With the week winding down, it seems that the S 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average are both on the verge of locking in a decline for the first week of May. Shares of specialty chemicals companies, however, are poised to tumble notably more as investors wrestle with their uninspiring quarterly earnings reports.

As of 1:51 p.m. ET, shares of (NYSE: ASH) are down 11.2% since the end of last Friday's trading session, while shares of Mativ (NYSE: MATV) and Ingevity (NYSE: NGVT) have fallen 15.4% and 15.1%, respectively, during the same period, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Failing to meet analysts' revenue and earnings expectations, Ashland reported sales of $603 million and adjusted earnings per share of $1.43 for Q2 2023. The consensus among analysts was that Ashland would report $629 million on the top line and $1.50 per share on the bottom line. Besides the company's recent performance, management's increasingly dour outlook on the remainder of 2023 also motivated investors to click the sell button.

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Source Fool.com