LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.44 EPS

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) announced its earnings results on Friday. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.44), Briefing.com reports. LyondellBasell Industries had a negative net margin of 3.70% and a positive return on equity of 7.50%. The firm had revenue of $7.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.75 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Here are the key takeaways from LyondellBasell Industries’ conference call:

• Historic safety performance: 2025 was the safest year in company history with a record low total recordable incident rate, achieved despite extensive maintenance and turnaround activity.
• Strong cash execution and higher targets: LYB generated $2.3 billion of cash from operations with a 95% cash conversion, exceeded its Cash Improvement Plan to save $800 million, and is targeting an additional $500 million in 2026 plus $1.5 billion of recurring annual EBITDA from the Value Enhancement Program by 2028.
• Deep, prolonged industry downturn: Industry margins were ~45% below historical averages in 2025 with polyolefins at decade-low margins, pressured by weak durable-goods demand, global capacity additions, trade disruptions and high European energy costs.
• Portfolio and growth actions: Progressing the divestment of four European assets on track for completion in Q2 2026, advancing MoReTec‑1 (on track for 2027 startup), and prioritizing low-/no-cost efficiency projects while realigning other growth timing.
• Conservative 2026 financial posture: 2026 CapEx is guided to ~$1.2 billion (≈$800M sustaining / $400M growth), year-end liquidity was $3.4 billion cash and $8.1 billion available, and the company returned $2 billion to shareholders in 2025 while the board continues to review dividend policy.

LyondellBasell Industries Trading Down 1.9%

LyondellBasell Industries stock opened at $49.00 on Friday. LyondellBasell Industries has a one year low of $41.58 and a one year high of $79.10. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $46.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $15.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.07 and a beta of 0.70.

LyondellBasell Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.2%. LyondellBasell Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently -146.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on LYB shares. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $65.00 to $57.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $52.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group cut their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $41.00 to $38.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $50.00 to $46.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors upgraded LyondellBasell Industries to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $52.42.

Trending Headlines about LyondellBasell Industries

Here are the key news stories impacting LyondellBasell Industries this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management announced an aggressive cost/cash program aimed at improving free cash flow — a target of up to $1.3 billion in savings by end-2026, which could materially reduce cash burn if executed. LyondellBasell targets $1.3 billion in cost savings after surprise quarterly loss
• Positive Sentiment: Company has raised its cash-improvement cadence and is pursuing additional cost cuts and lower 2026 capex (management outlined further reductions and program targets) to bolster free cash flow. This reduces near-term liquidity risk if implemented. LYB Q4 Earnings Miss Estimates Amid Pricing, Volume Pressures
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue topped street estimates ($7.09B vs. ~$6.82B consensus) even as volumes and pricing pressured margins — a mixed operational result that limits the immediate severity of the print. MarketBeat: LYB Q4 results and materials
• Neutral Sentiment: The company filed its formal Q4/2025 press release and slide deck (useful for detail on segment performance, cash flow and assumptions). Investors will look to the deck for specifics on timing and achievability of savings. LyondellBasell press release / slide deck
• Negative Sentiment: Surprise Q4 net loss and EPS miss: reported ($0.26) vs. consensus ~$0.18 — a swing from $0.75 a year ago — raising near-term earnings visibility concerns. LYB Reports Q4 Loss, Tops Revenue Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Dividend sustainability flagged: the roughly 11% yield is not fully covered by current free cash flow; analysts and commenters warn of cut risk if market conditions deteriorate — a key downside catalyst. LyondellBasell: 11% Yield In Danger?
• Negative Sentiment: Broker sentiment is weak — the stock has an average “Reduce” rating from brokerages, which can pressure sentiment if downgrades continue. LYB Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Insider Buying and Selling at LyondellBasell Industries

In related news, EVP Kimberly A. Foley acquired 5,661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $43.56 per share, with a total value of $246,593.16. Following the purchase, the executive vice president owned 67,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,948,489.28. The trade was a 9.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LYB. State Street Corp grew its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,182,950 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $646,492,000 after buying an additional 267,799 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 30.2% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,607,363 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $92,632,000 after buying an additional 372,817 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,604,823 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $78,701,000 after acquiring an additional 65,225 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 67.5% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,372,998 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $79,438,000 after acquiring an additional 553,081 shares during the period. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 24.8% in the third quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,171,103 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $57,431,000 after purchasing an additional 232,547 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.20% of the company’s stock.

LyondellBasell Industries Company Profile

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE: LYB) is a global chemical company headquartered in Houston, Texas, that specializes in the production of polyolefins and advanced polymers. Through its extensive portfolio, the company supplies raw materials for a wide range of end markets, including packaging, automotive, construction, electronics and consumer goods. By combining proprietary process technologies with expertise in catalysts, LyondellBasell aims to deliver value-added solutions that enhance product performance and sustainability.

The company’s integrated operations encompass the manufacture of olefins and polyolefins, advanced polymer products, chemical intermediates and refining activities.