International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (IFF)

IFF reported second-quarter 2026 sales of $1.95 billion from continuing operations on 4 August 2026, up 2 percent from the year before 3.

Continuing operations leaves out the Food Ingredients business, which IFF now reports separately as a business it is leaving 3. Income before taxes was $64 million, and adjusted operating EBITDA, a profit measure that leaves out interest, taxes, depreciation and one-off items, was $408 million 3.

The larger story is the planned exit from Food Ingredients 5. IFF agreed on 28 May 2026 to divest it to funds advised by CVC Capital Partners in a deal worth about $4.3 billion 5.

IFF expects about $3.8 billion in net cash and plans to keep about 10 percent of the business, with closing expected by the end of the second quarter of 2027 53.

The open questions are regulatory approvals and how IFF uses the cash 5. On 4 August 2026 the board authorized a $2.5 billion share repurchase program, beginning with $500 million in the second half of 2026 3.

IFF grew by acquisition 1. It agreed on 25 August 2018 to merge with Frutarom Industries Ltd 1.

In 2021 it bought DuPont's nutrition business, a purchase Food Dive put at $26.2 billion 9. The 2021 deal was a Reverse Morris Trust, a tax-free way for a company to combine with a spun-off business 1.

In 2023 IFF wrote down its Nourish business by $2.623 billion, a goodwill impairment that records an acquired business being worth less than its cost, and reported a net loss of $2,587 million 1.

Regulators also turned to the fragrance trade 2. On 7 March 2023 the European Commission and the UK Competition and Markets Authority carried out unannounced inspections of IFF facilities 2. Trade press said the Swiss authority and rivals Symrise, Givaudan and Firmenich were inspected too 10.

In 2024 a new chief executive arrived: Erik Fyrwald, until then chief executive of Syngenta, succeeded Frank Clyburn on 6 February 2024, Premium Beauty News reported 12.

IFF then sold businesses 1. It completed the sale of Pharma Solutions on 1 May 2025 and of its nitrocellulose business on 9 May 2025 1. On 20 May 2025 it completed tender offers to purchase notes for $2.0 billion in cash 1.

Sales in 2025 fell 5 percent to $10.890 billion from $11.484 billion in 2024 1. Left out of the comparison, exchange rates and divested businesses, sales rose 2 percent 1.

The year also brought a $1.153 billion goodwill impairment on Food Ingredients and a net loss of $359 million, while total debt fell to $5,994 million from $8,977 million 1.

On 2 March 2026 IFF completed the sale of its Soy Crush, Concentrates and Lecithin business for cash proceeds of about $105 million 2.

Taste

Taste makes flavor compounds and natural taste solutions for soups, sauces, drinks, sweets, baked goods and dairy products 1.

Taste sales were $2,481 million in 2025, up from $2,428 million in 2024 1. In the second quarter of 2026 they were $688 million, with an adjusted operating EBITDA margin of 18.0 percent 3.

Health & Biosciences

Health & Biosciences makes enzymes, food cultures and probiotics, used in yogurt, cheese, laundry detergents, animal feed and biofuel production 1.

Its sales were $2,283 million in 2025 1. In the second quarter of 2026 they were $601 million, with an adjusted operating EBITDA margin of 25.0 percent 3.

Scent

Scent makes fragrance compounds, the blends used in perfumes, detergents and personal care goods, and fragrance ingredients that it also sells to competitors 1.

Scent sales were $2,479 million in 2025 1. In the second quarter of 2026 they were $665 million, with a margin of 20.2 percent, and fine fragrance grew only low single digits because of the Middle East conflict 3.

Food Ingredients, being divested

Food Ingredients makes specialty ingredients that give food and drinks texture and function, including soy and pea protein, emulsifiers and sweeteners 1. It was the largest segment, with 2025 sales of $3,278 million 1.

IFF said the part being divested made nearly $3.1 billion in sales and about $430 million of EBITDA in 2025 4.

Plants, people and rivals

At the end of 2025 IFF had about 170 manufacturing facilities, creative centers and laboratories in about 30 countries 1. Its property table lists 86 owned and 26 leased plants 1.

It employed about 21,500 people, about 5,500 of them in the United States, and about 3,000 worked in research and development 1.

Erik Fyrwald is chief executive and a director 1. Michael DeVeau has been chief financial officer since January 2025, and Yuvraj Arora is president of Taste 1.

Kevin O'Byrne chairs the board, a role he took at the 2025 annual meeting, and every director other than the chief executive is independent 7.

The company names Givaudan, Novonesis, DSM-Firmenich, Symrise, Kerry and ADM as its main large rivals 1. Its 25 largest customers made up about 32 percent of 2025 sales, and none reached 10 percent 1.

Legal problems

IFF says the European Commission, the UK authority and the Swiss commission are investigating possible anticompetitive conduct in its fragrance business, and it has applied for leniency in a number of jurisdictions 2.

The US Justice Department confirmed in a letter of 5 February 2026 that it closed its investigation 2. IFF paid $26 million to settle the direct-purchaser class, $11 million to end-user plaintiffs on 6 May 2026 and $6 million to indirect purchasers on 25 June 2026 2.

A court approved in November 2025 an Israeli class action settlement over the Frutarom purchase, about $7 million paid by insurers 1. IFF and Frutarom still pursue a claim over a $20 million bonus paid in 2018 to Frutarom's former chief executive 1.

The umbrella, in words

IFF's subsidiary exhibit names companies that carry the names of businesses it bought, among them Danisco, Genencor, Solae, Frutarom, Tastepoint and Enzymotec 8.

The exhibit lists each subsidiary by name and country and does not say which are listed on an exchange 8.

Agreed: under the CVC agreement IFF plans to keep a minority stake in Food Ingredients, expected to be about 9.9 percent at closing, and a board seat in the new company 54.

Owns, as reported by the holders: the 2026 proxy statement lists four owners of more than 5 percent of the common stock 7. Dodge & Cox reported 35,047,387 shares, 13.70 percent, in an amendment filed on 13 August 2025 7.

The Vanguard Group reported 31,650,913 shares, 12.40 percent, in an amendment filed on 24 February 2024 7. A Singapore group led by Winder reported 25,356,381 shares, 9.90 percent, in an amendment filed on 14 February 2025 7.

BlackRock reported 17,980,322 shares, 7.00 percent, in an amendment filed on 24 April 2025 7. The percentages rest on 255,437,821 shares outstanding on 3 March 2026 7.

A person's seat: Brett Icahn joined the board on 20 October 2025 as the designee under IFF's cooperation agreement with Icahn Capital LP 11.

Land: IFF's principal executive offices are at 521 West 57th Street, New York, and 200 Powder Mill Road, Wilmington, Delaware 1.

IFF expects the Food Ingredients sale to close by the end of the second quarter of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and customary conditions 3. Either side may end the agreement if it has not closed by 28 May 2027 5.

IFF expects the sale to reduce adjusted earnings per share in the first 12 months after closing 4. It also expects about $100 million of overhead once allocated to Food Ingredients to stay behind, with about two thirds cut in the first year and substantially all within two years 3.

For 2026 IFF guided continuing operations to sales of $7.4 billion to $7.6 billion and adjusted operating EBITDA of $1.53 billion to $1.60 billion 3. It expects comparable currency neutral sales growth of 2 percent to 4 percent 3.

IFF says it will use net proceeds to reduce debt by over $1 billion, aiming for net debt of 2.0 to 2.5 times EBITDA 3. It expects to complete the remaining $2.0 billion of share repurchases by the end of 2027 3.

On 23 June 2026 IFF agreed a $1.0 billion delayed draw term loan to refinance €800 million of 1.800 percent notes due 25 September 2026 6. The loan matures on 31 December 2027 and must be prepaid with all net cash from a material Food Ingredients sale 6.

Over time, in a normalized environment, IFF expects mid-single-digit revenue growth and high-single-digit adjusted EBITDA growth 4.