DuPont de Nemours (NYSE:DD) reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results that management said came in ahead of previously communicated guidance, citing stronger-than-expected mix and productivity. Chief Executive Officer Lori Koch said the company finished 2025 with 2% organic sales growth, 6% operating EBITDA growth, and 100 basis points of margin expansion, delivering adjusted EPS of $1.68, up 16% year over year. Koch also highlighted strong free cash flow generation for the year.
The company’s reported results reflect the separation of Qnity Electronics and the previously announced divestiture of the Aramids business, which are treated as discontinued operations for the purposes of the quarter and full-year presentation, executives said.
Portfolio actions and operating focus
For 2026, Koch reiterated three strategic priorities previously outlined at Investor Day:
- Drive above-market organic growth
- Continue building a robust business system
- Deploy a balanced capital allocation model while consistently delivering financial results
She said DuPont launched more than 125 new products in 2025, generating more than $2 billion in sales, with a Vitality Index of about 30%. In the Q&A, management said products introduced in the past five years carry about 145 basis points of margin lift versus the company’s overall margin profile.
Fourth-quarter results: mix and productivity lift margins
Chief Financial Officer Antonella Franzen said fourth-quarter net sales were $1.7 billion, about flat versus the prior year, as a 1% organic sales decline was offset by a 1% currency benefit. Organic sales included a 1% volume decline, which management said reflected about $30 million of headwind from order timing shifts into the third quarter due to system cutover activities ahead of the electronics separation. Excluding that timing impact, Franzen said organic sales would have increased 1% in the quarter.
Operating EBITDA for the quarter was $409 million, up 4% year over year, with operating EBITDA margin of 24.2%, up 80 basis points. Adjusted EPS was $0.46, up 18%, driven by higher segment earnings, lower interest expense, and exchange impacts, partially offset by a higher tax rate, according to Franzen.
By segment in the quarter:
- Healthcare & Water Technologies: Net sales of $821 million were up 4% (including 3% organic growth and 1% currency). Organic growth included a roughly $15 million timing headwind; adjusted for that, organic sales growth was 5%. Segment operating EBITDA was $255 million, up 4%, with margin of 31.1% (flat year over year).
- Diversified Industrials: Net sales of $872 million fell 3% (including a 4% organic decline and 1% currency benefit). The organic decline included a roughly $15 million timing headwind; adjusted for that, organic sales were down 2%. Segment operating EBITDA was $197 million, up 2%, with margin of 22.6%, up 110 basis points.
Management said the Diversified Industrials margin improvement was primarily driven by mix and a “strong push” on productivity, noting it was too early to see meaningful benefits from 80/20 initiatives.
2026 guidance and market assumptions
DuPont guided to 2026 organic sales growth of about 3%, operating margin expansion of 60 to 80 basis points, and adjusted EPS of $2.25 to $2.30. On a pro forma basis, management said EPS is expected to grow 10% to 12% year over year. Free cash flow conversion is expected to be greater than 90%.
For the first quarter of 2026, DuPont expects net sales of about $1.67 billion, operating EBITDA of about $395 million, and adjusted EPS of $0.48. The company’s first-quarter sales outlook assumes 2% organic growth and about a 2% currency benefit, with EBITDA margin expansion driven by business improvement and lower corporate costs.
Management described a “mixed macro environment” underpinning the outlook. Koch said market indicators point to mid-single-digit growth in healthcare and water technologies, while overall automotive demand is expected to be about flat in 2026 with weakness in the U.S. and Europe. She added that EV builds are expected to outpace overall builds, and that construction demand is expected to stabilize after multiple years of declines.
In response to investor questions, the company said its 2026 organic growth expectations are predominantly volume-driven, with limited anticipated inflation headwinds in raw materials, logistics, and utilities. Executives also noted some price embedded in parts of the portfolio, while expecting some pricing giveback in the Shelter business as prior inflation-era increases unwind.
Regional and end-market commentary
Regionally, Franzen said fourth-quarter organic sales increased 2% in Europe, while Asia-Pacific was down 2% and North America was about flat. In the Q&A, management attributed the Asia-Pacific decline primarily to a supply chain change in the Shelter business tied to a distributor joint venture relationship, and said it does not expect the issue to be permanent. The company said it expects organic growth across all regions in the first quarter and full year 2026, with improvement primarily in North America tied to the Shelter outlook.
Within Diversified Industrials, management said aerospace orders were improving at a low double-digit rate exiting 2025 and into the first quarter, though the aerospace business represents roughly 3% to 4% of revenue. On construction-related Shelter performance, executives said the business is expected to be slightly down early in 2026 and improve through the year to reach a flat full-year result, with non-residential and repair/remodel expected to grow low single digits, offset by a low- to mid-single-digit decline in residential.
In Water, management said it is seeing a slower start in China due to reduced industrial production, particularly affecting industrial wastewater and utility water applications, but expects overall segment growth to reach mid-single digits as the year progresses. Executives said regional growth differences are not expected to materially change mix or margins.
In Healthcare, Koch said the company is positioned in faster-growing procedure areas such as cardiovascular applications. Management said the destocking experienced in early 2025 is “behind” the company and that inventory levels are now normalized in both healthcare and water.
Capital allocation and Aramids proceeds
Management said DuPont previously announced a $2 billion share repurchase authorization and executed a $500 million accelerated share repurchase in the fourth quarter of 2025. On the Aramids divestiture, executives said they continue to expect closing around the end of the first quarter, with proceeds of about $1.2 billion pre-tax, or roughly $1 billion after tax. The company noted it has already deployed about half of the after-tax proceeds via the ASR.
Executives said DuPont intends to remain “shareholder-friendly” in deploying proceeds while also evaluating M&A, with a pipeline described as more robust in healthcare due to fragmentation and relatively lower valuations. Management said it targets returns above its cost of capital by year five for acquisitions. The company also said it typically carries about $1 billion in cash and ended the year below that level due to the ASR.
Separately, Koch said DuPont continues to pursue a GICS reclassification to better reflect its current portfolio, while emphasizing execution as the immediate priority.
About DuPont de Nemours (NYSE:DD)
DuPont de Nemours (NYSE: DD) is a global science and engineering company that develops and supplies specialty materials, chemicals and industrial biosciences for a wide range of markets. Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, the company traces its origins to 1802 and has evolved through more than two centuries of innovation. In recent history DuPont participated in a major combination with Dow Chemical and subsequent reorganization that refocused the company on differentiated, specialty businesses built around science-based solutions.
DuPont’s operations center on advanced materials and technologies used by manufacturers and OEMs in industries such as transportation, electronics, construction, industrial manufacturing and worker safety.
