Cabot's Earnings and Revenues Lag Estimates in Q1, EPS Up Y/Y

Cabot Corporation CBT logged net income of $93 million or $1.67 per share for the first quarter of fiscal 2025 (ended Dec. 31, 2024), a rise from the prior-year quarter’s profits of $50 million or 88 cents per share. 

Barring one-time items, adjusted earnings per share (EPS) were $1.76 in the reported quarter, up from $1.56 in the year-ago quarter. The figure, however, missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.80.

Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.

Sales of $955 million missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $993 million. The metric also dropped roughly 0.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Cabot Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Cabot Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Cabot Corporation Quote

CBT’s Segment Highlights

Reinforcement Materials’ sales decreased 4.7% year over year to $611 million in the reported quarter. It missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $664.2 million. Reinforcement Materials' first-quarter fiscal 2025 EBIT increased by $1 million from the first quarter of fiscal 2024. This was largely driven by volume growth and favorable pricing and product mix from calendar year 2024’s customer agreements.

Sales in the Performance Chemicals unit went up by 9.1% to $311 million in the reported quarter compared to the year-ago quarter’s $285 million. It beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $296.1 million. EBIT in Performance Chemicals grew $11 million year over year, owing to an 8% rise in volumes because of underlying demand drivers in key end markets.

CBT’s Financial Position

The company had a cash balance of $183 million at the end of the fiscal first quarter. Cash flows from operating activities were $124 million. Capital expenditures totaled $77 million. During the quarter, cash was also used for dividend payments of $24 million and share repurchases of $42 million.

CBT’s Outlook

Cabot expects adjusted earnings per share for fiscal 2025 to range between $7.40 and $7.80, factoring in business segment results and customer agreements. The outlook considers foreign exchange rates and interest rate projections but excludes potential tariff impacts. Strong operating cash flow is anticipated, supporting strategic growth investments and shareholder returns. The company remains confident in its execution capabilities and ability to navigate market conditions. Cabot continues to advance its "Creating for Tomorrow" strategy, aiming for long-term value creation.

CBT Stock’s Price Performance

CBT stock has gained 19.3% in the past year compared with the 5% growth of the industry.

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CBT's Zacks Rank & Key Picks

CBT currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).  

Some better-ranked stocks in the Basic Materials space are Ingevity Corporation NGVT, ICL Group Ltd. ICL and Fortuna Mining Corp. FSM. While NGVT sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), ICL and FSM each carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

NGVT is slated to report fourth-quarter results on Feb. 18. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ingevity’s fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at 12 cents per share. NGVT beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once, with the average surprise being 95.4%. Its shares have gained 2.1% in the past year.

ICL is scheduled to report fourth-quarter results on Feb. 26. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ICL Group’s fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at 6 cents per share. ICL beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 18.1%. Its shares have soared 30% in the past year.

FSM is expected to report fourth-quarter results on March 5. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Fortuna’s fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at 16 cents per share. FSM surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the trailing four quarters while missing it in the rest, with an average surprise of 53.6%. The stock has gained 67.7% in the past year.


 

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