Shares of DuPont de Nemours Inc.
DD,
tumbled 9% toward a 2 1/2-month low in premarket trading Wednesday, after the materials science company warned of an earnings shortfall as additional inventory destocking and continued weakness in China led to lower volumes. The company said it expects first-quarter adjusted earnings per share of 63 cents to 65 cents, down from 84 cents a year ago and well below the current FactSet consensus of 88 cents. Sales are expected to fall to $2.8 billion from $3.02 billion last year, below the FactSet consensus of $3.04 billion. For the fourth quarter, the company expects to report adjusted EPS of 85 cents to 87 cents and sales of approximately $2.9 billion, while the FactSet consensus is for EPS of 85 cents and sales of $3.0 billion. Separately, DuPont said it expects to record a goodwill impairment charge of $750 million to $850 million in the fourth quarter, related to the merger between Dow and DuPont. The company said it will release full fourth-quarter results on Feb. 6. The stock has gained 2.6% over the past three months through Tuesday, while the S&P 500
SPX,
has rallied 14.5%.
