Corp (NYSE:CE) expects a moderation in the second half of 2026, with Q3 guidance of $135-175 million reflecting lower earnings due to inventory absorption and raw material cost headwinds. The company faces a $10 million reduction in equity earnings from the Jazan joint venture in Q3, as the plant was down for much of Q2. Raw material costs in engineered materials are expected to compress margins in Q3, with the full impact of price increases already achieved in Q2. Acetate tow volumes declined year-over-year due to ongoing destocking, which is expected to continue into the back half of the year. The accelerated closure of the Lanaken plant will result in a higher inventory absorption hit in H2 2026, though it positions for a cleaner 2027. Working capital use was significant in Q2, with nearly $200 million consumed, and year-to-date use of cash is almost $300 million, though expected to normalize. The company's other activities line is running higher in 2026 due to compensation expense adjustments, which may not be sustainable at current levels. Auto volumes declined year-over-year, tracking builds, and the company is less focused on outgrowing the market, which could limit volume growth in that segment. The company faces ongoing challenges from supply chain normalization, which is compressing margins in the acetyl chain despite Western Hemisphere strength. Celanese Corp (NYSE:CE) expects some level of destocking in acetate tow to continue, and the pace of change in that business has slowed but not fully resolved. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 6 Warning Signs with CE. Is CE fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Q: How would you characterize the operating environment in the acetyl chain, Western Hemisphere versus Eastern Hemisphere, and is the upward movement in Asia spreads contemplated in expectations for the balance of the year? A: Scott Richardson (CEO) stated that the team showed strong resiliency and flexibility in Q2, leveraging the global production network. The expected moderation in the second half was contemplated in the $6 guide from May and has not been more acute than expected. Q2 benefited from slight pre-buying, while Q3 may be slightly lower due to accelerated plant closures in Monocken and EM closures, driving inventory absorption. Equity earnings will be about $10 million lower than anticipated, hitting in Q3. Q: On the EM "grow 4 to 5" strategy, what are the base revenue levels for data centers, medical, and electronics, and what long-term growth rates do you expect? A: Scott Richardson (CEO) explained that electronics is about 10% of EM revenue but 10-15% of contribution margin, while medical is less than 10% of revenue but about 20% of contribution margin. The company is reorienting teams to penetrate sub-segments with differentiated opportunities, setting up for long-term sustainable growth. Q: How have things changed relative to the pre-war baseline in the acetyl chain, and how do you disaggregate day-to-day complexity from the high-level view? A: Scott Richardson (CEO) noted that 80%+ of profitability in the acetyl chain has historically come from the Western Hemisphere for 12 of the last 15 years. Asia margins spiked in 2021-2023 but returned to pre-war levels by mid-Q2. Western margins remain higher than pre-war levels, and the team is contracting business for next year based on reliability of supply. Q: How have the moving parts for free cash flow guidance of $700-800 million for 2026 changed relative to your view three months ago? A: Chuck Kirish (CFO) stated there is not a lot of change and confidence remains high. Q2 free cash flow of $140 million was good despite nearly $200 million working capital use. Year-to-date working capital use is almost $300 million, which will normalize in H2. Working capital for the year is expected to be between neutral and slightly positive. The $700-800 million is considered a baseline sustainable level. Q: Why didn't acetyl chain volumes grow year-over-year in Q2 given available capacity, low costs, and competitor outages? A: Scott Richardson (CEO) attributed flat volumes to mix, with continued destocking in acetate tow offsetting gains in the vinyls chain. Q2 last year had seasonal improvement in emulsions, making the comp slightly higher. The dynamics are playing out as expected. Q: In engineered materials, excluding divestitures, what were the growth rates for auto versus non-auto volumes in the quarter? A: Scott Richardson (CEO) said auto moves with builds, which were down year-over-year, impacting volumes by a few percentage points. This was offset by growth in non-auto areas and penetration into growth segments like electric drive units. Excluding divestitures, volumes were roughly flat year-over-year, with non-auto up and auto moving with builds. Q: Where do you stand on price/cost in EM in Q2, and what will happen in the back half of the year? A: Scott Richardson (CEO) said the team worked tirelessly to get ahead of rising raw material costs, exiting Q2 at a strong price level that sets up margin expansion. Raw material flow-through is hitting in Q3 as expected, with some compression relative to Q2. Raws have been volatile, and the company will monitor how it flows into Q4. Q: What are the key priorities to get to the top of the Q3 guidance range of $135-175 million? A: Scott Richardson (CEO) highlighted three priorities: maintaining pricing to offset raw material inflation in EM, providing reliability of supply in the Western world to move volume and maintain margins, and continuing productivity improvements across both segments. Growth and mix improvement in EM are also on a multi-quarter trajectory. Q: What is the outlook for the acetate tow business in the back half, and what is the impact of the upcoming closure of Lanaken? A: Scott Richardson (CEO) said the tow business saw stabilization and moderation of destocking in Q2, with order patterns normalizing. Some destocking will continue in H2, but the pace has slowed. The Lanaken plant closure will be faster than anticipated, driving an inventory absorption hit in H2 but providing a cleaner 2027 with cost benefits. Q: Are there additional opportunities for divestitures and how are you looking at joint ventures strategically? A: Scott Richardson (CEO) reaffirmed the $1 billion divestiture target by end of 2027, with about half achieved after the Micromax transaction. The company is working on a portfolio of items of various sizes and remains confident about announcing at least one deal by the end of this year. Q: How much visibility do you have on order books for the balance of Q3, and what are turnaround expense expectations? A: Scott Richardson (CEO) said acetyl has a couple of weeks of visibility, while EM has 3-4 weeks. September is critical as the strongest month. Chuck Kirish (CFO) noted the biggest turnaround expense was $15 million in EM in Q2, which will not reoccur. The balance of the year looks relatively clean. Q: What are your plans for the Frankfurt asset, and will it run for the rest of the year? A: Scott Richardson (CEO) praised the team's agility in restarting Frankfurt in about 5 weeks. The plant will operate depending on demand and supply needs, with a decision on whether it runs for the balance of the year to be made based on Q3/Q4 demand and industry supply. Frankfurt and Singapore are flexible assets that have been block operated for years. Q: Are there any specific sub-segments in EM where you feel undershared and can see quicker success? A: Scott Richardson (CEO) said technology and innovation are moving rapidly, making current share irrelevant. In AI data center servers, the opportunity for materials is 3 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

For the quarter ended June 2026, Celanese (CE) reported revenue of $2.75 billion, up 8.7% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $2.45, compared to $1.44 in the year-ago quarter. The reported revenue represents a surprise of +3.69% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.65 billion. With the consensus EPS estimate being $2.21, the EPS surprise was +10.86%. While investors closely watch year-over-year changes in headline numbers -- revenue and earnings -- and how they compare to Wall Street expectations to determine their next course of action, some key metrics always provide a better insight into a company's underlying performance. As these metrics influence top- and bottom-line performance, comparing them to the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated helps investors project a stock's price performance more accurately. Here is how Celanese performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts: Volume - Acetyl Chain: 6% versus the three-analyst average estimate of 5.1%. Price - Engineered Materials: 6% compared to the -6.4% average estimate based on three analysts. Volume - Engineered Materials: 3% compared to the 4.8% average estimate based on three analysts. Price - Acetyl Chain: 22% compared to the 10.1% average estimate based on three analysts. Net Sales- Acetyl Chain: $1.33 billion versus the four-analyst average estimate of $1.22 billion. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +19.2%. Net Sales- Intersegment Eliminations: $-23 million versus the four-analyst average estimate of $-27.5 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of -8%. Net Sales- Engineered Materials: $1.45 billion versus $1.42 billion estimated by four analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +0.3% change. Operating EBITDA- Acetyl Chain: $385 million compared to the $375.27 million average estimate based on four analysts. Operating EBITDA- Other Activities: $-71 million compared to the $-66.5 million average estimate based on four analysts. Operating EBITDA- Engineered Materials: $335 million versus the four-analyst average estimate of $309.08 million. View all Key Company Metrics for Celanese here>>> Shares of Celanese have returned -7.9% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +1.7% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Celanese Corporation (CE) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Celanese (CE) came out with quarterly earnings of $2.45 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.21 per share. This compares to earnings of $1.44 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +10.86%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this chemical company would post earnings of $0.88 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.85, delivering a surprise of -3.41%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates two times. Celanese, which belongs to the Zacks Chemical - Specialty industry, posted revenues of $2.75 billion for the quarter ended June 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.69%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $2.53 billion. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates two times over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. Celanese shares have added about 3.8% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 11%. While Celanese has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions. Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Celanese was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $1.66 on $2.63 billion in revenues for the coming quarter and $6.01 on $9.89 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year. Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Chemical - Specialty is currently in the top 34% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. One other stock from the same industry, Orion (OEC), is yet to report results for the quarter ended June 2026. The results are expected to be released on August 5. This producer of the chemcial additive carbon black is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.11 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -65.6%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. Orion's revenues are expected to be $474.5 million, up 1.7% from the year-ago quarter. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Celanese Corporation (CE) : Free Stock Analysis Report Orion S.A. (OEC) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

DALLAS, August 04, 2026--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Celanese Corporation (NYSE: CE), a global chemical and specialty materials company, today reported second quarter 2026 U.S. GAAP diluted earnings per share of $1.15 and adjusted earnings per share of $2.45. Net sales of $2.8 billion increased 18 percent sequentially, reflecting a 4 percent increase in volume and a 14 percent increase in price. Results were driven by strong execution across both businesses, including favorable pricing and mix outcomes in Engineered Materials and strong commercial and operational execution within the Acetyl Chain. The quarter also benefited from continued momentum across targeted growth platforms, particularly in medical and electronics. Celanese leveraged the flexibility of its global manufacturing and supply chain networks to capitalize on rapidly evolving market conditions while continuing to advance actions designed to improve the competitiveness, resilience, and earnings power of the portfolio. For the second quarter, the Company reported consolidated operating profit of $276 million, adjusted EBIT of $470 million, and operating EBITDA of $649 million at margins of 10, 17, and 24 percent, respectively. During the quarter, Celanese continued to execute against its strategic priorities of driving growth, intensifying cost improvements, and strengthening cash generation to support deleveraging. Actions included completion of the Ulsan, South Korea Engineered Materials compounding unit closure, completion of the nylon 6,6 manufacturing network optimization ahead of schedule, and continued progress toward the planned closure of the acetate tow facility in Lanaken, Belgium. Together, these initiatives are expected to deliver in excess of $50 million of annualized fixed-cost savings while improving the long-term competitiveness of the portfolio. "The second quarter demonstrated the agility and focus of Celanese and the benefits of the actions we are taking across both businesses," said Scott Richardson, president and chief executive officer. "We delivered our highest adjusted earnings per share in nearly three years through commercial execution, continued progress in our growth initiatives, and the effectiveness of our global manufacturing and supply chain networks. At the same time, we advanced important portfolio, productivity, and footprint actions that are improving competitiveness, strengthening cash generation, supporting deleveraging, and positioning Celanese for continued earnings growth." Second Quarter 2026 Financial Highlights: Recent Highlights: Advanced the Engineered Materials Grow & Fortify strategy through the optimization of the Asia compounding network. Celanese completed the closure of its Ulsan, South Korea compounding facility and transitioned production to larger, more efficient assets in China and India, strengthening the regional supply chain while improving the competitiveness of the manufacturing footprint. Additionally, the business also completed, ahead of schedule, the previously announced optimization of the nylon 6,6 manufacturing network. Expanded the use of sustainable materials in automotive applications. As an example, Aisan Industry Kentucky, LLC, the consolidated subsidiary of Japan-based Aisan Industry Co., Ltd., adopted Celanese POM ECO-C for fuel pump modules supplied to a North American automaker, demonstrating continued commercial momentum for Celanese's lower-carbon engineered materials solutions and supporting customer sustainability objectives. Advanced downstream growth opportunities within the Acetyl Chain through sustainability-focused innovation. Celanese and Siegwerk, one of the world’s leading providers of printing inks and coatings for packaging applications and labels, announced a collaboration to support more sustainable printing ink solutions utilizing bio-based ethyl acetate, highlighting the Company's focus on higher-value downstream applications and customer-driven product innovation. Second Quarter Business Segment Overview Engineered Materials Engineered Materials reported second quarter net sales of $1.45 billion, a 9 percent sequential increase, consisting of a 3 percent increase in volume, a 6 percent increase in pricing, and a modest currency benefit. Results were driven by strong commercial execution, favorable pricing and mix, and continued momentum across strategic growth platforms, particularly in medical and electronics. The business reported second quarter operating profit of $156 million, adjusted EBIT of $234 million, and operating EBITDA of $335 million, with margins of 11, 16, and 23 percent, respectively. Performance benefited from improving portfolio mix, targeted growth initiatives, and ongoing execution of the Engineered Materials Grow & Fortify strategy. During the quarter, the business completed the previously announced Ulsan, South Korea compounding unit closure and nylon 6,6 network optimization ahead of schedule, as well as the successful execution of the business's largest POM turnaround in five years. Collectively, these actions strengthen the business' competitiveness, flexibility, and participation in higher-growth end markets. Acetyl Chain The Acetyl Chain reported second quarter net sales of $1.33 billion, a 28 percent sequential increase, consisting of increases of 6 percent in volume and 22 percent in price, with a small currency benefit. Results reflected the successful capture of pricing and margin opportunities and volume gains in the Western Hemisphere driven by Celanese's position as a reliable supplier via the business's integrated global network. The business delivered second quarter operating profit of $237 million, adjusted EBIT of $321 million, and operating EBITDA of $385 million at margins of 18, 24, and 29 percent, respectively. Performance highlighted the flexibility of the Acetyl Chain business model, as the Company leveraged its integrated global network, reliability of supply, and commercial agility to capture opportunities and strengthen customer relationships. During the quarter, Celanese completed the rapid restart of the Frankfurt VAM unit, optimized network utilization, and continued advancing downstream growth initiatives and productivity actions designed to improve the durability and earnings profile of the business. Cash Flow and Tax Celanese reported second quarter operating cash flow of $209 million and free cash flow of $140 million. Cash generation in the quarter reflected timing effects of working capital associated with the higher sales and earnings profile. Capital expenditures remained disciplined and aligned with the Company's deleveraging priorities. The effective U.S. GAAP income tax rate was 8 percent, reflecting the impact of discrete items occurring during the second quarter, which was higher compared to the same period in 2025, primarily due to non-recurring favorable tax items for changes in uncertain tax positions related to prior year tax examinations and deferred tax benefits related to integration transactions in the prior year. The effective tax rate for 2026 adjusted earnings was also 8 percent for the second quarter, and we anticipate this rate for the full year 2026 based on expected jurisdictional earnings mix for the full year and consideration of other non-recurring U.S. GAAP items. Outlook "Looking to the third quarter, we expect continued moderation of supply-related opportunities, along with the impact of higher raw material costs in Engineered Materials and inventory-related actions associated with our nylon 6,6 and Lanaken footprint optimizations," continued Richardson. "Based on these dynamics, we expect third quarter adjusted earnings per share of approximately $1.35 to $1.75." "While earnings are expected to moderate from the strong second quarter level, we remain focused on executing the initiatives within our control and continue to expect approximately $6.00 of adjusted earnings per share and $700 to $800 million of free cash flow for the full year. In the second quarter, we saw early benefits of our growth strategy and the increasing contribution of our growth platforms. Together with our productivity, portfolio, and footprint actions, these initiatives position Celanese to deliver strong performance in 2026 and create additional earnings growth opportunities in the years ahead," Richardson concluded. Reconciliations of forecasted non-GAAP measures such as adjusted earnings per share, adjusted EBIT, operating EBITDA or free cash flow to the equivalent U.S. GAAP measures (diluted earnings per share, net earnings (loss) attributable to Celanese Corporation and net cash provided by (used in) operations, respectively), are not available without unreasonable efforts because a forecast of Certain Items, such as mark-to-market pension gains/losses, and other items is not practical. For more information, see "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below. The Company's prepared remarks related to the second quarter will be posted on its website at investors.celanese.com under Financial Information/Financial Document Library on August 4, 2026. Information about Non-US GAAP measures is included in a Non-US GAAP Financial Measures and Supplemental Information document posted on our investor relations website under Financial Information/Non-GAAP Financial Measures. See also "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below. Celanese Corporation is a global leader in chemistry, producing specialty material solutions used across most major industries and consumer applications. Our businesses use our chemistry, technology and commercial expertise to create value for our customers, employees and shareholders. We support sustainability by responsibly managing the materials we create and growing our portfolio of sustainable products to meet customer and societal demand. We strive to make a positive impact in our communities and to foster inclusivity across our teams. Celanese Corporation is a Fortune 500 company that employs more than 11,000 employees worldwide with 2025 net sales of $9.5 billion. Forward-Looking Statements This release may contain "forward-looking statements," which include information concerning the Company's plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future revenues, cash flow, financial performance, synergies, capital expenditures, deleveraging efforts, planned cost reductions, dividend policy, financing needs and other information that is not historical information. All forward-looking statements are based upon current expectations and beliefs and various assumptions. There can be no assurance that the Company will realize these expectations or that these beliefs will prove correct. There are a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements contained in this release. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things: the ability to successfully achieve planned cost reductions; changes in general economic, business, political and regulatory conditions in the countries or regions in which we operate; the length and depth of product and industry business cycles, particularly in the automotive, electrical, textiles, electronics and construction industries; potential liability resulting from pending or future claims or litigation, including investigations or enforcement actions, or from changes in the laws, regulations or policies of governments or other governmental activities, in the countries in which we operate; our level of indebtedness and our financial condition, each of which could diminish our ability to raise additional capital to fund operations, reduce our business and strategic flexibility, increase our interest expense, limit the success of our deleveraging efforts, and impact changes to our credit ratings, which could increase our interest expense in the event of additional downgrades; volatility or changes in the price and availability of raw materials and energy, particularly changes in the demand for, supply of, and market prices of ethylene, methanol, natural gas, carbon monoxide, wood pulp, hexamethylene diamine, Polyamide 66 ("PA66"), polybutylene terephthalate, ethanol, natural gas and fuel oil, and the prices for electricity and other energy sources; the ability to pass increases in raw materials prices, logistics costs and other costs on to customers or otherwise improve margins through price increases; the possibility that we will not be able to realize the anticipated benefits of the Mobility & Materials business (the "M&M Business") we acquired from DuPont de Nemours, Inc. (the "M&M Acquisition"), including synergies and growth opportunities, whether as a result of difficulties arising from the operation of the M&M Business or other unanticipated delays, costs, inefficiencies or liabilities; additional impairment of goodwill or intangible assets; increased commercial, legal or regulatory complexity of entering into, or expanding our exposure to, certain end markets and geographies; risks in the global economy and equity and credit markets and their potential impact on our ability to pay down debt in the future and/or refinance at suitable rates, in a timely manner, or at all; the ability to maintain plant utilization rates and to implement planned capacity additions, expansions and maintenance; the ability to reduce or maintain current levels of production costs and to improve productivity by implementing technological improvements to existing plants; increased price competition and the introduction of competing products by other companies; the ability to identify desirable potential acquisition or divestiture opportunities and to complete such transactions, including obtaining regulatory approvals, consistent with the Company's strategy; market acceptance of our products and technology; compliance and other costs and potential disruption or interruption of production or operations due to accidents, interruptions in sources of raw materials, transportation, logistics or supply chain disruptions, cybersecurity incidents, AI-related vulnerabilities, terrorism or political unrest, public health crises, or other unforeseen events or delays in construction or operation of facilities, including as a result of geopolitical conditions, the direct or indirect consequences of acts of war or conflict (such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict or conflicts in the Middle East) or terrorist incidents or as a result of fire, flood, hurricanes, other severe weather, natural disasters, other catastrophic events, or other crises; the ability to obtain governmental approvals and to construct facilities on terms and schedules acceptable to the Company; changes in applicable tariffs, duties, treaties and trade agreements, tax rates or legislation throughout the world including, but not limited to, anti-dumping and countervailing duties, adjustments, changes in estimates or interpretations or the resolution of tax examinations or audits that may impact recorded or future tax impacts and potential regulatory and legislative tax developments in the United States and other jurisdictions; changes in the degree of intellectual property and other legal protection afforded to our products or technologies, or the theft of such intellectual property; potential liability for remedial actions and increased costs under existing or future environmental, health and safety regulations, including those relating to climate change or other sustainability matters; changes in currency exchange rates and interest rates; tax rates and changes thereto; and various other factors discussed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which it is made or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances. Non-GAAP Financial Measures Presentation This document presents the Company's two business segments, Engineered Materials and the Acetyl Chain. Use of Non-US GAAP Financial Information This release uses the following Non-US GAAP measures: adjusted EBIT, adjusted EBIT margin, operating EBITDA, operating EBITDA margin, adjusted earnings per share and free cash flow. These measures are not recognized in accordance with US GAAP and should not be viewed as an alternative to US GAAP measures of performance or liquidity. The most directly comparable financial measure presented in accordance with US GAAP in our consolidated financial statements for adjusted EBIT and operating EBITDA is net earnings (loss) attributable to Celanese Corporation; for adjusted EBIT margin is operating margin; for operating EBITDA margin is operating margin; for adjusted earnings per share is earnings (loss) from continuing operations attributable to Celanese Corporation per common share-diluted; and for free cash flow is net cash provided by (used in) operations. Definitions of Non-US GAAP Financial Measures Adjusted EBIT is a performance measure used by the Company and is defined by the Company as net earnings (loss) attributable to Celanese Corporation, plus (earnings) loss from discontinued operations, less interest income, plus interest expense, plus refinancing expense and taxes, and further adjusted for Certain Items (refer to Table 8 of our Non-US GAAP Financial Measures and Supplemental Information document). We do not provide reconciliations for adjusted EBIT on a forward-looking basis (including those contained in this document) when we are unable to provide a meaningful or accurate calculation or estimation of reconciling items and the information is not available without unreasonable effort. This is due to the inherent difficulty of forecasting the timing and amount of Certain Items, such as mark-to-market pension gains and losses, that have not yet occurred, are out of our control and/or cannot be reasonably predicted. For the same reasons, we are unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information. Adjusted EBIT margin is defined by the Company as adjusted EBIT divided by net sales. Operating EBITDA is a performance measure used by the Company and is defined by the Company as net earnings (loss) attributable to Celanese Corporation, plus (earnings) loss from discontinued operations, less interest income, plus interest expense, plus refinancing expense, taxes and depreciation and amortization, and further adjusted for Certain Items, which Certain Items include accelerated depreciation and amortization expense. Operating EBITDA is equal to adjusted EBIT plus depreciation and amortization. We do not provide reconciliations for operating EBITDA on a forward-looking basis (including those contained in this document) when we are unable to provide a meaningful or accurate calculation or estimation of reconciling items and the information is not available without unreasonable effort. This is due to the inherent difficulty of forecasting the timing and amount of Certain Items, such as mark-to-market pension gains and losses, that have not yet occurred, are out of our control and/or cannot be reasonably predicted. For the same reasons, we are unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information. Operating EBITDA margin is defined by the Company as operating EBITDA divided by net sales. Adjusted earnings per share is a performance measure used by the Company and is defined by the Company as earnings (loss) from continuing operations attributable to Celanese Corporation, adjusted for income tax (provision) benefit, Certain Items, and refinancing and related expenses, divided by the number of basic common shares and dilutive restricted stock units and stock options calculated using the treasury method. We do not provide reconciliations for adjusted earnings per share on a forward-looking basis (including those contained in this document) when we are unable to provide a meaningful or accurate calculation or estimation of reconciling items and the information is not available without unreasonable effort. This is due to the inherent difficulty of forecasting the timing and amount of Certain Items, such as mark-to-market pension gains and losses, that have not yet occurred, are out of our control and/or cannot be reasonably predicted. For the same reasons, we are unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information.Note: The income tax expense (benefit) on Certain Items ("Non-GAAP adjustments") is determined using the applicable rates in the taxing jurisdictions in which the Non-GAAP adjustments occurred and includes both current and deferred income tax expense (benefit). The income tax rate used for adjusted earnings per share approximates the midpoint in a range of forecasted tax rates for the year. This range may include certain partial or full-year forecasted tax opportunities and related costs, where applicable, and specifically excludes changes in uncertain tax positions, discrete recognition of GAAP items on a quarterly basis, other pre-tax items adjusted out of our GAAP earnings for adjusted earnings per share purposes and changes in management's assessments regarding the ability to realize deferred tax assets for GAAP. In determining the adjusted earnings per share tax rate, we reflect the impact of foreign tax credits when utilized, or expected to be utilized, absent discrete events impacting the timing of foreign tax credit utilization. We analyze this rate quarterly and adjust it if there is a material change in the range of forecasted tax rates; an updated forecast would not necessarily result in a change to our tax rate used for adjusted earnings per share. The adjusted tax rate is an estimate and may differ from the actual tax rate used for GAAP reporting in any given reporting period. Table 3a of our Non-US GAAP Financial Measures and Supplemental Information document summarizes the reconciliation of our estimated GAAP effective tax rate to the adjusted tax rate. The estimated GAAP rate excludes discrete recognition of GAAP items due to our inability to forecast such items. As part of the year-end reconciliation, we will update the reconciliation of the GAAP effective tax rate to the adjusted tax rate for actual results. Free cash flow is a liquidity measure used by the Company and is defined by the Company as net cash provided by (used in) operations, less capital expenditures on property, plant and equipment, and adjusted for contributions from or distributions to our noncontrolling interest joint ventures. We do not provide reconciliations for free cash flow on a forward-looking basis (including those contained in this document) when we are unable to provide a meaningful or accurate calculation or estimation of reconciling items and the information is not available without unreasonable effort. This is due to the inherent difficulty of forecasting the timing and amount of items such as working capital changes, fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, the impact and timing of potential acquisitions and divestitures, and other structural changes, that have not yet occurred, are out of our control and/or cannot be reasonably predicted. For the same reasons, we are unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information. Reconciliation of Non-US GAAP Financial Measures Reconciliations of the Non-US GAAP financial measures used in this press release to the comparable US GAAP financial measure, together with information about the purposes and uses of Non-US GAAP financial measures, are included in our Non-US GAAP Financial Measures and Supplemental Information document filed as an exhibit to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on or about August 4, 2026 and also available on our website at investors.celanese.com under Financial Information/Financial Document Library. Results Unaudited The results in this document, together with the adjustments made to present the results on a comparable basis, have not been audited and are based on internal financial data furnished to management. Quarterly results should not be taken as an indication of the results of operations to be reported for any subsequent period or for the full fiscal year. Beginning with the reporting period ending June 30, 2026, the Company revised its presentation of Equity Earnings and Dividend Income Attributable to Celanese Corporation. Previously, Other Income (Expense) Attributable to Celanese Corporation was included with the presentation of Equity Earnings and Dividend Income Attributable to Celanese Corporation. To provide a better understanding for readers of the U.S. GAAP results of the Company’s non-consolidated equity investments by presenting such results in isolation and better align with how management assesses such results, Other Income (Expense) Attributable to Celanese Corporation is now included with Non-Operating Pension, Other Post-Retirement Employee Benefit (Expense) Income Attributable to Celanese Corporation. Prior periods presented have been revised to reflect this change. Certain prior period amounts have been revised to correct for certain prior period immaterial errors. See Note 1 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ending June 30, 2026. Supplemental Information Additional information about our prior period performance is included in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and in our Non-US GAAP Financial Measures and Supplemental Information document. Non-U.S. GAAP Financial Measures and Supplemental Information August 4, 2026 In this document, the terms the "Company," "we" and "our" refer to Celanese Corporation and its subsidiaries on a consolidated basis. Purpose The purpose of this document is to provide information of interest to investors, analysts and other parties including supplemental financial information and reconciliations and other information concerning our use of non-U.S. GAAP financial measures. This document is updated quarterly. Presentation This document presents the Company's two business segments, Engineered Materials and the Acetyl Chain. Use of Non-U.S. GAAP Financial Measures From time to time, management may publicly disclose certain numerical "non-GAAP financial measures" in the course of our earnings releases, financial presentations, earnings conference calls, investor and analyst meetings and otherwise. For these purposes, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") defines a "non-GAAP financial measure" as a numerical measure of historical or future financial performance, financial position or cash flows that excludes amounts, or is subject to adjustments that effectively exclude amounts, included in the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP, and vice versa for measures that include amounts, or are subject to adjustments that effectively include amounts, that are excluded from the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP measure so calculated and presented. For these purposes, "GAAP" refers to generally accepted accounting principles in the United States. Non-GAAP financial measures disclosed by management are provided as additional information to investors, analysts and other parties because the Company believes them to be important supplemental measures for assessing our financial and operating results and as a means to evaluate our financial condition and period-to-period comparisons. These non-GAAP financial measures should be viewed as supplemental to, and should not be considered in isolation or as alternatives to, net earnings (loss), operating profit (loss), operating margin, cash flow from operating activities (together with cash flow from investing and financing activities), earnings per share or any other U.S. GAAP financial measure. These non-GAAP financial measures should be considered within the context of our complete audited and unaudited financial results for the given period, which are available on the Financial Information/Financial Document Library page of our website, investors.celanese.com. The definition and method of calculation of the non-GAAP financial measures used herein may be different from other companies' methods for calculating measures with the same or similar titles. Investors, analysts and other parties should understand how another company calculates such non-GAAP financial measures before comparing the other company's non-GAAP financial measures to any of our own. These non-GAAP financial measures may not be indicative of the historical operating results of the Company nor are they intended to be predictive or projections of future results. Pursuant to the requirements of SEC Regulation G, whenever we refer to a non-GAAP financial measure, we will also present in this document, in the presentation itself or on a Form 8-K in connection with the presentation on the Financial Information/Financial Document Library page of our website, investors.celanese.com, to the extent practicable, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, along with a reconciliation of the differences between the non-GAAP financial measure we reference and such comparable GAAP financial measure. This document includes definitions and reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures used from time to time by the Company. Specific Measures Used This document provides information about the following non-GAAP measures: adjusted EBIT, adjusted EBIT margin, operating EBITDA, operating EBITDA margin, operating profit (loss) attributable to Celanese Corporation, adjusted earnings per share, net debt, free cash flow and return on invested capital (adjusted). The most directly comparable financial measure presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP in our consolidated financial statements for adjusted EBIT and operating EBITDA is net earnings (loss) attributable to Celanese Corporation; for adjusted EBIT margin and operating EBITDA margin is operating margin; for operating profit (loss) attributable to Celanese Corporation is operating profit (loss); for adjusted earnings per share is earnings (loss) from continuing operations attributable to Celanese Corporation per common share-diluted; for net debt is total debt; for free cash flow is net cash provided by (used in) operations; and for return on invested capital (adjusted) is net earnings (loss) attributable to Celanese Corporation divided by the sum of the average of beginning and end of the year short- and long-term debt and Celanese Corporation shareholders' equity. Definitions Adjusted EBIT is a performance measure used by the Company and is defined by the Company as net earnings (loss) attributable to Celanese Corporation, plus (earnings) loss from discontinued operations, less interest income, plus interest expense, plus refinancing expense and taxes, and further adjusted for Certain Items (refer to Table 8). We believe that adjusted EBIT provides transparent and useful information to management, investors, analysts and other parties in evaluating and assessing our primary operating results from period-to-period after removing the impact of unusual, non-operational or restructuring-related activities that affect comparability. Our management recognizes that adjusted EBIT has inherent limitations because of the excluded items. Adjusted EBIT is one of the measures management uses for planning and budgeting, monitoring and evaluating financial and operating results and as a performance metric in the Company's incentive compensation plan. We do not provide reconciliations for adjusted EBIT on a forward-looking basis (including those contained in this document) when we are unable to provide a meaningful or accurate calculation or estimation of reconciling items and the information is not available without unreasonable effort. This is due to the inherent difficulty of forecasting the timing and amount of Certain Items, such as mark-to-market pension gains and losses, that have not yet occurred, are out of our control and/or cannot be reasonably predicted. For the same reasons, we are unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information. Adjusted EBIT margin is defined by the Company as adjusted EBIT divided by net sales. Adjusted EBIT margin has the same uses and limitations as adjusted EBIT. Operating EBITDA is a performance measure used by the Company and is defined by the Company as net earnings (loss) attributable to Celanese Corporation, plus (earnings) loss from discontinued operations, less interest income, plus interest expense, plus refinancing expense, taxes and depreciation and amortization, and further adjusted for Certain Items, which Certain Items include accelerated depreciation and amortization expense. Operating EBITDA is equal to adjusted EBIT plus depreciation and amortization. We believe that operating EBITDA provides transparent and useful information to investors, analysts and other parties in evaluating our operating performance relative to our peer companies. We do not provide reconciliations for operating EBITDA on a forward-looking basis (including those contained in this document) when we are unable to provide a meaningful or accurate calculation or estimation of reconciling items and the information is not available without unreasonable effort. This is due to the inherent difficulty of forecasting the timing and amount of Certain Items, such as mark-to-market pension gains and losses, that have not yet occurred, are out of our control and/or cannot be reasonably predicted. For the same reasons, we are unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information. Operating EBITDA margin is defined by the Company as operating EBITDA divided by net sales. Operating EBITDA margin has the same uses and limitations as operating EBITDA. Operating profit (loss) attributable to Celanese Corporation is defined by the Company as operating profit (loss), less earnings (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests ("NCI"). We believe that operating profit (loss) attributable to Celanese Corporation provides transparent and useful information to management, investors, analysts and other parties in evaluating our core operational performance. Operating margin attributable to Celanese Corporation is defined by the Company as operating profit (loss) attributable to Celanese Corporation divided by net sales. Operating margin attributable to Celanese Corporation has the same uses and limitations as operating profit (loss) attributable to Celanese Corporation. Adjusted earnings per share is a performance measure used by the Company and is defined by the Company as earnings (loss) from continuing operations attributable to Celanese Corporation, adjusted for income tax (provision) benefit, Certain Items, and refinancing and related expenses, divided by the number of basic common shares and dilutive restricted stock units and stock options calculated using the treasury method. We believe that adjusted earnings per share provides transparent and useful information to management, investors, analysts and other parties in evaluating and assessing our primary operating results from period-to-period after removing the impact of the above stated items that affect comparability and as a performance metric in the Company's incentive compensation plan. We do not provide reconciliations for adjusted earnings per share on a forward-looking basis (including those contained in this document) when we are unable to provide a meaningful or accurate calculation or estimation of reconciling items and the information is not available without unreasonable effort. This is due to the inherent difficulty of forecasting the timing and amount of Certain Items, such as mark-to-market pension gains and losses, that have not yet occurred, are out of our control and/or cannot be reasonably predicted. For the same reasons, we are unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information.Note: The income tax expense (benefit) on Certain Items ("Non-GAAP adjustments") is determined using the applicable rates in the taxing jurisdictions in which the Non-GAAP adjustments occurred and includes both current and deferred income tax expense (benefit). The income tax rate used for adjusted earnings per share approximates the midpoint in a range of forecasted tax rates for the year. This range may include certain partial or full-year forecasted tax opportunities and related costs, where applicable, and specifically excludes changes in uncertain tax positions, discrete recognition of GAAP items on a quarterly basis, other pre-tax items adjusted out of our GAAP earnings for adjusted earnings per share purposes and changes in management's assessments regarding the ability to realize deferred tax assets for GAAP. In determining the adjusted earnings per share tax rate, we reflect the impact of foreign tax credits when utilized, or expected to be utilized, absent discrete events impacting the timing of foreign tax credit utilization. We analyze this rate quarterly and adjust it if there is a material change in the range of forecasted tax rates; an updated forecast would not necessarily result in a change to our tax rate used for adjusted earnings per share. The adjusted tax rate is an estimate and may differ from the actual tax rate used for GAAP reporting in any given reporting period. Table 3a summarizes the reconciliation of our estimated GAAP effective tax rate to the adjusted tax rate. The estimated GAAP rate excludes discrete recognition of GAAP items due to our inability to forecast such items. As part of the year-end reconciliation, we will update the reconciliation of the GAAP effective tax rate to the adjusted tax rate for actual results. Free cash flow is a liquidity measure used by the Company and is defined by the Company as net cash provided by (used in) operations, less capital expenditures on property, plant and equipment, and adjusted for contributions from or distributions to our NCI joint ventures. We believe that free cash flow provides useful information to management, investors, analysts and other parties in evaluating the Company's liquidity and credit quality assessment because it provides an indication of the long-term cash generating ability of our business. Although we use free cash flow as a measure to assess the liquidity generated by our business, the use of free cash flow has important limitations, including that free cash flow does not reflect the cash requirements necessary to service our indebtedness, lease obligations, unconditional purchase obligations or pension and postretirement funding obligations. Free cash flow is not a measure of cash available for discretionary expenditures since the Company has certain debt service and finance lease payments that are not deducted from that measure. We do not provide reconciliations for free cash flow on a forward-looking basis when we are unable to provide a meaningful or accurate calculation or estimation of reconciling items and the information is not available without unreasonable effort. This is due to the inherent difficulty of forecasting the timing and amount of items such as working capital changes, fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, the impact and timing of potential acquisitions and divestitures, and other structural changes, that have not yet occurred, are out of our control and/or cannot be reasonably predicted. For the same reasons, we are unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information. Net debt is defined by the Company as total debt less cash and cash equivalents. We believe that net debt provides useful information to management, investors, analysts and other parties in evaluating changes to the Company's capital structure and credit quality assessment. Return on invested capital (adjusted) is defined by the Company as adjusted EBIT, tax effected using the adjusted tax rate, divided by the sum of the average of beginning and end of the year short- and long-term debt and Celanese Corporation shareholders' equity. We believe that return on invested capital (adjusted) provides useful information to management, investors, analysts and other parties in order to assess our income generation from the point of view of our shareholders and creditors who provide us with capital in the form of equity and debt and whether capital invested in the Company yields competitive returns. Supplemental Information Supplemental Information we believe to be of interest to investors, analysts and other parties includes the following: Net sales for each of our business segments and the percentage increase or decrease in net sales attributable to price, volume, currency and other factors for each of our business segments. Cash dividends received from our equity investments. For those consolidated ventures in which the Company owns or is exposed to less than 100% of the economics, the outside shareholders' interests are shown as NCI. Amounts referred to as "attributable to Celanese Corporation" are net of any applicable NCI. Results Unaudited The results in this document, together with the adjustments made to present the results on a comparable basis, have not been audited and are based on internal financial data furnished to management. Quarterly results should not be taken as an indication of the results of operations to be reported for any subsequent period or for the full fiscal year. Beginning with the reporting period ending June 30, 2026, the Company revised its presentation of Equity Earnings and Dividend Income Attributable to Celanese Corporation. Previously, Other Income (Expense) Attributable to Celanese Corporation was included with the presentation of Equity Earnings and Dividend Income Attributable to Celanese Corporation. To provide a better understanding for readers of the U.S. GAAP results of the Company’s non-consolidated equity investments by presenting such results in isolation and better align with how management assesses such results, Other Income (Expense) Attributable to Celanese Corporation is now included with Non-Operating Pension, Other Post-Retirement Employee Benefit (Expense) Income Attributable to Celanese Corporation. Prior periods presented have been revised to reflect this change. Certain prior period amounts have been revised to correct for certain prior period immaterial errors. See Note 1 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ending June 30, 2026. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260730200927/en/ Contacts Investor Relations Bill CunninghamPhone: +1 302 772 [email protected] Media - U.S. Jamaison SchulerPhone: +1 972 443 [email protected] Media - Europe Petra CzuglerPhone: +49 69 45009 [email protected] Media - Asia Maria XiaPhone: +86 21 3861 [email protected]

FUCHS SE - Unsponsored ADR (FUPBY) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.19 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.17 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.14 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +11.77%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this company would post earnings of $0.17 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.2, delivering a surprise of +17.65%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates two times. FUCHS SE - Unsponsored ADR, which belongs to the Zacks Chemical - Specialty industry, posted revenues of $1.24 billion for the quarter ended June 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 9.05%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $998.47 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates two times over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. FUCHS SE - Unsponsored ADR shares have added about 6% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 8.7%. While FUCHS SE - Unsponsored ADR has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions. Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for FUCHS SE - Unsponsored ADR was unfavorable. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to underperform the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $0.17 on $1.3 billion in revenues for the coming quarter and $0.71 on $4.66 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year. Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Chemical - Specialty is currently in the top 35% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. Another stock from the same industry, Celanese (CE), has yet to report results for the quarter ended June 2026. The results are expected to be released on August 4. This chemical company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $2.21 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +53.5%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 0.9% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. Celanese's revenues are expected to be $2.65 billion, up 4.8% from the year-ago quarter. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report FUCHS SE - Unsponsored ADR (FUPBY) : Free Stock Analysis Report Celanese Corporation (CE) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Wall Street expects a year-over-year increase in earnings on lower revenues when Green Plains Renewable Energy (GPRE) reports results for the quarter ended June 2026. While this widely-known consensus outlook is important in gauging the company's earnings picture, a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price is how the actual results compare to these estimates. The earnings report, which is expected to be released on August 6, might help the stock move higher if these key numbers are better than expectations. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower. While the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's discussion of business conditions on the earnings call, it's worth handicapping the probability of a positive EPS surprise. This ethanol production, marketing and commodities company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.65 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +258.5%. Revenues are expected to be $528.9 million, down 4.3% from the year-ago quarter. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 11.29% lower over the last 30 days to the current level. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period. Investors should keep in mind that the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts may not always get reflected in the aggregate change. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Estimate revisions ahead of a company's earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out. Our proprietary surprise prediction model -- the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) -- has this insight at its core. The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier. Thus, a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate. However, the model's predictive power is significant for positive ESP readings only. A positive Earnings ESP is a strong predictor of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold). Our research shows that stocks with this combination produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time, and a solid Zacks Rank actually increases the predictive power of Earnings ESP. Please note that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss. Our research shows that it is difficult to predict an earnings beat with any degree of confidence for stocks with negative Earnings ESP readings and/or Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell). For Green Plains, the Most Accurate Estimate is the same as the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that there are no recent analyst views which differ from what have been considered to derive the consensus estimate. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of 0%. On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #4. So, this combination makes it difficult to conclusively predict that Green Plains will beat the consensus EPS estimate. Analysts often consider to what extent a company has been able to match consensus estimates in the past while calculating their estimates for its future earnings. So, it's worth taking a look at the surprise history for gauging its influence on the upcoming number. For the last reported quarter, it was expected that Green Plains would post a loss of$0.01 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.42, delivering a surprise of +4,300.00%. Over the last four quarters, the company has beaten consensus EPS estimates three times. An earnings beat or miss may not be the sole basis for a stock moving higher or lower. Many stocks end up losing ground despite an earnings beat due to other factors that disappoint investors. Similarly, unforeseen catalysts help a number of stocks gain despite an earnings miss. That said, betting on stocks that are expected to beat earnings expectations does increase the odds of success. This is why it's worth checking a company's Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank ahead of its quarterly release. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported. Green Plains doesn't appear a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release. Another stock from the Zacks Chemical - Specialty industry, Celanese (CE), is soon expected to post earnings of $2.21 per share for the quarter ended June 2026. This estimate indicates a year-over-year change of +53.5%. Revenues for the quarter are expected to be $2.65 billion, up 4.8% from the year-ago quarter. Over the last 30 days, the consensus EPS estimate for Celanese has been revised 0.9% up to the current level. Nevertheless, the company now has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%, reflecting an equal Most Accurate Estimate. This Earnings ESP, combined with its Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), makes it difficult to conclusively predict that Celanese will beat the consensus EPS estimate. Over the last four quarters, the company surpassed consensus EPS estimates two times. Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Green Plains, Inc. (GPRE) : Free Stock Analysis Report Celanese Corporation (CE) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research