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International Flavors & Fragrances Inc.: Q2 FY2026 earnings call

What management said about Q2 FY2026, from the documents filed with the SEC on 4 August 2026: press release. Guidance figures: 4 raised, 5 new, 1 kept. The quarter’s numbers.

Key takeaways

  • Comparable sales rose 6%: On a comparable, currency neutral basis, second quarter sales rose 6%, led by high-single digit Scent growth and mid-single digit growth in Taste and Health & Biosciences. Source
  • Adjusted EBITDA margin reached 20.9%: Adjusted operating EBITDA was $408 million on continuing operations, a 20.9% margin, against 19.7% including discontinued operations. Source
  • Fragrance Ingredients grew double digits: Fragrance Ingredients posted double-digit currency neutral growth within Scent, and Consumer Fragrance grew at a high single-digit rate. Source
  • Fine Fragrance up low single digits: Fine Fragrance grew low single digits against the prior-year period, which management said was affected by the Middle East conflict. Source
  • First-half free cash flow of $378 million: Free cash flow for the first six months was $378 million, up $284 million year over year. Cash from operations was $679 million, including discontinued operations. Source
  • Stranded costs to be removed: Management is acting to remove stranded costs of about $100 million tied to the divestiture, which remain with IFF after close. Source
  • Regulatory costs rose to $71 million: Regulatory costs were $71 million in the quarter, against $53 million a year earlier, and $81 million in the first six months. They relate to fragrance investigations and legal fees. Source

“Performance was driven by volume growth, disciplined margin execution and robust free cash flow generation.”

Erik Fyrwald, CEO of IFF

Guidance

AreaPeriodFigureAgainst last quarter
Sales, continuing operations Sourcefull year 2026$7.4 billion to $7.6 billionNew
Adjusted operating EBITDA, continuing operations Sourcefull year 2026$1.53 billion to $1.60 billionNew
Comparable currency neutral sales growth Sourcefull year 20262% to 4%Raised from 1% to 4%
Comparable currency neutral adjusted operating EBITDA growth Sourcefull year 20264% to 8%Raised from 3% to 8%
Foreign exchange impact on sales growth Sourcefull year 2026approximately 1% positiveKept
Foreign exchange impact on adjusted operating EBITDA growth Sourcefull year 2026approximately 2% positiveRaised from no impact
Share repurchase authorization Sourcesecond half 2026 to end of 2027$2.5 billion total, including a $500 million accelerated share repurchase in the second half of 2026Raised from approximately $400 million remaining on prior authorization
Debt reduction from divestiture proceeds Sourcefollowing Food Ingredients divestiture closeover $1 billionNew
Leverage target Sourceongoing2.0x to 2.5x net debt to EBITDANew
Stranded costs reduction Sourcefirst year and first two years after divestiture closeabout two thirds eliminated in first year; substantially all within two years; about $100 million of stranded costsNew

What changed from last quarter

  • New guidance: Full-year 2026 guidance was introduced on a continuing operations basis, excluding Food Ingredients and SCL, for sales and adjusted operating EBITDA. Source
  • Guidance raised: Comparable currency neutral growth ranges on the continuing basis: sales low end moved from 1% to 2%, and adjusted EBITDA low end from 3% to 4%. Source
  • New: Agreement signed May 29, 2026 to sell the Food Ingredients business to CVC Capital Partners, with about $3.8 billion of net cash proceeds. IFF keeps an approximately 10% minority stake. Source
  • New: A capital framework was set: net divestiture proceeds go to debt reduction, and leverage is to be held between 2.0x and 2.5x net debt to EBITDA. Source
  • Ended: Food Ingredients and SCL results are now shown as discontinued operations, with comparative periods restated. Food Ingredients is no longer reported as a continuing segment. Source

Results and growth drivers

  • Comparable sales rose 6%: On a comparable, currency neutral basis, second quarter sales rose 6%, led by high-single digit Scent growth and mid-single digit growth in Taste and Health & Biosciences. Source
  • Reported sales up 2%: Reported continuing-operations net sales were $1.95 billion, up 2%. Including discontinued operations, second quarter net sales were $2.78 billion. Source
  • Adjusted EBITDA margin reached 20.9%: Adjusted operating EBITDA was $408 million on continuing operations, a 20.9% margin, against 19.7% including discontinued operations. Source
  • Diluted EPS of $0.13: Reported diluted EPS was $0.13. Adjusted EPS excluding amortization was $0.82, against $0.77 a year earlier. Source
  • Pretax income fell from prior year: Income before taxes from continuing operations was $64 million, against $438 million a year earlier. The prior-year figure included a $488 million gain on debt extinguishment. Source

Segments and margins

  • Taste sales and margin: Taste sales were $688 million, with currency neutral sales up 4% and adjusted EBITDA margin of 18.0%. Comparable currency neutral EBITDA rose 6% on volume and favorable net pricing. Source
  • Health & Biosciences margin of 25.0%: Health & Biosciences sales were $601 million, with currency neutral sales up 5%. Adjusted EBITDA was $150 million, a 25.0% margin, and comparable currency neutral EBITDA rose 6%, mainly on volume. Source
  • Scent margin of 20.2%: Scent sales were $665 million, with currency neutral sales up 8%. Adjusted EBITDA was $134 million, a 20.2% margin, and comparable currency neutral EBITDA rose 5% on volume and productivity. Source

“This quarter marked a defining step in our portfolio transformation with the announced agreement to divest Food Ingredients.”

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc., press release

Products and end markets

  • Fragrance Ingredients grew double digits: Fragrance Ingredients posted double-digit currency neutral growth within Scent, and Consumer Fragrance grew at a high single-digit rate. Source
  • Fine Fragrance up low single digits: Fine Fragrance grew low single digits against the prior-year period, which management said was affected by the Middle East conflict. Source
  • Grain Processing and biosciences led growth: Health & Biosciences growth came from all businesses, led by Grain Processing, Food Biosciences and Animal Nutrition. Source

Costs and charges

  • Volume and productivity lifted EBITDA: Comparable currency neutral adjusted EBITDA rose 6%, which the company attributed mainly to volume growth and productivity gains. Source
  • CitraSource held-for-sale loss: A $27 million loss was recorded on assets classified as held for sale for the CitraSource business in the Scent segment. Source
  • Severance under productivity program: Restructuring and other charges were $6 million, against $20 million a year earlier, for severance under the IFF Productivity Program. Source

“The new presentation provides greater visibility into the growth and margin profile of our go-forward portfolio”

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc., press release

Capital, cash and leverage

  • First-half free cash flow of $378 million: Free cash flow for the first six months was $378 million, up $284 million year over year. Cash from operations was $679 million, including discontinued operations. Source
  • Net debt to EBITDA held at 2.5x: Net debt to credit adjusted EBITDA was 2.5x at June 30, unchanged from the first quarter. Total debt was $5.735 billion and cash was $569 million. Source
  • Buybacks funded from several sources: Management said repurchases will be funded from operating cash flow, short-term debt and net divestiture proceeds. Source

Portfolio transformation and strategy

  • Portfolio narrowed to three units: Management said the Food Ingredients sale sharpens focus on Taste, Scent and Health & Biosciences, which it described as simpler, higher-growth and higher-margin. Source
  • Stranded costs to be removed: Management is acting to remove stranded costs of about $100 million tied to the divestiture, which remain with IFF after close. Source
  • Global Business Services reorganization expanded: The reorganization now covers customer service, supply chain and logistics, with efforts to automate processes and expand AI use. Strategic initiative costs were $9 million. Source

Regulatory and legal costs

  • Regulatory costs rose to $71 million: Regulatory costs were $71 million in the quarter, against $53 million a year earlier, and $81 million in the first six months. They relate to fragrance investigations and legal fees. Source
  • Regulatory costs excluded from adjusted measures: Management said certain items, including regulatory costs, are out of its control and prevent reconciling expected adjusted EBITDA without unreasonable effort. Source
  • First-quarter regulatory costs were $10 million: The first-quarter release reported $10 million of regulatory costs for the same fragrance investigations, far below the second-quarter amount.

Coming up, as management said on 4 August 2026

  • Food Ingredients sale expected to close: The Food Ingredients sale is expected to close by the end of the second quarter of 2027. Source
  • Accelerated repurchase in second half: A $500 million accelerated share repurchase is expected to be executed in the second half of 2026. Source
  • Remaining $2.0 billion repurchase after close: The remaining $2.0 billion of repurchases is planned after the transaction closes, with the program targeted for completion by the end of 2027. Source

Risks management discussed

  • External: Fine Fragrance growth was limited, and management cited the Middle East conflict as the cause. Source
  • Regulatory: Completion of the Food Ingredients sale depends on customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Source
  • Financial: About $100 million of corporate and functional expenses previously allocated to Food Ingredients will stay with IFF after close. Source
  • Regulatory: Regulatory costs for the ongoing fragrance investigations and related legal fees rose in the quarter. Source

Earlier plans management reported on

  • Not stated: Management has a remediation plan with actions underway to remove about two thirds of stranded costs in the first year after close. Source
  • On track: Management states that the three business units performed consistently with the guidance it gave earlier. Source
  • Not stated: The first-quarter release expected the SCL close on April 1, 2026. This release states the divestiture was completed on March 2, 2026. Source

Other quarters

Summarised with AI from the documents the company filed with the SEC. Every point is checked against the filing before it is shown: management’s own words word for word, figures against the line or table row they come from. A point that fails the check is left out. Source opens the filing at that line.