LyondellBasell Industries N.V.

The 2025 annual figures show the scale of the downturn behind the recent rebound. Revenues fell to $30.15 billion from $40.3 billion, and operating income moved from $1.82 billion in 2024 to a loss of $420 million in 2025. The quarter-over-quarter improvement is measured from a fourth-quarter 2025 base that included $107 million of LIFO inventory valuation charges and a $67 million gain on the sale of excess European emissions credits, which boosted other income. Year over year, the first-quarter 2026 gain partly reflects a comparison with a first-quarter 2025 period that carried $117 million of shutdown costs for the permanent closure of the European PO Joint Venture, so readers may want to separate one-time items from underlying margins. Structural actions are visible in the risk-factor section. The company completed the shutdown of refining at its Houston refinery in the first quarter of 2025 and reported about 18,970 employees at year-end 2025, down roughly 7% from 2024, attributed to fixed cost reductions tied to its cash improvement plan and the refinery shutdown. The MoReTec-1 chemical recycling plant in Wesseling, Germany, targeted for startup in 2027, is proceeding as planned, but management says it is delaying certain other sustainability-related capital projects to preserve capital during the cycle downturn, with sustainability spending about 15% of the 2026 capital budget. Environmental compliance spending was $241 million in 2025 and is estimated at about $235 million in 2026. Segment data show O&P-EAI still reporting an operating loss of $68 million in the first quarter of 2026, which the MD&A links to lower polymer volumes.

Catalyst.Management attributes the first-quarter 2026 improvement mainly to lower feedstock costs. Operating income reached $239 million, compared with $114 million in the first quarter of 2025 and a loss of $88 million in the fourth quarter of 2025. The I&D segment added $127 million year over year as propylene oxide and derivatives margins improved, and O&P-Americas added $57 million on stronger integrated polyethylene margins. Revenue, however, fell 6% to $7,197 million from $7,677 million, as lower average prices and reduced demand more than offset favorable foreign exchange. The MD&A also cites a delayed restart of the La Porte acetyls assets and a March outage at the Bayport PO/TBA site as drags on the quarter.

Hidden risk.The income statement and cash flow statement point in different directions. In the first quarter of 2026 the company reported net income of $125 million, yet used $269 million of cash from operating activities, while also investing $269 million in capital projects and paying $224 million in dividends. The excerpt does not show how that gap was funded, so readers may want to look at the liquidity section and full balance sheet. Interest expense rose to $138 million from $107 million a year earlier. The effective tax rate was (1.5)%, so the tax line added to income rather than reducing it, and net income includes a $14 million loss from discontinued operations.