Celanese (NYSE:CE) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.03 EPS

06 May 2026, 12:34 by Teresa Graham · The Cerbat Gem

Celanese (NYSE:CE – Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The basic materials company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.03), Zacks reports. Celanese had a negative net margin of 12.15% and a positive return on equity of 8.75%. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Celanese updated its Q2 2026 guidance to 2.000-2.400 EPS.

Celanese Stock Down 9.4%

NYSE:CE traded down $6.50 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $62.51. The stock had a trading volume of 2,042,644 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,459,320. The stock has a market cap of $6.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.91, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s 50 day moving average is $60.05 and its 200 day moving average is $49.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Celanese has a fifty-two week low of $35.13 and a fifty-two week high of $70.70.

Celanese Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Monday, April 27th will be paid a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 27th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Celanese’s payout ratio is presently -1.13%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Celanese by 42.1% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,768 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $430,000 after buying an additional 2,303 shares during the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Celanese in the second quarter worth about $332,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Celanese by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 7,611 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Celanese during the 4th quarter valued at about $309,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Celanese during the 2nd quarter valued at about $256,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Celanese

Here are the key news stories impacting Celanese this week:

Positive Sentiment: Company raised Q2 guidance to $2.00–$2.40 EPS (well above Street consensus ~1.54), signalling a strong rebound in pricing, volumes and cash generation for the quarter ahead. Q2 guidance slide deck
Positive Sentiment: Celanese announced a collaboration with SharpCell to apply carbon capture and utilization (CCU) to airlaid nonwovens and pulp & paper — expands sustainability solutions into new industrial end-markets that could command premium pricing or long-term contract opportunities. Celanese and SharpCell collaborate
Positive Sentiment: Management outlined strategic “nylon uplift” initiatives to strengthen the global engineered materials unit — a targeted operational and product repositioning that could improve margins and growth over time. Nylon uplift initiatives
Positive Sentiment: Operating profit rose and operating cash flow and liquidity materially improved (cash balance and cash from operations notably higher), giving the company financial flexibility despite top-line softness. Q1 operating cash & profit details
Neutral Sentiment: Analysts updated targets: Morgan Stanley lifted its target to $72 (equal-weight) while Mizuho raised its target to $65 but kept a neutral rating — analyst moves add nuance but no consensus upgrade to “buy.” Analyst price target updates
Negative Sentiment: Q1 results missed on the headline EPS (reported $0.85 vs. consensus $0.88) and revenue was down ~2.2% YoY — net margin remained negative and GAAP EPS and net income declined versus the prior year, which pressured near-term sentiment. Q1 earnings miss coverage

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on CE. Mizuho raised their target price on Celanese from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Celanese from $50.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Celanese from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Zacks Research raised shares of Celanese from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Celanese from $40.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.41.

View Our Latest Research Report on CE

Celanese Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Celanese Corporation is a global chemical and specialty materials company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of products serving diverse industries. The company operates through two primary business segments—Engineered Materials and Acetyl Chain—offering solutions that range from high-performance polymers and specialty additives to industrial chemicals and intermediates. Its engineered materials are used in applications such as automotive components, consumer electronics, medical devices and packaging, while its acetyl derivatives find uses in coatings, adhesives, solvents and personal care products.

In the Engineered Materials segment, Celanese produces a variety of high-performance thermoplastics, polyether-block-amide (PEBA) elastomers and functional additives designed to enhance product durability, thermal resistance and sustainability.