LyondellBasell Industries NV (LYB) saw its stock price plummet by 5.09% in intraday trading on Friday, following the release of its second-quarter earnings report that fell short of Wall Street expectations. The chemical maker's disappointing results were primarily attributed to lower margins and higher energy costs, which have been squeezing profitability across the chemical industry.

The company reported adjusted earnings of $0.62 per share for the quarter ended June 30, significantly below the analysts' consensus estimate of $0.80 per share. This represents a sharp decline from $2.20 per share in the same quarter last year. LyondellBasell's revenue for the quarter came in at $7.658 billion, surpassing the expected $7.525 billion but still down 27.5% year-over-year.

The challenging market conditions were particularly evident in LyondellBasell's olefins and polyolefins-Americas unit, its largest segment by sales volume. The unit posted adjusted core earnings of $318 million, less than half of the $670 million reported in the previous year. Despite these headwinds, the company remains cautiously optimistic about improvements in pricing and demand for polyolefins in the coming quarter, citing the completion of planned maintenance and expectations of stronger domestic and export demand in North America.