Air Products Stock Tumbles on Weak Profit Forecast

Core Insights - Air Products and Chemicals (APD) shares declined over 5% to $310.13 after the company's earnings outlook for the current quarter missed expectations [5] - The company reported adjusted earnings of$636.9 million, or $2.86 per share, on revenue of$2.93 billion for the fiscal first quarter, which was roughly in line with analysts' estimates [1][5] - The adjusted earnings outlook for the second quarter is projected to be between $2.75 and$2.85 per share, significantly below analyst consensus [2] Leadership Changes - The earnings report was released shortly after the appointment of a new CEO, Eduardo Menezes, a former executive at Linde, who replaced Seifi Ghasemi [3] - This leadership change followed a proxy battle with activist investment firm Mantle Ridge, which criticized the previous leadership for underperformance compared to industry rivals and the broader market [4] - Mantle Ridge successfully got three of its four nominees elected to Air Products' board last month [4]