Celanese (NYSE: CE) clearly happened upon the right formula to please shareholders on Tuesday. The chemical company's stock was soaring almost 10% higher in late-session trading that day, following the release of satisfying first-quarter results. That performance was in marked contrast to the benchmark S&P 500 index, which was in negative territory with a 0.4% slide.
Celanese published those quarterly figures after market hours Monday, and investors wasted little time the following day pushing into the stock. This, despite the fact that net sales slumped by nearly 9% year over year to slightly under $2.4 billion, and the company flipped to a generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) net loss of $21 million from the year-ago profit of $121 million.
Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »
Image source: Getty Images.
At least the non-GAAP (adjusted) bottom line looked better. It landed in the black at $0.57 per share yet was down from the Q1 2024 profit of $2.08.
Yet analysts were expecting worse for both metrics. Their consensus estimate for revenue was under $2.3 billion and $0.39 for adjusted net income.
Those declines were largely expected by both pundits and investors. In its earnings release, Celanese chalked them up to "persistent global demand sluggishness." This was fairly widespread and extended into important customer segments for the company such as the automobile and construction industries.
In addition to the better-than-expected trailing performance, Celanese management also sounded an optimistic note on the effect the tariff war might have on the company.
It quoted CEO Scott Richardson as saying that
Our global production network provides us flexibility to manage most of the direct cost impacts of the current tariff conditions. Due to our mitigation preparations, we don't anticipate direct tariff impact in the second quarter.
That's music to investors' ears, and it's helped flag Celanese as a company that might be more resilient than most if the tariff tussle continues.
Before you buy stock in Celanese, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Celanese wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $611,589!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $697,613!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 894% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 163% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.
See the 10 stocks »
*Stock Advisor returns as of May 5, 2025
Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.