Start here if you're new
what it is
Eastman makes plastics, chemicals, and fibers used in cars, buildings, packaging, and industrial products.
how it gets paid
Last year Eastman Chemical made $8.8B in revenue. Advanced Materials was the main engine at $2.9B, or 33% of sales.
why growth slowed
Revenue fell 6.7% last year. EDGAR reports gross margin at 22.2%. still says Q3 sales fell almost 11% to $2.2B.
what just happened
The latest quarter showed $6.8B of revenue and $3.18 of EPS, while Yahoo's last-earnings snapshot shows a different quarter at $0.91 vs $1.68.
At a glance
A balance sheet — strong enough to weather a downturn
50/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
17.8x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
4.9% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
8.5% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 65/100 — average
What they do
Eastman makes plastics, chemicals, and fibers used in cars, buildings, packaging, and industrial products.
Eastman runs 35 manufacturing sites and sells into 100+ countries. That means your supplier switch is not one email. It is testing, approvals, and downtime. The company also gets 56% of sales from abroad, so one market does not own the whole story.
How they make money
$8.8B
annual revenue · their business grew -6.7% last year
Advanced Materials
$2.9B
Additives and Functional Products
$2.7B
Chemical Intermediates
$2.0B
Fibers
$1.1B
The products that matter
high-performance plastics and films
Advanced Materials
inside an $8.8B business
this is where packaging, transportation, and consumer durables exposure shows up. when company revenue falls 6.7%, demand-sensitive materials are usually where you feel it first. if you want an early read on recovery, start here.
end-market exposed
additives and specialty ingredients
Functional Products
mix matters here
coatings, adhesives, and formulation ingredients usually give you better pricing than plain commodity exposure. the page-level reality is still a 5.8% net margin. in human-speak: better mix exists, but you are not seeing enough of it yet.
pricing test
base chemicals and feedstocks
Chemical Intermediates
cost-sensitive exposure
this is the part of the portfolio that feels raw materials, tariffs, and supply-chain friction fastest. with cost of goods sold at 80% of sales, the industrial side of the mix is not background noise. it is part of the earnings story.
input-cost risk
Key numbers
4.9%
dividend yield
You get paid 4.9% while waiting for a company with only 1.0% past earnings growth.
20.0%
operating margin
Eastman keeps 20 cents of every sales dollar before interest and taxes, which is why this stock still looks sturdier than the revenue line.
8.5%
return on capital
The business earns 8.5% on the money inside it, which is fine, but not enough to ignore a 17.8x multiple.
$84
target price
That target is 23% above $68.4, so you are not paying for perfection.
Financial health
A
strength
- balance sheet grade A — very strong financial position
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 65 / 100
- long-term debt $4.8B (38% of capital)
- net profit margin 9.1% — keeps 9 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 14% — $0.14 profit for every $1 investors have put in
A — among the top-rated companies for balance sheet quality.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in EMN 3 years ago → it's now worth $8,420.
The index would have given you $14,770.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
beat estimates
The latest quarter showed $6.8B of revenue and $3.18 of EPS, while Yahoo's last-earnings snapshot shows a different quarter at $0.91 vs $1.68.
EDGAR reports gross margin at 22.2%. still says Q3 sales fell almost 11% to $2.2B, so the quarter labels in the market data do not line up cleanly.
$6.8B
revenue
$3.18
eps
22.2%
gross margin
gross margin
Gross margin was 22.2%, which means Eastman kept 22 cents of every sales dollar before overhead and debt costs.
-
eastman’s third-quarter earnings were down considerably.
-
sales fell almost 11% to $2.2 billion.
-
this was due to weak demand in the company’s building/construction and consumer durables markets.
-
in addition, customers destocked their inventories to avoid the effects of punitive tariffs.
-
meanwhile, the cost of goods sold as a percentage of sales rose to 80% (from 75.4%), as a result of higher raw material costs, increased tariffs, and the elevated expenses associated with more complicated supply chains.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
eastman's weak spots are not theoretical. they are already visible in the revenue decline, the 80% cost-of-goods-sold ratio, and the softness in construction and consumer durables.
med
end-market demand stays weak
management already pointed to weakness in building, construction, and consumer durables. if those categories do not recover, the $8.8B revenue base has a hard time getting back to growth.
Revenue already fell 6.7% last year. another soft year would make the hoped-for move to $9B look more like aspiration than forecast.
med
input costs and tariffs keep eating margin
raw material inflation, tariffs, and more complicated supply chains pushed cost of goods sold up to 80% of sales from 75.4%. that is a big move for a business only earning a 5.8% net margin.
If that cost structure sticks, even stable sales may not translate into better earnings.
med
customer destocking lasts longer than expected
customers cut inventories to avoid punitive tariffs. when buyers step back like that, reported demand can stay below underlying consumption for longer than you want.
This does not just delay revenue. it also keeps quarterly EPS prints like $0.40 more volatile and makes the 50/100 predictability score look earned.
Combined, these risks hit both sides of the income statement: demand pressure on the $8.8B top line and cost pressure from an 80% cost-of-goods-sold ratio that was 75.4% before.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
key metric
gross cost pressure
cost of goods sold rose to 80% of sales from 75.4%. if that does not improve, the earnings recovery stays on paper.
trend
revenue getting back to growth
the business starts from an $8.8B base after a 6.7% decline. the market does not need perfection. it does need proof the slide has stopped.
risk
construction and durables demand
those were the markets called out as weak. if they stay soft, eastman keeps fighting the same battle next quarter.
next print
whether EPS quality improves
Q4 EPS was $0.40 and full-year EPS was $4.50. you want the next report to show margin repair, not just a temporary estimate beat.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
average
momentum score 3. in human-speak, analysts see a middle-of-the-pack setup rather than a clear breakout.
risk profile
average
stability score 3 means this is neither a bunker stock nor a disaster waiting to happen. it sits in the middle.
chart momentum
below average
technical score 4 means recent price action is still working against you. the chart is not confirming the recovery case yet.
earnings predictability
50 / 100
predictability at 50/100 means quarterly numbers can move around more than income investors usually prefer.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net selling for 2 consecutive quarters — 279 buyers vs. 404 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 0.1B shares. net selling for 2 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$52
$115
$68
current price
$84
target midpoint · +23% from current · 3-5yr high: $110 (+60% · 16% ann'l return)
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