Do we like them?

Do we like Dow?

Global chemicals and plastics maker (polyethylene, silicones, coatings), based in Midland, Michigan, US.

Our score: 4 out of 10. A huge, mainstream chemicals firm with a record of pollution settlements and repeated job cuts, plus some decarbonisation plans. We wouldn't rush to back it.

Dow is one of the world's biggest chemical makers, run from Midland, Michigan. Jim Fitterling stepped back from CEO to Executive Chair, and long-time operating chief Karen Carter took over as CEO on 1 July 2026.

The big recent story is cost-cutting. Dow's Transform to Outperform plan, announced in January 2026, aims to lift earnings by at least $2bn a year by the end of 2028. It reportedly comes with about 4,500 job cuts, roughly 13% of the workforce, and includes AI. That follows 2,000 cuts in 2023.

On pollution, Dow's own 10-Q says Texas sued Union Carbide and Dow Hydrocarbons in February 2026 over wastewater discharges at Seadrift. It also agreed to pay about $1.2m to Dutch prosecutors over safety and environmental breaches at Terneuzen.

It's not new. In 2021 Dow and two subsidiaries settled with the US over flaring, with a $3m penalty and about $294m of pollution-reduction projects. In 2011 it paid $2.5m over air, water and waste violations at Midland.

On the plus side, Dow says it is on track to cut carbon emissions 30% from a 2005 baseline by 2030 and be carbon neutral by 2050. We'd call that mixed overall, so a middling-to-low score.