Margins matter. The more E.I. du Pont de Nemours (DuPont)
Here's the current margin snapshot for DuPont and some of its sector and industry peers and direct competitors.
|
Company |
TTM Gross Margin |
TTM Operating Margin |
TTM Net Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
|
E.I. du Pont de Nemours |
29.9% |
13.1% |
10.3% |
|
Air Products & Chemicals |
27.9% |
16.2% |
11.4% |
|
Sherwin-Williams |
45.9% |
10.3% |
6.2% |
|
PPG Industries |
38.5% |
8.9% |
4.7% |
|
The Dow Chemical Company |
14.1% |
4.7% |
4.2% |
Source: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's. TTM = trailing 12 months.
Unfortunately, that table doesn't tell us much about where DuPont has been, or where it's going. A company with rising gross and operating margins often fuels its growth by increasing demand for its products. If it sells more units while keeping costs in check, its profitability increases. Conversely, a company with gross margins that inch downward over time is often losing out to competition, and possibly engaging in a race to the bottom on prices. If it can't make up for this problem by cutting costs -- and most companies can't -- then both the business and its shares face a decidedly bleak outlook.
Of course, over the short term, the kind of economic shocks we recently experienced can drastically affect a company's profitability. That's why I like to look at five fiscal years' worth of margins, along with the results for the trailing 12 months (TTM), the last fiscal year, and last fiscal quarter (LFQ). You can't always reach a hard conclusion about your company's health, but you can better understand what to expect, and what to watch.
Here's the margin picture for DuPont over the past few years.
Source: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's. Dollar amounts in millions. FY= fiscal year. TTM = trailing 12 months.
(Because of seasonality in some businesses, the numbers for the last period on the right -- the TTM figures -- aren't always comparable to the FY results preceding them.)
Here's how the stats break down:
- Over the past five years, gross margin peaked at 29% and averaged 27.8%. Operating margin peaked at 13.4% and averaged 11.4%. Net margin peaked at 10.9% and averaged 8.2%.
- TTM gross margin is 29.9%, 210 basis points better than the five-year average. TTM operating margin is 13.1%, 170 basis points better than the five-year average. TTM net margin is 10.3%, 210 basis points better than the five-year average.
With recent TTM operating margins exceeding historical averages, DuPont looks like it is doing fine.
If you take the time to read past the headlines and crack a filing now and then, you're probably ahead of 95% of the market's individual investors. To stay ahead, learn more about how I use analysis like this to help me uncover the best returns in the stock market. Got an opinion on the margins at EI DuPont de Nemours? Let us know in the comments below.
