Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.21 EPS

Posted by Brenda Bartman on Oct 30th, 2026

Stepan (NYSE:SCL – Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The basic materials company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.21, FiscalAI reports. Stepan had a return on equity of 4.81% and a net margin of 0.17%. The firm had revenue of $692.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $634.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.48 earnings per share. Stepan’s revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Here are the key takeaways from Stepan’s conference call:

Third-quarter adjusted EBITDA rose 18% to $66.3 million, while adjusted EPS nearly doubled to $0.94, supported by 7% organic volume growth, margin recovery, and productivity savings across all three segments.
Surfactants led performance with adjusted EBITDA up 27%, while Specialty Products benefited from 20% volume growth in MCT products and North American Polymers delivered double-digit volume growth.
Project Catalyst savings are running ahead of plan, with a $23 million quarterly run rate and expectations to exceed the 2026 savings target; management also expects to surpass $25 million in average quarterly savings during 2027.
Stepan improved net leverage to 2.4 times and expects continued deleveraging, aided by $28.5 million of land-sale proceeds earmarked for debt repayment; management also raised the quarterly dividend for the 59th consecutive year.
Free cash flow was only $8 million despite stronger earnings because working capital absorbed $32 million, while Europe and China remained weak in Polymers, crop productivity demand softened, and ongoing raw-material volatility and maintenance costs remain headwinds.

Stepan Price Performance

NYSE SCL opened at $69.50 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.58 billion, a PE ratio of 365.79 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $63.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.88. Stepan has a 12-month low of $41.82 and a 12-month high of $70.81.

Stepan Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.4050 per share. This is a boost from Stepan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.3950. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Stepan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1,316.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SCL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Stepan in a report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research cut shares of Stepan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Stepan in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Stepan has an average rating of “Reduce”.

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About Stepan

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Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) is a global manufacturer of specialty and intermediate chemicals. Founded in 1932 and headquartered in Northfield, Illinois, the company develops products used by manufacturers in consumer and industrial markets.

Stepan’s principal products include surfactants, which are used in detergents, cleaners, personal-care products, agricultural formulations and other applications. The company also produces polyurethane polyols, phthalic anhydride and other specialty chemicals used in insulation, construction materials, coatings, plastics, food packaging and related industrial products.

Stepan serves customers across North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia through a network of manufacturing facilities, research and development operations, and sales organizations.