Is International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Underperforming the Dow?
With a market cap of $19.6 billion, International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (IFF) is a global leader in high-value ingredients and solutions for the food, beverage, home and personal care, and health & wellness industries. The company operates through four key business segments: Nourish, Health & Biosciences, Scent, and Pharma Solutions.
Companies valued at more than $10 billion are generally considered “large-cap” stocks, and International Flavors & Fragrances fits this criterion perfectly. IFF’s portfolio includes plant-based proteins, flavor compounds, food protection ingredients, enzymes, probiotics, fragrance solutions, and pharmaceutical excipients.
Shares of the New York-based company have declined 28.1% from its 52-week high of $106.77. Over the past three months, its shares have decreased 3.7%, underperforming the broader Dow Jones Industrials Average's ($DOWI) 2.5% rise during the same period.
Longer term, IFF stock is down 9.2% on a YTD basis, a steeper drop than DOWI's marginal decline. Moreover, shares of the ingredients producer have dipped 18.8% over the past 52 weeks, compared to DOWI’s 10.2% increase over the same time frame.
The stock has been in a bearish trend, consistently trading below its 200-day moving average since early November last year.
Despite beating Q1 2025 estimates with adjusted EPS of $1.20 and revenue of $2.8 billion on May 6, IFF shares fell 7.1% the next day. The company reported a steep GAAP loss of $3.98 per share due to one-time items, and Food Ingredients, a key unit of the newly split Nourish segment, saw a 7% sales decline. Additionally, the Health & Biosciences segment delivered flat EBITDA at $138 million, missing the expectation, and the Scent segment saw a 14.3% drop in EBITDA.
IFF stock has performed weaker than its rival, Linde plc (LIN). LIN stock has returned nearly 11% YTD and 5.5% over the past 52 weeks.
Despite the stock’s underperformance, analysts remain moderately optimistic about its prospects. The stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from 19 analysts in coverage, and as of writing, IFF is trading below the mean price target of $90.31.
On the date of publication, Sohini Mondal did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.