Ch. 5: Evaluating Stengths And Weakness

Dupont is very well diversified in the chemical and materials production industries. However their products are by and large inputs for other companies to manufacture into consumer goods. The particular arrangement ties the success of Dupont directly to the success of the goods produced by their customers. This also makes the success of Dupont an indicator of domestic economic health. Higher sales and growth is directly correlated to consumer spending in the open market. A strength of Dupont is its diversification. It's two largest business units are chemicals and agriculture. A hit to the chemical sector may cause sales losses for Dupont chemical, Dow chemical, and Exxon, but a gain in agriculture can balance net profits. http://www.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2010/the-good-and-bad-of-duponts-strength-dd-hun-mrk-alb-stp-jaso-dow1028.aspx http://www.forbes.com/sites/afontevecchia/2013/04/23/dupont-and-a-hungry-world-offset-chemicals-weakness-dividend-hiked-outlook-reaffirmed/