Executive Summary

Q1 2017 was a clean beat on operating earnings with strong top-line growth: net sales rose 5% to $7.74B on 4% volume and 1% price; GAAP EPS (cont. ops) was $1.52 (+9% YoY) and operating EPS was $1.64 (+30% YoY) .
Segment operating earnings rose 16% to $1.99B with margin expansion of ~250 bps, led by Performance Materials, Electronics & Communications, and Agriculture; total company gross margin expanded >80 bps .
Management introduced 1H 2017 guidance: GAAP EPS ≈ $2.42 (down ~5% YoY) and operating EPS ≈ $2.90 (up ~16% YoY), with FY17 base tax rate 22–23% and capex in line with D&A; drivers include seed shipment timing and automotive strength partly offset by lower North America corn acres and higher product costs .
Strategic catalysts advanced: EU granted conditional approval of the Dow merger; DuPont agreed to divest select crop protection assets to FMC and acquire FMC Health & Nutrition, keeping merger synergies ($3B cost, $1B growth) intact; closing now targeted Aug 2017 .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well
- “Our team delivered strong operational performance in the first quarter, growing operating EPS by 30%.” – Ed Breen, Chairman & CEO; sales up 5% on volume and price; segment margins expanded ~250 bps .
- Performance Materials: operating earnings +30% on higher auto-related polymer demand and cost savings; margins +410 bps despite lower ethylene sales ahead of a planned turnaround .
- Agriculture: operating earnings +12% on price and volume (incl. ~$140M benefit from seed delivery timing), with double-digit Brazil pricing gains and strong sunflower seed sales in Europe; margins +~240 bps .
What Went Wrong
- Protection Solutions margin pressure: operating margin contracted ~45 bps as higher raw materials, unfavorable mix, and lower plant productivity offset volume and cost savings .
- Headwinds flagged for 1H: expected reduction in North America planted corn acres and higher product costs in Performance Materials and Agriculture .
- Cash seasonality persists: free cash flow remained negative (-$1.95B vs -$2.16B prior year), reflecting normal Q1 working capital outflows despite >$200M YoY improvement .

Financial Results

Headline metrics (chronological: oldest → newest)

Metric	Q1 2016	Q3 2016	Q4 2016	Q1 2017
Net Sales ($MM)	$7,405	$4,917	$5,211	$7,743
GAAP Diluted EPS – Continuing Ops ($)	$1.39	$0.01	$0.29	$1.52
Operating EPS – Non‑GAAP ($)	$1.26	$0.34	$0.51	$1.64
Operating Earnings – Non‑GAAP ($MM)	$1,109	$298	$451	$1,433

Segment net sales (Q1 2017 vs Q1 2016)

Segment Net Sales ($MM)	Q1 2016	Q1 2017
Agriculture	$3,786	$3,928
Electronics & Communications	$452	$510
Industrial Biosciences	$352	$368
Nutrition & Health	$801	$789
Performance Materials	$1,249	$1,368
Protection Solutions	$729	$747
Other	$36	$33
Consolidated	$7,405	$7,743

Segment operating earnings (Q1 2017 vs Q1 2016)

Segment Operating Earnings ($MM)	Q1 2016	Q1 2017
Agriculture	$1,101	$1,236
Electronics & Communications	$59	$89
Industrial Biosciences	$63	$75
Nutrition & Health	$104	$121
Performance Materials	$273	$355
Protection Solutions	$176	$177
Other	$(59)	$(62)
Total Segment Op. Earnings	$1,717	$1,991

KPIs and cash (seasonality heavy in Q1)

KPI ($MM unless noted)	Q1 2016	Q1 2017
Cash used for operating activities	$(1,806)	$(1,624)
Capital expenditures	$(357)	$(330)
Free cash flow (Non‑GAAP)	$(2,163)	$(1,954)
Net debt (period end, Non‑GAAP)	$4,962 (Mar-16)	$4,461 (Mar-17)

Non‑GAAP considerations: Q1 2017 GAAP EPS of $1.52 excludes net significant items of $(0.04) and non‑operating pension/OPEB costs of $(0.08), yielding operating EPS $1.64; prior-year GAAP EPS $1.39 included a net $0.18 significant items benefit .

Guidance Changes

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance	Current Guidance	Change
GAAP EPS (cont. ops)	1H 2017	N/A	≈ $2.42; ~5% YoY decline due to transaction costs and prior-year significant items benefit	New
Operating EPS (Non‑GAAP)	1H 2017	N/A	≈ $2.90; ~16% YoY growth driven by sales growth	New
Base tax rate	FY 2017	~22–23% (reiterated)	~22–23% (unfavorable vs prior year due to geographic mix)	Maintained
Capex	FY 2017	In line with D&A	In line with D&A	Maintained
Dividends	FY 2017	~$1.3B	~$1.3B (pre-merge board decision post close)	Maintained
Operating EPS	Q1 2017	$1.36 (company outlook on Jan 24)	Actual $1.64	Beat vs guidance

Drivers for 1H guidance: seed shipment timing (≈$140M benefit to Q1 sales), automotive strength; offsets: lower North America corn acres, higher product costs in PM and Ag .

Earnings Call Themes & Trends (Q-2, Q-1, Current)

Topic	Previous Mentions (Q3’16 and Q4’16)	Current Period (Q1’17)	Trend
Agriculture seed timing & route-to-market	Shift of seed deliveries from Q4 to Q1 due to Southern U.S. route-to-market change; Q4 Ag sales down 10% and loss improved on timing and currency	~+$140M Q1 sales benefit from timing; Ag sales +4%, operating earnings +12%	Timing tailwind realized as planned
Performance Materials – auto markets	Q3: demand led by China; op. earnings +17%; margin expansion; Q4: volume +7% on global auto demand	Volume +11% on polymers; op. earnings +30%; margin +410 bps; note planned ethylene cracker turnaround	Positive demand, some 2Q turnaround impact
Electronics & Communications	Q3: Tedlar weakness; cost saves offset lower sales	Sales +13% on consumer electronics, semis, PV; op. earnings +51% with prior-year litigation expense absence	Improving end-markets and mix
Protection Solutions	Q3: cost savings, volume gains; Q4: higher costs from lower utilization and FX	Slight op. earnings increase; margin −45 bps on raws, mix, productivity	Mixed; cost pressure persists
FX & tax	Q4: higher tax rate and FX effects; base tax rate outlook ~22–23%	Exchange contributed ~$0.07/share vs prior-year devaluations; base tax rate 22.0% in Q1	Modestly favorable vs prior-year vol
M&A/regulatory	Q3/Q4: preparing for Dow merger; synergies affirmed	EU conditional approval; FMC swap; merger close targeted Aug 2017; synergies intact	Regulatory path advancing

Note: A full Q1 2017 earnings call transcript was not available in the document set; themes reflect press release and investor slide commentary –.

Management Commentary

“Our team delivered strong operational performance in the first quarter, growing operating EPS by 30 percent. The strength of our new product introductions and increased demand in key markets together resulted in top-line increases in almost every business.” – Ed Breen, Chairman and CEO .
“We continue to expect to close the merger in August of this year and quickly begin working on the 500-plus projects already identified to deliver the targeted $3 billion in cost synergies.” – Ed Breen .
First-half outlook: GAAP EPS ≈ $2.42 (down ~5% YoY) including ≈$(0.32) significant items (largely transaction costs) vs prior-year +$0.20 benefit; Operating EPS ≈ $2.90 (up ~16% YoY) .

Q&A Highlights

A Q1 2017 earnings call transcript could not be retrieved in the available documents; therefore, Q&A details and tone/clarifications are unavailable from primary sources in this set.

Estimates Context

Wall Street consensus (S&P Global) for Q1 2017 EPS and revenue was unavailable due to missing mapping for the ticker in our S&P Global data connector. As a result, we cannot compare reported results to S&P consensus in this report. Values would normally be sourced from S&P Global.
Relative to company-issued guidance (Jan 24), DuPont delivered an operating EPS beat: $1.64 actual vs $1.36 guided for Q1 2017, supported by stronger segment performance and FX/tax tailwinds versus prior-year dynamics .

Key Takeaways for Investors

Quality beat: broad-based volume growth (+4%) and price (+1%) with significant operating EPS outperformance and segment margin expansion (~250 bps) signal healthy demand and execution entering 1H .
Agriculture timing tailwind recognized; monitor 2Q payback and U.S. acreage mix (corn→soy) plus soybean cost headwinds that management flagged for 1H .
Performance Materials momentum in auto remains a support, but plan for a 2Q ethylene cracker turnaround and higher raw materials; consider exposure to butadiene/benzene in modeling .
Electronics & Communications inflection (consumer electronics/semis/PV) and Nutrition & Health margin discipline continue to diversify earnings drivers beyond Ag .
Strategic path de‑risking: EU conditional approval and FMC swap preserve merger logic and synergy targets; merger closing targeted in August is a tangible catalyst for re‑rating and spin timelines (first spin expected Material Science within ~18 months of close) .
Cash seasonality improved but remains a Q1 drag; negative FCF narrowed YoY; watch working capital normalization through mid‑year .
With consensus unavailable in this dataset, focus near-term on company’s 1H EPS ≈ $2.90 and mix outlook; the magnitude of Q1 operating beat vs company outlook suggests near-term estimate upward bias for 1H, while 2Q operational headwinds (turnaround, ag mix) temper full‑quarter upside risk .

All figures and statements sourced from DuPont’s Q1 2017 earnings press release, schedules and investor slides, plus related Q1 regulatory press releases as cited above.

EIDP, Inc. (CTA-PA)·Q1 2017 Earnings Summary