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Employee Benefit Plans
 6 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2026
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]  
Employee Benefit Plans

NOTE K - EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

Restructuring and plan remeasurement

During the first quarter of fiscal 2025, as part of its fiscal 2024 restructuring activities, Ashland terminated approximately 40 employees in its Doel, Belgium facility. The postretirement benefits for these employees, all of whom participated in a non-contributory defined benefit plan in Belgium, were frozen. This resulted in a decrease in total expected future years of service within the plan and required Ashland to remeasure the plan during the six months ended March 31, 2025. As a result, Ashland recorded a $1 million curtailment loss within the other net periodic benefit loss caption of the Statement of Condensed Consolidated Comprehensive Income (Loss) for the six months ended March 31, 2025.

Plan contributions

For the six months ended March 31, 2026, Ashland contributed $2 million to its U.S. pension plans and $3 million to its non-U.S. pension plans. Ashland expects to make additional contributions of $3 million to its U.S. pension plans and $3 million to its non-U.S. pension plans during the remainder of fiscal 2026.

Components of net periodic benefit costs

The following table summarizes the components of pension and other postretirement benefit costs for continuing operations:

 

 

Pension benefits

 

 

Other postretirement
benefits

 

(In millions)

 

2026

 

 

2025

 

 

2026

 

 

2025

 

Three months ended March 31

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Service cost

 

$

1

 

 

$

1

 

 

$

—

 

 

$

—

 

Interest cost

 

 

3

 

 

 

3

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

1

 

Expected return on plan assets

 

 

(2

)

 

 

(3

)

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

Total net periodic benefit costs

 

$

2

 

 

$

1

 

 

$

—

 

 

$

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Six months ended March 31

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Service cost

 

$

2

 

 

$

2

 

 

$

—

 

 

$

—

 

Interest cost

 

 

6

 

 

 

6

 

 

 

1

 

 

 

1

 

Expected return on plan assets

 

 

(5

)

 

 

(5

)

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

Curtailment loss

 

 

—

 

 

 

1

 

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

Total net periodic benefit costs

 

$

3

 

 

$

4

 

 

$

1

 

 

$

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For segment reporting purposes, service cost is proportionately allocated to each segment, excluding Unallocated and other, and is recorded within the selling, general and administrative expense and cost of sales captions on the Statements of Condensed Consolidated Comprehensive Income (Loss). All other components are recorded within the other net periodic benefit loss caption on the Statements of Condensed Consolidated Comprehensive Income (Loss), which netted to expense of $1 million and $2 million for the three and six months ended March 31, 2026, respectively, and expense of $1 million and $3 million for the three and six months ended March 31, 2025, respectively.