What happened
Shares of supplement and chemical maker Balchem (BCPC -1.25%) fell as much as 11.9% in trading Thursday after the company reported second-quarter earnings. Shares closed down 11.6%, and there didn't seem to be any enthusiasm to buy the dip today.
So what
Revenue was down 1.3% in the quarter to $161.6 million as sales of industrial products fell 47% to $7.3 million for the segment. Net income was up 0.8% to $19.8 million, or $0.61 per share.
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The problem for the stock today was that analysts were expecting $166.4 million in revenue and earnings of $0.71 per share, so results were well below expectations. When a company misses earnings estimates by that big a margin, it's easy to see why the sell-off happened today.
Now what
Digging deeper into the earnings report, Balchem's three biggest units -- human nutrition, animal nutrition, and specialty products -- all grew by single digits.
It was really the industrial segment that caused the down quarter. It primarily serves the oil & gas industry, which can be extremely volatile. I take more from the positive -- the growth in Balchem's three biggest markets -- than I do from the weakness in a small, volatile product line. That presents a long-term opportunity for investors willing to buy the dip.
