Air Products Stock Tumbles on Weak Profit Forecast

Key Takeaways

• Air Products and Chemicals shares tumbled Friday after the company’s earnings outlook for the current quarter missed expectations.
• The gas supplier’s results for the first quarter of fiscal 2025 were roughly in line with analysts’ estimates.
• The report followed the appointment of a new CEO and a proxy battle that saw activist investor Mantle Hill get three of four nominees voted onto Air Products’ board.

Air Products and Chemicals (APD) shares tumbled Friday, a day after the company’s earnings outlook for the current quarter missed expectations.

The industrial gas supplier posted adjusted earnings of $636.9 million, or $2.86 per share, on revenue of $2.93 billion for the fiscal first quarter, roughly in line with analysts’ estimates compiled by Visible Alpha.

However, the company’s adjusted earnings outlook for the second quarter of $2.75 to $2.85 per share came in well below the analyst consensus.

Results Follow New CEO Appointment, Proxy Battle With Mantle Hill

The report came just days after Tuesday’s announcement of a new CEO, with former Linde (LIN) executive Eduardo Menezes replacing Seifi Ghasemi as CEO effective Friday.

The CEO change followed a proxy battle with activist investment firm Mantle Ridge, which attacked the company’s leadership as having “significantly underperformed” industry rivals and the broader market over the last several years. The firm said Ghasemi led Air Products to focus on higher-risk projects and lowered the company’s profit margins, which the company called “falsehoods and misleading claims.”

Three of the activist investor’s four nominees were voted onto Air Products’ board last month, according to a release.

Shares of Air Products fell over 5% to $310.13 in Friday afternoon trading, though even with Friday’s losses, they’ve gained about 40% over the last 12 months.