Element Solutions Inc. ESI recorded earnings of 23 cents per share for the first quarter of 2026 compared with 40 cents in the year-ago quarter. Reported net income was $56 million, down 43% year over year, primarily due to a gain on the Graphics Solutions divestiture in the prior-year period.
Barring one-time items, earnings were 41 cents per share, up from 34 cents in the year-ago quarter. The figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 38 cents.
The company generated net sales of $840 million, up 41% year over year from $593.7 million. The figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $744.4 million. Organic net sales rose 10%.
ESI benefited from strong momentum in its Electronics business, aided by robust demand tied to AI infrastructure, high-performance electronics, advanced packaging and thermal management applications. Acquisitions also contributed to reported growth in the quarter.
Element Solutions Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Element Solutions Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Element Solutions Inc. Quote
ESI’s Segment Highlights
Net sales in the Electronics segment rose 61% year over year to $633.5 million in the reported quarter. The figure beat the consensus estimate of $532 million. Organic net sales increased 15%. Adjusted EBITDA for the segment increased 34% year over year to $119.1 million.
In the Specialties segment, net sales increased 4% year over year to $206.5 million. Organic net sales rose 1%. The figure missed the consensus estimate of $207 million. Adjusted EBITDA for the segment rose 9% year over year to $43.2 million.
ESI’s Financial Position
Element Solutions ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $177.3 million, down from $626.5 million at the end of 2025. Debt was $2,058.7 million at the end of the quarter compared with $1,625.9 million as of Dec. 31, 2025.
Cash used in operating activities was $66.6 million against cash provided by operating activities of $26 million in the year-ago quarter. Free cash flow was negative $74.2 million against a positive free cash flow of $30.1 million in the prior-year quarter.
ESI’s Outlook
The company now expects full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA in the range of $665 million to $685 million, up from its earlier outlook of $650 million to $670 million. For the second quarter of 2026, ESI expects adjusted EBITDA between $155 million and $170 million.
ESI’s Price Performance
Shares of Element Solutions have gained 91.7% in a year compared with a 9.8% rise in the ndustry.
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ESI’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks
ESI currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks worth a look in the basic materials space are CF Industries Holdings, Inc. CF, Galiano Gold Inc. GAU and Nexa Resources S.A. NEXA.
CF Industries is slated to report first-quarter 2026 results on May 6. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $2.35 per share, indicating 27.03% year-over-year growth. CF sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present.
Galiano is slated to report quarterly results on May 13. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at 17 cents per share. GAU has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
NEXA is scheduled to report first-quarter results on May 6. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NEXA’s first-quarter earnings is pegged at 61 cents per share. NEXA currently has a Zacks Rank #2.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
