Credit Calls

Research evidence excerpt

Credit Calls

Tarek Hamid AC North America Credit Research

(1-212) 834-5468 31 July 2026 J P M O R G A N

tarek.x.hamid@jpmorgan.com

Transportation Credit Mid-Year Outlook webinar (click here for the replay and the slide deck,

and herefor the 13-Jul-26 note where we reshuffled ratings). Since 10-June-26, rail credit has

slightly outperformed on the market backup, depending on how you measure performance,

as the sector is very 30yr heavy and offers longer duration on average (see our benchmarks

tally and sector performance charts inside). One driver of our more balanced stance for 2H26

despite still tight relative sector spreads is the fact that the UNP / NSC merger timeline has

been extended.

Olin and Huntsman: 2Q26 Results In-Line; Somewhat Soft 3Q Guidance, But Focus

Remains On Upcoming Shareholder Meeting Outcome (Aaron Rosenthal, CFA)

OUR TAKE:

All eyes on the 8/25 shareholder vote outcome. OLN and Huntsman both delivered 2Q

results that generally matched expectations. OLN’s initial 3Q outlook was somewhat

disappointing, but the magnitude of the delta against Street consensus (~$40 million in

aggregate, or ~$20 million net of Freeport) is relatively modest in the grand scheme of things.

HUN’s 3Q guidance matched expectations, and the company reiterated guidance with respect

to generating free cash flow on a full year basis. Efficient working capital management will

be critical for HUN to deliver on its cash flow goals considering the volatile raw material and

energy price environment. The puts and takes surrounding 3Q guidance and the trajectory for

each business into 4Q are important to monitor. However, any potential updates offered up

on the call(s) tomorrow related to the upcoming shareholder vote (at the August 25th