Ashland (ASH) Surpasses Q1 Earnings Estimates

Core Viewpoint - Ashland (ASH) reported quarterly earnings of $0.28 per share, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.20 per share, but down from $0.45 per share a year ago, indicating a 40% earnings surprise [1][2] Financial Performance - The company posted revenues of $405 million for the quarter ended December 2024, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 6.52% and down from $473 million year-over-year [2] - Over the last four quarters, Ashland has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times and topped consensus revenue estimates two times [2] Stock Performance and Outlook - Ashland shares have declined approximately 0.5% since the beginning of the year, while the S&P 500 has gained 2.2% [3] - The current consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming quarter is $1.29 on revenues of $515.77 million, and for the current fiscal year, it is $4.31 on revenues of $1.95 billion [7] Industry Context - The Chemical - Specialty industry, to which Ashland belongs, is currently ranked in the bottom 16% of over 250 Zacks industries, which may negatively impact stock performance [8] - Empirical research indicates a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions, suggesting that the outlook for the industry can materially affect stock performance [5][8]