Eastman Chemical

Eastman Chemical is a specialty materials company based in Kingsport, Tennessee. It has four segments. Advanced Materials makes specialty plastics and interlayers for car windshields. Additives & Functional Products makes additives for coatings, care products and agriculture.

Fibers makes acetate tow for cigarette filters and textile fibers. Chemical Intermediates makes olefins and other basic chemicals. Eastman also runs a methanolysis plant in Kingsport that breaks down polyester waste into raw materials for new plastics. Sales were $2.39 billion in Q3 2026.

The market prices Eastman for weak demand in its specialty markets and for gains that it sees as temporary. Demand stays weak in discretionary end markets such as cars, buildings and consumer durables. Fibers earnings fell in 2026 because customers reduced their acetate tow stocks and acetate tow contract prices fell. Much of the earnings growth in 2026 came from Chemical Intermediates, where the conflict in the Middle East disrupted supply and raised spreads.

The same conflict raised raw material and distribution costs. In Q3 2026, adjusted EPS fell to $1.84 from $1.97 in Q2, and Eastman lowered its 2026 operating cash flow outlook again, to about $850 million from about $900 million. For the gap to close, three things must be true. Eastman must reach its 2026 outlook of $6.00 to $6.20 adjusted EPS, with higher prices that cover its higher costs.

Specialty volumes must grow, with Fibers volumes rising in Q4 2026 as customers buy to meet their annual contracts. Eastman must release working capital in Q4 2026 and keep its cost savings of $125 million to $150 million. The methanolysis plant must keep ramping up and win packaging customers, helped by the $375 million award from the US Department of Energy that Eastman says was reinstated. The full-year report with the 2027 outlook, expected in late January 2027, is the next and main test.

The gap can close only over several years, as demand in its end markets recovers. The main reason it may not close is a long period of weak demand for cars, buildings and consumer goods, which Eastman cannot control.

1. Oct 29, 2026Failed

   Q3 2026 earnings: specialty volumesAdjusted EPS near $1.97, higher Advanced Materials and Fibers earnings and a working capital release pass; adjusted EPS well below $1.97 or a lower cash flow outlook fails.Outcome: Adjusted EPS was $1.84, Fibers earnings fell from a year earlier, and Eastman lowered its 2026 operating cash flow outlook to about $850 million.
2. Jan 29, 2027 · est.Pending

   Full-year 2026 results and 2027 outlookOperating cash flow near $900 million for 2026 and a 2027 outlook for higher specialty earnings pass; an outlook that depends on Chemical Intermediates or shows lower earnings fails.

Every passed and failed checkpoint across all picks

• October 29, 2026Eastman reported Q3 2026 results. Sales rose 8% to $2.39 billion, with 7% higher prices. Adjusted EPS rose to $1.84 from $1.14 a year earlier, but it was below the $1.97 of Q2 2026. Fibers earnings fell because of lower acetate tow contract prices. Eastman expects 2026 adjusted EPS of $6.00 to $6.20 and lowered its 2026 operating cash flow outlook to about $850 million. It also said that the US Department of Energy reinstated a $375 million award for the scale up of its circular platform.
• July 30, 2026Eastman reported Q2 2026 results. Sales rose 10% to $2.51 billion, and adjusted EPS rose to $1.97 from $1.60. Chemical Intermediates sales rose 39% on higher volumes and prices, while Fibers sales fell 11%. Eastman expects Q3 2026 adjusted EPS to approach $1.97 and now expects 2026 operating cash flow to approach $900 million.
• July 15, 2026Officials of the US Environmental Protection Agency visited Eastman's methanolysis plant in Kingsport, Tennessee.

Last earnings

October 29, 2026 (8-K on sec.gov)

Next earnings

Expected about January 29, 2027. The company has not confirmed the date.

• 10-QQuarterly report for the period ended Sep 30, 2026Filed October 30, 2026 · emn-20260930
• 8-KEarnings releaseFiled October 29, 2026 · Press release and exhibits
• 8-KChange to shareholder rights or bylaws and Other company newsFiled October 20, 2026 · emn-20261016
• 10-QQuarterly report for the period ended Jun 30, 2026Filed July 31, 2026 · emn-20260630
• 8-KEarnings releaseFiled July 30, 2026 · Press release and exhibits
• 8-KShareholder vote resultsFiled May 12, 2026 · emn-20260507
• 10-QQuarterly report for the period ended Mar 31, 2026Filed May 1, 2026 · emn-20260331
• 8-KEarnings releaseFiled April 30, 2026 · Press release and exhibits
• 8-KNew material agreement and Other company newsFiled February 20, 2026 · emn-20260220
• 10-KAnnual report for the period ended Dec 31, 2025Filed February 13, 2026 · emn-20251231

Every filing on SEC EDGAR (CIK 915389)

• Specialty volumes depend on discretionary end markets such as cars, buildings and consumer durables. Demand in these markets stayed weak in 2026, and Eastman saw softer demand in cars and consumer durables in Q3 2026. A recession would cut volumes further.
• Chemical Intermediates earnings rose in 2026 because the conflict in the Middle East disrupted supply. When supply returns to normal, spreads and earnings in this segment can fall. The conflict also raised Eastman's raw material and distribution costs, and price increases must keep up with them.
• Acetate tow demand falls over time as fewer people smoke, and customers reduced their stocks in 2026. Fibers sales fell 11% in the first nine months of 2026, and lower acetate tow contract prices cut Fibers earnings in Q3 2026.
• The returns on the methanolysis plant depend on demand for recycled content and on prices that customers pay for it. Slow demand would lower the return on this investment.

Eastman funds its operations with senior notes, commercial paper and a revolving credit facility. At September 30, 2026, total borrowings were $5.22 billion and cash was $768 million, so net debt was $4.45 billion, up from $4.22 billion at December 31, 2025. Read more

Yield at the current rate

5.1% (current annual rate, at today’s price)

Dividend yield

5.1% (last 12 months, at today’s price of $66.51)

Paid per share

$3.36 in the last 12 months (4 payments)

Current annual rate

$3.36 ($0.84 × 4 a year)

Payout ratio

81% of the last fiscal year’s earnings (the year that ended December 31, 2025)

Latest ex-dividend date

September 15, 2026, $0.84 per share

Dividends per share by year

From 2020 to 2025, the dividend grew by about 4.5% a year. From 2015 to 2025, the dividend grew by about 7.2% a year.

Source: company filings and market data, read on November 13, 2026. The ex-dividend date is the first day a buyer no longer gets the next payment.