S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) component FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC) reported its results for the third quarter. FMC is a chemical manufacturing company that offers solutions, applications and products to agricultural, consumer and industrial markets around the world.

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FMC Earnings Cheat Sheet for the Third Quarter Results: Net income for FMC Corporation rose to $86.8 million ($1.21 per share) vs. $82.9 million ($1.13 per share) in the same quarter a year earlier. This marks a rise of 4.7% from the year earlier quarter.

Revenue: Rose 11.6% to $862.1 million from the year earlier quarter. Actual vs. Wall St. Expectations: FMC reported adjusted net income of $1.39 per share. By that measure, the company beat the mean estimate of $1.36 per share. It beat the average revenue estimate of $821.8 million.

Quoting Management: Pierre Brondeau, FMC president, chief executive officer and chairman, said, “We delivered another quarter of strong performance as demand across our businesses and diverse end markets remains healthy, particularly in rapidly developing economies. We continue to see rich opportunities for organic growth across our businesses and make good progress advancing our external growth initiatives.” Brondeau continued, “Consistent with our Vision 2015 objectives, we are making focused investments that raise our growth trajectory.”

Key Stats: Last quarter marked the fifth consecutive quarter of gross margins expanding as the company’s gross margin expanded 0.4 percentage point to 33.3% from the year earlier quarter. Over that span, margins have grown on average 2.1 percentage points per quarter on a year-over-year basis. The company has now topped analyst estimates for the last four quarters. It beat the mark by 2 cents in the second quarter, by 5 cents in the first quarter, and by 4 cents in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year. Revenue has risen the past four quarters. Revenue increased 4.6% to $812.2 million in the second quarter. The figure rose 5.1% in the first quarter from the year earlier and climbed 12.2% in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year from the year-ago quarter.

Looking Forward: For next quarter, analysts have a more positive outlook about the company’s expected results. The average estimate for the fourth quarter is $1.37 per share, up from $1.33 ninety days ago. The average estimate for the fiscal year is $5.74 per share, a rise from $5.71 ninety days ago.

Competitors to Watch: E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. (NYSE:DD), The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW), Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN), Rockwood Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ROC), PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG), Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH), Monsanto Company (NYSE:MON), Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM), and Minerals Technologies Inc (NYSE:MTX).

Investing Insights: Here’s Why Chipotle’s Stock Keeps Winning.

(Source: Xignite Financials)

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