International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. · IFF · FY2026 Q1 · Calendar Q2 2026

IFF Beats Estimates, Reaffirms Guidance as Food Ingredients Sale Advances

IFF delivered a strong Q1 2026 beat with revenue of $2.74B (+3% YoY) and an adjusted EBITDA margin of 20.7%, its highest since 2022, driving a 17% stock surge on the report. Management reaffirmed full-year guidance for 1-4% sales and 3-8% EBITDA growth, supported by volume gains, a maturing innovation pipeline, and ongoing productivity gains. The stock has since retraced part of the initial rally, and the pending Food Ingredients divestiture remains the key near-term catalyst.

Reported After market closeNYSEBasic Materials $20.29B market cap
100quality score

Company context

Snapshot as of publication

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (IFF), through its various subsidiaries, operates as a global developer and purveyor of active cosmetic and natural health ingredients. These vital components are incorporated into a wide array of consumer goods distributed across significant markets such as Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Greater Asia, North America, and Latin America. The company's activities are organized into four principal divisions: 1. Nourish: This segment focuses on natural and plant-derived specialty food ingredients, offering items like flavor compounds, savory solutions, and inclusions. It also provides natural food protection solutions, including antioxidants and anti-microbials, for use in beverages, confectionery, and dairy items. 2. Scent: The Scent division creates fragrance compounds, encompassing luxurious fine fragrances (perfumes and colognes) and everyday consumer fragrances.…

Earnings scorecard

Reported versus consensus
Reported EPS $1.25 Consensus $1
EPS surprise +16.8% Reported versus consensus
Reported revenue $2.74B Consensus $2.64B
Revenue surprise +3.7% Reported versus consensus

Earnings History

Estimate Beat Miss Match
IFF REVENUE earnings history estimate and actual scatter chart 8 reported fiscal quarters and 4 future estimate-only quarters. Q4 '23 estimate $3B Q4 '23 actual $3B, beat Q1 '24 estimate $3B Q1 '24 actual $3B, beat Q2 '24 estimate $3B Q2 '24 actual $3B, beat Q3 '24 estimate $3B Q3 '24 actual $3B, beat Q2 '25 estimate $3B Q2 '25 actual $3B, beat Q3 '25 estimate $3B Q3 '25 actual $3B, beat Q4 '25 estimate $3B Q4 '25 actual $3B, beat Q1 '26 estimate $3B Q1 '26 actual $3B, beat Q2 '26 estimate $3B Q3 '26 estimate $3B Q4 '26 estimate $3B Q1 '27 estimate $3B

Analyst Consensus ?

ConsensusBuy33 ratings
Bullish2472.7%
Neutral824.3%
Bearish13.0%

Analyst 52W Price Targets

$79.48Current
$67Low
$97.61Average
$170High

Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted current price from FN2's market snapshot as of Jul 31, 2026. Not an FN2 forecast.

Firm-level rating actions

FMP grade actions identify the grading firm, not a named analyst.

FirmRatingPrior ratingActionDate
Morgan Stanley Overweight OverweightMaintainJul 1, 2026
Argus Research Buy BuyMaintainJun 30, 2026
Citigroup Buy BuyMaintainJun 24, 2026
Barclays Overweight OverweightMaintainMay 8, 2026
Oppenheimer Outperform OutperformMaintainMay 7, 2026
JP Morgan Overweight OverweightMaintainMay 7, 2026
UBS Neutral NeutralMaintainApr 9, 2026
Mizuho Outperform OutperformMaintainFeb 17, 2026
Show 25 more rating actions

Named analyst price targets

Upside is calculated against the persisted current price $79.48. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.

FirmAnalyst52W targetPrice when postedUpsideDate
Morgan StanleyAnalyst unavailable$95$80.02 +19.5%Jul 1, 2026
OppenheimerAnalyst unavailable$90$82.93 +13.2%May 7, 2026
BarclaysLauren Lieberman$90$82.93 +13.2%May 7, 2026
BarclaysLauren Lieberman$80$72.1 +0.7%Apr 14, 2026
UBSJoshua Spector$75$73.13 -5.6%Apr 9, 2026
Deutsche BankAnalyst unavailable$95$82.18 +19.5%Feb 17, 2026
Mizuho SecuritiesAnalyst unavailable$92$83 +15.8%Feb 17, 2026
Morgan StanleyLisa De Neve$93$82.43 +17.0%Feb 13, 2026
Robert W. BairdAnalyst unavailable$90$82.44 +13.2%Feb 13, 2026
UBSJoshua Spector$85$81.72 +6.9%Feb 13, 2026
See 36 more

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Market reaction

event-close to next-session close
Stock move +17.2% Event window
SPY move +1.4% Same window
Abnormal move +15.8% Stock minus SPY
Volume 3.3× Versus trailing sessions
Subsequent drift -11.7% Up to 20 sessions
IFFSPY benchmark

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Transcript intelligence

What changed

Q1 revenue grew 3% to $2.74B and adjusted EBITDA rose 8%, yielding the highest margin since 2022. The commodity soy crush business was sold to Bunge for $110M ahead of schedule, free cash flow improved by $144M YoY, and gross debt fell by more than $3B. The Areito fermentation enzyme plant in Argentina began production. Management reaffirmed full-year 2026 guidance.

Guidance delta

Management reaffirmed 2026 guidance for 1-4% sales growth and 3-8% EBITDA growth, unchanged from the prior quarter's outlook.

Key takeaways

  • Q1 sales grew 3% to $2.74B; adjusted EBITDA margin expanded to 20.7%, the highest since 2022.
  • EPS of $1.25 beat consensus of $1.07 by ~17%; revenue exceeded estimates by ~4%.
  • Health & Biosciences led segment growth; Fine Fragrance faced pressure from Middle East conflict.
  • Food Ingredients divestiture in second-round diligence with multiple buyers; update expected by Q2 earnings.
  • Free cash flow rose $144M YoY; net debt-to-EBITDA improved to 2.5x; gross debt fell over $3B.

Management priorities

  • Scale up the Areito fermentation enzyme facility in Argentina.
  • Expand innovation capabilities at the Brazil Innovation Center.
  • Continue pricing surcharges to offset energy and logistics cost inflation.
  • Pursue selective bolt-on acquisitions and high-return R&D investments.
  • Maintain share-buyback program to offset dilution.

Related earnings events

Basic Materials

Sources

  1. Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-05-11T10:29:34.698584+00:00
  2. FN2 earnings calendar · 2026-07-26T00:37:12.209961+00:00
  3. Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-07-31T03:21:38.174246+00:00
  4. Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-07-31T03:21:38.171094+00:00

Methodology

Reported and consensus figures come from FN2's earnings event records. Market reaction and volume are calculated from daily adjusted bars around the event; abnormal move subtracts the SPY move over the same window.

Analyst target low, average, and high values are derived at request time from each named analyst's latest persisted FMP target. The current-price marker comes from FN2's persisted market snapshot. They are sell-side estimates, not an FN2 valuation or recommendation.

Transcript intelligence is a structured synthesis of the current and prior earnings-call analyses. Missing values stay missing and are never estimated.

By FN2 Research · Updated . For educational purposes only; not investment advice.