Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.

Q3 results beat expectations / strong underlying performance (good) - Operating income +9% YoY; operating margin 25.6% (up 100 bps YoY) driven by volume + price, partially offset by higher costs (fixed-cost inflation). - EPS $3.47 (+12% YoY), above guidance range, mainly from improved volume and higher equity affiliate contributions. - Helium headwind: ~2% (better than expected vs ~3% guidance), helped by electronics momentum in Asia; partially offset by lower Americas space volume. - Return on capital 11.7% (up 60 bps YoY) and improved sequentially.

FY2026 outlook raised; Q4 EPS guide solid but cautious (good + mixed) - Full-year EPS guidance raised to $13.39–$13.49, implying ~11–12% growth YoY (vs prior lower range). - Q4 EPS guidance: $3.55–$3.65 (+5% to +8% YoY). - Drivers: continued new asset contributions, pricing actions, and productivity. - Key ongoing challenge: helium remains a headwind due to lower price (even with Asia volume/price support); management noted macro uncertainty.

Capital discipline + major project exits (bad/negative but strategic) - On June 30, Air Products decided to exit multiple clean energy distribution projects, including Louisiana / Casa Grande, AZ, recording a $2.9B pretax charge in Q3. - Plan to redeploy industrial gas assets and sell ammonia assets tied to Louisiana. - Capex forecast reduced: now ~$3.5B for FY2026 (reduction ~$500M, largely timing and lower payments due to maintenance/canceled projects). - Despite capex reduction, company remains focused on backlog for traditional industrial gases, especially electronics.