Stepan Q2 net income up 102% to $22.9 million; first-half loss on $70.5 million charge
Stepan reported second-quarter 2026 net income of $22.9 million, up 102% from a year earlier, on net sales of $684.1 million, up 15%. The first half was a net loss of $18.5 million, driven by a $70.5 million pre-tax restructuring charge tied to Project Catalyst, and the company also announced a plan to cut about 100 salaried roles, declared a $0.395 quarterly dividend, and reported a board resignation and a new principal accounting officer.
Key points
- Q2 2026 diluted EPS was $1.00 versus $0.50; adjusted EPS was $1.18 versus $0.52.
- Q2 adjusted EBITDA was $74.4 million, up 45%, and management said it expects full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA growth.
- Full-year Project Catalyst restructuring charges are expected to be $75.0 million to $80.0 million, with about $4 million to $6 million tied to the workforce reduction.
- Jan Stern Reed resigned from the board on July 27, 2026; Matthew J. Eaken was named principal accounting officer effective July 28, 2026.
The filing
Written by AI (Anthropic Claude, claude-haiku-5-5) on Nov 8, 2026, 6:57 AM ET, from the text of the filing and its press-release exhibits only. Written later: this filing was briefed after the fact, when past filings were added to the site, so the brief may be read with hindsight; the filing itself is the record of what was known on July 29, 2026.
Briefs are written by AI from the filing text (each brief's own page names the model) and can contain mistakes — open the filing before acting on anything. Impact (1-5) and tone are the model's reading of the filing for shareholders, not a price forecast. Not investment advice.