Analysts have upgraded DuPont de Nemours to a buy rating after the company reported third-quarter results that surpassed expectations. Organic sales grew 6%, led by strong demand in water infrastructure and industrial safety markets. The company achieved a 27.3% EBITDA margin, a 120 basis-point improvement year-over-year, and raised its full-year 2025 guidance for both revenue growth and adjusted EBITDA. Management attributed the outperformance to disciplined cost management and price realization in specialty chemicals, which now account for over 60% of total sales, up from 50% two years ago.

In a move to support long-term growth, DuPont announced a 51.2% reduction in its quarterly dividend, lowering the payout from $0.39 per share to $0.19 per share. This decision follows the recent spinoff of its Electronics segment and the sale of its Aramids business for $3.5 billion. Free cash flow coverage remains robust at 1.3 times the new dividend level, and the company simultaneously launched a $2 billion share repurchase program to capitalize on its current valuation and target return on invested capital of 12% by 2026.

Despite a decade of portfolio optimization through divestitures and spinoffs, DuPont’s total shareholder return has underperformed the S&P 500 by approximately 15 percentage points since 2014. Operating income has been volatile, ranging between $2 billion and $3.5 billion annually, as the company shifted focus from commoditized intermediates to specialty materials. While the strategic pivot has improved margins, investors remain cautious about the company’s ability to sustain above-peer growth given macroeconomic headwinds in automotive and electronics end markets.