10 Firms Defy Wednesday’s Broader Market Optimism

1. FMC Corp. (NYSE:FMC)

Chemical manufacturer FMC Corp. nosedived by 33.53 percent on Wednesday to finish at $35.92 apiece following a plunge in its earnings performance in the fourth quarter and full year of 2024.

In a statement, FMC Corp. said net income for the full year 2024 plummeted by 74 percent to $342 million while revenues declined by 5 percent to $4.25 billion.

In the fourth quarter alone, the company swung to a net loss of $16 million, reversing a net income in the same quarter in 2023.

Revenues for the quarter, however, increased by 7 percent to $1.22 billion.

For the full year 2025, the company also posted a conservative outlook, with revenues expected to settle between $4.15 billion and $4.35 billion, flat from 2024.

“While we saw a good increase in volume, the growth was below our expectations as we learned during the quarter that customers in many countries sought to hold significantly less inventory than they have historically. This dynamic, along with more pronounced FX impacts, acted as a headwind to further growth,” said FMC Chairman and CEO Pierre Brondeau.

While we acknowledge the potential of FMC as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than FMC but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and Complete List of 59 AI Companies Under $2 Billion in Market Cap.

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