Matthew Harbaugh
Analyst · Goldman Sachs
Thanks, Jon. Today's preliminary results reflect anticipated recurring stand-alone public company costs, carve-related items and management adjustments similar to prior quarters disclosed in our Form 10 and the accompanying supplemental information. These reconciliations and bridges will provide a clear view of our underlying performance and the impact of our ongoing transition to a stand-alone public company. In the third quarter, we delivered net sales of $1.3 billion, up 11% year-over-year with 10% organic growth and 1% benefit from currency. The major drivers fueling this growth were advanced nodes, advanced packaging and thermal management, including AI-driven applications. In addition, order timing contributed approximately $40 million in net sales from the fourth quarter into the third quarter in advance of our IT systems transition prior to the spin. Sales in the Americas and Asia were very strong for the quarter in both segments. China net sales in the third quarter were 31% and flat versus third quarter 2024, in line with normalizing trends. Preliminary adjusted pro forma operating EBITDA for the quarter is estimated to be approximately $370 million, up approximately 6% year-over-year, including a 2% currency headwind. EBITDA margin was approximately 29%. While volume growth was strong, margin expansion was tempered by net sales mix where interconnect solutions grew faster than semiconductor technologies, but at lower average margins in the mid-20s as a percentage of net sales. Additionally, we made selective growth investments to improve both R&D and supply chain capabilities. Let's shift to our business segments on Slide 6. The Semiconductor Technologies segment posted $692 million in net sales with volume growth of 9% and estimated adjusted pro forma EBITDA margin in the mid-30s. This was led by end market demand strength, as we benefited from content gains in advanced nodes, share gains and improved customer utilization rates, as Jon mentioned earlier. Our Interconnect Solutions segment delivered higher-than-expected net sales of $583 million with volume growth of 15% and estimated adjusted pro forma EBITDA margin in the mid-20s. This growth was led by strength from AI-driven technology ramps, including advanced packaging, high layer count PCBs and thermal solutions for data centers in addition to growth from other industrial end markets such as aerospace, defense and automotive. While the broader semiconductor market is still recovering, we saw accelerated growth across several parts of our Interconnect segment, highlighting the strength of our portfolio diversification across the entirety of the semi and advanced electronics value chain. As we look ahead, our fundamentals remain strong. 2/3 of our portfolio is directly tied to semiconductors, including chip fabrication, advanced packaging and thermal management. About half of our net sales are driven by chip fabrication, where we are already a key player, especially in areas like CMP pads, cleans and slurries as well as lithography materials. These areas are critical enablers of AI, high-performance computing and advanced connectivity, and they will continue to fuel our growth. To ensure our results are transparent and comparable, we will provide detailed reconciliations between our results from the third quarter as a business segment within DuPont, bridging to our pro forma adjusted operating EBITDA for Qnity at the time of our 10-Q filing in a few weeks. Now let's turn to the fourth quarter and our full year guidance. While our third quarter net sales were exceptionally strong, it's important to remember that approximately $40 million of the third quarter strength was accelerated due to IT-related order timing ahead of the spin. Considering this a timing effect, our organic growth rate for the third quarter was closer to 7%. Moving forward to Slide 7. On a full year 2025 basis, we are guiding to approximately 9% net sales growth. This outlook reflects our confidence in continued electronics market recovery and our strong execution, but also incorporates a prudent normalization, as the temporary third quarter timing shift will not repeat. As Jon highlighted earlier, today, we are updating our full year guidance to $4.7 billion in net sales and reaffirming the estimated $1.4 billion in adjusted pro forma operating EBITDA, representing 9% top line growth, consistent with above-market growth and an estimated 10% EBITDA growth year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA margin as a percentage of net sales outlook remains at approximately 30% with continued momentum expected from strong top line growth, mix improvements and productivity initiatives. As I wrap up, I'll leave you with this: As an independent company, Qnity is well positioned for growth. We have a resilient business model, a strong balance sheet and a clear strategy for value creation. With that, let me turn it back over to Jon for his final thoughts before we begin the Q&A.