Chemours’ Advanced Performance Materials Rides Data Center and Semiconductor Demand

Introduction

Chemours’ Advanced Performance Materials (APM) segment is increasingly benefiting from rising demand from data centers, semiconductor manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and advanced electronics. While the segment continues to face operational and market-related challenges, its shift toward higher-value specialty products is creating new growth opportunities.

In its second-quarter 2026 results, Chemours reported that APM Performance Solutions sales increased 8% year over year, supported by strong order books and continued momentum in specialty products serving data center and semiconductor applications.

Data Centers and Semiconductors Become Key Growth Markets

The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure is driving significant investment in data centers and semiconductor manufacturing. These facilities require advanced materials capable of meeting demanding performance, reliability, thermal-management, and processing requirements.

Chemours has identified data centers, semiconductors, AI, and advanced electronics as important long-term growth markets. According to management, these markets now account for a high-single-digit percentage of total sales across APM and Thermal & Specialized Solutions, while more than 40% of Performance Solutions sales are directed toward these targeted markets.

This growing exposure is helping Chemours shift its portfolio toward applications where specialized materials can command greater value.

APM Performance Solutions Shows Strong Momentum

The strongest part of APM’s recent performance has been its Performance Solutions portfolio. During the second quarter of 2026, Performance Solutions sales increased 8% year over year and rose 42% sequentially, reflecting stronger order books and continued demand from data center and semiconductor customers.

The company said the order book remains supported by long-term demand trends in these markets, where Chemours’ specialty materials are used in complex and high-performance applications.

This momentum is particularly important because it demonstrates that Chemours is not relying solely on traditional chemical markets for future growth. Instead, the company is increasing its exposure to technology-driven industries with significant long-term expansion potential.

Semiconductor Recovery Provides Additional Support

Semiconductor manufacturing is another important growth opportunity for APM. Chemours reported that the segment had begun seeing signs of recovery in semiconductor markets during the first half of 2026.

According to the company’s regulatory filing, semiconductor and aerospace recovery, along with growth in electric vehicles and data centers, partially offset volume pressures elsewhere in APM during the first six months of the year.

The semiconductor industry’s continued investment in manufacturing capacity and advanced technologies could therefore provide an important source of demand for Chemours’ specialty materials.

Overall APM Results Remain Mixed

Despite strong growth in Performance Solutions, APM’s overall second-quarter results remained affected by several challenges.

APM generated $326 million in net sales, down 6% from the same quarter a year earlier. The decline was primarily associated with lower volumes, including the impact of the closure of the SPS Capstone product line. A previously disclosed outage at Chemours’ Washington Works site also affected performance.

APM’s adjusted EBITDA declined 48% year over year to $26 million, reflecting lower sales associated with the Capstone line closure and higher costs related to the Washington Works outage.

However, the sequential improvement was significant. APM sales increased approximately 34% from the first quarter, while Performance Solutions sales rose 42% sequentially as operations normalized and demand remained strong.

Moving Toward Higher-Value Specialty Products

Chemours’ strategy increasingly emphasizes higher-value applications rather than relying primarily on traditional commodity-oriented markets.

Performance Solutions is becoming a larger part of the APM portfolio, allowing Chemours to focus more heavily on applications with stronger growth and margin potential. The company has specifically highlighted data centers and semiconductor manufacturing as markets with durable demand trends.

This shift could improve the quality of APM’s revenue mix over time, particularly if demand for advanced electronics, AI infrastructure, and semiconductor manufacturing continues to expand.

Liquid Cooling Creates Another Opportunity

Beyond its existing specialty materials portfolio, Chemours is also investing in liquid cooling technologies for data centers.

The growing computational power required for AI and advanced computing is increasing the need for efficient thermal-management systems. Chemours has been developing two-phase liquid-cooling solutions and reported progress in commercializing the technology, including technical qualification by Samsung Electronics, a trial with NTT Data, and a manufacturing agreement with Navin Fluorine.

These developments could provide Chemours with another pathway into the rapidly expanding data center infrastructure market.

Why Data Center Demand Matters for Chemours

The expansion of AI infrastructure is creating demand across multiple layers of the technology supply chain. Data centers require semiconductors, advanced electronics, thermal-management systems, specialty materials, and highly reliable components.

For Chemours, this creates an opportunity to participate in several of these growth areas through its specialty materials and cooling technologies.

The company’s increasing exposure to data center and semiconductor applications also reduces its dependence on slower-growth or more cyclical markets and supports its strategy of concentrating resources on high-potential applications.

Outlook for Advanced Performance Materials

Chemours expects APM to continue benefiting from strong demand in high-value end markets. For the third quarter of 2026, the company expects APM sales to increase in the mid-to-high single-digit percentage range sequentially, supported by a return to normal operations at Washington Works and continued strength in the Performance Solutions order book.

The company also expects APM’s demand strength in high-value end markets to support earnings improvement during the remainder of 2026.

Conclusion

Chemours’ Advanced Performance Materials business is undergoing an important portfolio shift as demand from data centers, semiconductors, AI, and advanced electronics continues to grow.

Although APM’s overall financial performance remains affected by operational disruptions and product-line changes, the underlying momentum in Performance Solutions is encouraging. The business recorded 8% year-over-year growth in Performance Solutions sales in the second quarter, while data center and semiconductor applications continue to strengthen the segment’s order book.

With investments in specialty materials, liquid cooling, and next-generation technologies, Chemours is positioning APM to benefit from the long-term expansion of digital infrastructure. If semiconductor production and AI-driven data center construction continue to accelerate, these markets could become an increasingly important contributor to Chemours’ future growth.