Coming Soon: Dow Chemical Earnings

Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW  ) is expected to report Q4 earnings on Jan. 31. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Dow Chemical's revenues will decrease -2.7% and EPS will increase 44.0%.

The average estimate for revenue is $13.71 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.36.

Revenue details
Last quarter, Dow Chemical notched revenue of $13.64 billion. GAAP reported sales were 9.7% lower than the prior-year quarter's $15.11 billion.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
Last quarter, EPS came in at $0.42. GAAP EPS of $0.42 for Q3 were 39% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.69 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Recent performance
For the preceding quarter, gross margin was 16.8%, 220 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 7.4%, 80 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 4.3%, 170 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $56.54 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.92.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 2,102 members out of 2,232 rating the stock outperform, and 130 members rating it underperform. Among 646 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 631 give Dow Chemical a green thumbs-up, and 15 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Dow Chemical is hold, with an average price target of $33.87.

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