Eastman Chemical Company (EMN) Stock Price & How to Invest
Last updated July 2026
Short answer
EMN is Eastman Chemical, a large-cap US specialty materials and chemicals company that people typically hold as a cyclical, dividend-paying value name with a molecular-recycling growth angle rather than a high-growth story. Its appeal centers on a ~4.5% yield backed by 16 straight annual raises, offset by exposure to soft chemical demand and cyclical margins.
EMN stock price
As of 2026-07-24, Eastman Chemical Company (EMN) last closed at $68.20, down 12.9% over the past year. Over the past 52 weeks it has traded between $56.37 and $81.36.
Prices are daily closing prices from Yahoo Finance and may be delayed. For the live quote, check your broker or Eastman Chemical Company's investor relations page. Walnut is informational, not investment advice.
What does Eastman Chemical Company (EMN) do?
Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE: EMN) is a global specialty materials producer headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee, organized into four segments: Advanced Materials (specialty films, plastics, and interlayers), Additives and Functional Products (coatings, inks, and performance additives), Chemical Intermediates (commodity and functional chemicals), and Fibers (cellulose acetate tow, largely for cigarette filters). Annual revenue runs around $9 billion, and the company has leaned into circular-economy positioning through its Kingsport methanolysis (molecular recycling) plant, which converts hard-to-recycle plastic waste back into raw materials and added roughly $60 million of incremental earnings in 2025.
The investment picture is that of a mature, cyclical chemicals company trading at a mid-teens to high-teens P/E (~18.9) with a market cap near $8 billion. Bulls point to the durable ~4.5% dividend, the specialty mix that is meant to be less commodity-like over time, and the recycling growth optionality. Bears note that recent results have been soft: Q1 2026 sales fell about 5% to ~$2.18 billion with net earnings dropping to ~$107 million, pressured by Fibers destocking, weak consumer discretionary demand, and higher energy costs. The stock sits well below prior highs, so the debate is largely about whether specialty volumes and chemical spreads recover.
What's driving Eastman Chemical Company (EMN)?
1. Molecular recycling ramp
Eastman's Kingsport methanolysis facility is the centerpiece of its circular-economy pitch, converting plastic waste into feedstock. It contributed roughly $60 million of incremental earnings in 2025 with about $30 million more targeted for 2026, and additional planned facilities in France and the US could extend the runway if utilization and offtake demand hold up.
2. Specialty mix and pricing
The Advanced Materials and Additives and Functional Products segments are meant to carry higher, more stable margins than commodity chemicals. A recovery in specialty volumes and better pricing spreads would lift adjusted EBIT, which fell to ~$200 million in Q1 2026 from ~$311 million a year earlier as utilization softened.
3. Dividend and cash returns
Eastman generated around $970 million of operating cash flow in 2025 and paid roughly $381 million in dividends, supporting a payout near $3.32 per share and a ~4.5% yield with 16 consecutive annual increases. Cash generation also funds buybacks and debt reduction, which underpins the value-and-income framing of the stock.
4. Cyclical demand recovery
Much of the earnings swing depends on end markets like autos, building and construction, coatings, and consumer durables. Management guided Q2 2026 adjusted EPS to roughly $1.70 to $1.90 on improved specialty volumes and better Chemical Intermediates spreads, so a broader industrial rebound is the key upside lever.
What are the risks to Eastman Chemical Company (EMN)?
Eastman is cyclical and sensitive to global industrial demand, energy and raw-material costs, and destocking, all of which pressured 2025 and early 2026 results. The Fibers segment relies heavily on cellulose acetate tow for cigarette filters, a structurally declining end market. Weak Chemical Intermediates spreads, softer consumer discretionary demand, and events like Winter Storm Fern lifting energy costs can compress margins quickly. The recycling growth thesis carries execution and offtake-demand risk. The elevated dividend, while well-covered today, depends on continued cash generation through the cycle.
How is Eastman Chemical Company (EMN) valued? (approximate, JULY 2026)
A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see Eastman Chemical Company's investor relations page or your broker.
- Revenue (TTM): ~$9.2B
- Market cap: ~$7.9B
- P/E ratio: ~18.9
- FY2025 adjusted EPS: ~$5.42
- Dividend yield: ~4.5%
- Operating cash flow (2025): ~$970M
Eastman trades around $71 per share with a market cap near $8 billion, well below prior highs, reflecting soft recent results and a cyclical backdrop. Q1 2026 sales fell about 5% to ~$2.18 billion and net earnings dropped to ~$107 million, though management guided Q2 adjusted EPS to roughly $1.70 to $1.90. The ~4.5% yield and mid-to-high-teens P/E frame it as a value and income name rather than a growth stock.
Who competes with Eastman Chemical Company (EMN)?
Diversified chemical majors
Large global players like BASF, Dow, and LyondellBasell compete across Eastman's coatings, additives, and intermediates lines with greater scale and broader feedstock integration.
Specialty materials peers
Celanese, DuPont, Arkema, and Huntsman overlap in specialty polymers, additives, and performance materials, competing on formulation, technology, and end-market relationships rather than pure commodity pricing.
Recycling and circular-economy entrants
As Eastman scales molecular recycling, it faces mechanical and chemical recyclers and other producers building circular feedstock capacity, where cost, offtake demand, and regulatory tailwinds shape competitiveness.
How to invest in Eastman Chemical Company (EMN)
There are three common ways to get EMN exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it, which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic basket, so EMN sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.
Walnut takes the basket route. Describe a thesis where EMN fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.
New to this? Start with how to invest in stocks, see how to analyze a stock with AI, or compare the best AI stock analyzers.
The bottom line on Eastman Chemical Company (EMN)
EMN is a cyclical specialty-chemicals dividend stock whose story hinges on a demand recovery and its Kingsport recycling ramp, so it tends to attract income and value-oriented investors rather than growth buyers.
More on Eastman Chemical Company (EMN)
Whether EMN is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is EMN a buy?, and where the stock could go from here in the EMN stock forecast.
For income investors, whether EMN pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does EMN pay a dividend?
Build a basket around EMN with Walnut
Use Eastman Chemical Company as one constituent in a thematic basket Walnut's AI helps you assemble. Describe a thesis you believe in, the AI proposes the holdings and weights, and you approve before any broker order.
FAQ
What does Eastman Chemical do?
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Eastman is a global specialty materials company that makes advanced films and plastics, coatings and performance additives, commodity and functional chemical intermediates, and cellulose acetate fibers. Its products feed end markets including autos, construction, packaging, consumer durables, and coatings.
Is EMN a dividend stock?
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Yes. Eastman pays a dividend of roughly $3.32 per share for a yield around 4.5%, and it has raised the dividend for 16 consecutive years. The payout is supported by about $970 million of 2025 operating cash flow at a payout ratio near 61% of adjusted earnings.
How did Eastman perform in its most recent quarter?
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In Q1 2026, sales fell about 5% to roughly $2.18 billion and net earnings dropped to around $107 million from $182 million a year earlier. Weakness came from Fibers destocking, soft consumer discretionary demand, and higher energy costs, with adjusted EBIT falling to about $200 million.
What is Eastman's molecular recycling business?
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Eastman operates a methanolysis facility in Kingsport, Tennessee that chemically recycles hard-to-recycle plastic waste back into raw materials. It added roughly $60 million of incremental earnings in 2025, with about $30 million more targeted for 2026, and is a central part of the company's growth story.
How is EMN valued?
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As of July 2026, Eastman trades near $71 per share with a market cap around $7.9 billion and a P/E near 18.9. That places it in value-stock territory for the specialty chemicals sector, well below its multi-year highs.
Who are Eastman's main competitors?
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Eastman competes with diversified chemical majors such as BASF, Dow, and LyondellBasell, and with specialty materials peers like Celanese, DuPont, Arkema, and Huntsman. In recycling, it faces mechanical and chemical recyclers building circular feedstock capacity.
What are the biggest risks for EMN?
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Key risks include cyclical industrial demand, volatile energy and raw-material costs, customer destocking, and structural decline in the cigarette-filter tow market that Fibers depends on. Weak chemical spreads and soft consumer demand can compress margins quickly.
Is EMN a growth or value stock?
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Eastman is generally viewed as a cyclical value and income stock rather than a growth name. Its appeal rests on the dividend, a specialty product mix, and recycling optionality, while earnings swing with the broader chemicals and industrial cycle.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Financial figures on this page are approximations; always verify current numbers with Eastman Chemical Company's investor relations page or your broker before making investment decisions.