Dow reported third-quarter 2026 net sales of $11.267 billion on 22 October, up 13 percent from $9.973 billion, with increases in all operating segments. GAAP net income was $525 million, compared with $124 million a year earlier, and GAAP earnings per share were $0.62. Operating EBIT was $887 million, up $707 million from $180 million, and operating earnings per share were $0.71, compared with a loss of $0.19 a year earlier. Local price rose 14 percent, led by higher polyethylene prices in all regions, while volume fell 1 percent. Cash provided by operating activities from continuing operations was $1.8 billion, up $709 million, and free cash flow was $1.1 billion.
The case that Dow’s recovery is under way rests on prices and cost actions. The price rise of 14 percent, led by packaging and specialty plastics, more than offset higher raw material and logistics costs, and the company said its collective self-help actions helped. Chief Executive Karen Carter said those include a $1 billion cost programme from 2025, its European asset actions and a transformation programme that is on track to deliver an upsized $700 million of benefits in 2026 and about $2 billion in total by the end of next year. Dow released more than $400 million of working capital in the quarter, reduced debt by about $600 million so far this year and paid $253 million in dividends. Operating EBITDA was $1.553 billion, up from $868 million.
The counter-argument is that the improvement came from price, not volume, and that the environment is uncertain. Volumes fell 1 percent, with higher volumes in all regions except Asia Pacific, where the Middle East conflict has the biggest effect, so the company’s profit recovery depends on the ability to keep prices high. Operating earnings per share of $0.71 exclude significant items of $0.09 per share, mainly costs related to self-help actions, and the company also incurred higher raw material and logistics costs. Trailing twelve-month cash flow conversion was 84 percent. Dow described the macro backdrop as evolving, and its plan includes shutting down higher-cost upstream capacity, with the first of three European asset shutdowns already delivering sequential gains, but with the total benefits building through 2027.
The report matters because Dow supplies materials used in packaging, infrastructure, consumer goods and cars, so its sales and prices are an indicator of industrial demand. The company said that it is focusing on higher-value areas where demand is growing well above GDP, including AI infrastructure, home and personal care, electronics, flexible packaging and mobility, and that it expects its self-help actions to deliver more than $1 billion of EBITDA uplift in both 2026 and 2027.
Sales rose by $1.294 billion and operating EBITDA by $685 million from a year earlier. Cash from operations was also $515 million higher than in the second quarter. GAAP net income of $525 million is more than four times the $124 million of a year earlier, a calculation from the reported figures. Dow returned to profit on higher prices, with cost actions adding to the gain. The next test is whether it can keep the price increases while volume recovers.