Westlake Chemical (WLK) Lags Q4 Earnings and Revenue Estimates

Financial Performance - Westlake Chemical reported quarterly earnings of $0.06 per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of$ 1.04 per share, and down from $0.72 per share a year ago, representing an earnings surprise of -94.23% [1] - The company posted revenues of$ 2.84 billion for the quarter ended December 2024, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.12%, and slightly up from $2.83 billion year-over-year [2] Market Performance - Westlake shares have declined approximately 4.3% since the beginning of the year, while the S&P 500 has gained 2.2% [3] - The current Zacks Rank for Westlake is 4 (Sell), indicating expected underperformance in the near future [6] Earnings Outlook - The current consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming quarter is$ 1.51 on revenues of $3.05 billion, and for the current fiscal year, it is$ 7.44 on revenues of $12.64 billion [7] - The estimate revisions trend for Westlake has been unfavorable ahead of the earnings release, which may impact future stock movements [6] Industry Context - The Chemical - Plastic industry, to which Westlake belongs, is currently ranked in the bottom 19% of over 250 Zacks industries, suggesting potential challenges ahead [8]