UBS’ Top Quant Stocks In AI, IT, Healthcare & Other Sectors: Top 33 Stocks In All Sectors

14. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)

Number of Hedge Fund Investors In Q2 2024: 46

Sector: Materials

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) is a specialty chemicals company that caters to the needs of the perfume, pharmaceutical, food, and other industries. This provides the firm with some diversification, as while it can earn stable revenue from the pharma sector during economic tightness, the discretionary nature of the fragrance industry helps it pick up sales when the economy is robust. Looking ahead, International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)’s hypothesis depends on the pickup in the consumer goods industry and the firm is well equipped to cater to any demand recovery which has been muted lately due to inventory de-stocking. The two key tenets on which International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF)’s hypothesis rests are volumes and pricing power.

The turbulent economy has created difficulties for International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) lately. Here’s what management had to say on this front during its Q2 2024 earnings call:

“As I did last quarter, I would like to give a brief update on our progress as we work across the organization to refresh our strategy and focus on a business-led operating model. IFF has had a challenging last three years. Constraints on our balance sheet led the Company to underinvest in our core businesses and focused on divestitures. The Company was not structured to effectively navigate the complex and fast moving environment, and we underperformed relative to our peers. We have now had several quarters of growth as we have taken decisive actions to get our businesses back on-track. Our strategy moving forward will be driven by four key pillars: our people, our customer focus, our position as an innovation powerhouse and our operational excellence.

We will engage and empower our people to deliver customer success while we drive profitable market share growth over time. We will also continue to develop sustainable new products and applications that are aligned with our customers’ needs now and in the future, all while being relentless in our commitment to safety, quality and the efficiency in our operations. We have already taken several steps toward resetting and refocusing our operating model, including the announced divestiture of Pharma Solutions, which is still on-track to close in the first half of 2025, and our pivot to an end-to-end business-led operating model that will promote greater accountability and better performance. We are also working hard to improve employee engagement and are seeing positive results.”