The Good and Bad of DuPont's Strength

If no good deed goes unpunished, then maybe it is true that good news from DuPont (NYSE:DD) can often come with a catch. While DuPont is a highly diversified chemicals and materials company, the company's products are all largely inputs for other companies' products. This sets up the good news/bad news dilemma - solid volume growth at DuPont should be reasonable confirmation that economic growth really is recovering, but solid price growth also points to the risk of oncoming cost-push inflation.

DuPont's Third Quarter
DuPont disappointed no one with its sales performance in the third quarter, as revenue rose 17% and surpassed even the highest published analyst estimate. Growth was fueled both by mid-teens volume growth (14%) and mid-single digit price growth (5%).

This revenue growth was not necessarily balanced, however. Agriculture and coatings grew by single-digit amounts (and had the lowest volume-based growth), while electronics, chemicals, materials, and safety/protection all grew in excess of 20% (and all had volume growth above 15%).


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